postcards from the staycation...

busy, busy, busy.day one - advice given on herbs for a semi-shade bal

cony, the use of social media and a whole house interior scheme.

more to come, so here are a few pics of our reclaimed space...

studio staycation (part 2...)

ooh - we have now got our flyer for our staycation sorted - click for a bigger pic!

ps - we have just added the back, which is useful - showing how to find us!

pop-up studio 'staycation'...

we are not going on holiday this year.

instead, we are decamping from our base in Portslade and creating an eclectic little pop-up studio in Brighton - offering free advice to all visitors for one week only!

situated in a unit in the Brighton Open Market in London Road, the temporary studio will be made from a whole load of reclaimed and recycled bits and pieces and will be our part of the residency with the wonderful compARTment group.

private or business, large or small, pop along and say hello and pick our brains, or send us an email (hello@clairepotterdesign.com) to pre-book your ***free*** consultation with one of the team...

(Tues 24th - Sat 28th August, about 10 - 5 ish every day...)

and they dined by the light of a comet?

As the nights begin to draw in, but the temperature remains comfortable, exterior lighting is a must for the outdoor eating experience.

There are of course a huge amount of light sources suitable, from solar powered to low energy, but these are possibly some of the most beautiful.

Inspired by, and named after the Halley comet, the LED lighting system by Jordi Vilardell and Meritxell Vidal for Vibia is portable, connectable and beautiful - coming in three different configurations to fit any possible illumination project.

wonderful stuff...

compARTment launches in Brighton...

It is typical. With all of the drought inducing spells we have had of late you can guarantee that if you wish for a glimmer of sunshine, the clouds will gather.

And so it was with a sigh I opened by blinds on Saturday morning to be confronted by a very Brighton-esque fine drizzle wafting in from the sea.

So why was I longing for the sun? Well, sunshine = people in the city, and today was the long awaited for launch of the compARTment project in the Open Market, London Road, Brighton. After all of the hard work, graft and passion of all those involved, it would really have been a shame for a bit of precipitation to dampen everyones spirits.

But we are a hardy old lot in Brighton, so we donned our macs and headed down to the Open Market to visit the Artist's Market, watch live graffiti, listen to live DJ's and ukuleles and see an installation made from elastic.

Despite the drizzle (which soon passed) there was a distinct buzz to the market, with the rumble of voices and beats audible over the buses and shoppers.

Turning the corner to the south side of the market, stalls 38 and 39 became visible...

One unit houses the elastic installation by compARTment member and co-founder Nic Blair, whilst the other unit featured the first of regular artist / makers markets. It was wonderful.

visit the compARTment website for more details on what is to come at the units over the next few months (including our very own studio staycation at the end of August...)

sexy stumps to seats...

we love a good bit of upcycling here in the claire potter design studio, and we were delighted when we 'stumpled' (ho ho) over these very delicious stools.

made by Ubico Studio, the 'oli' stool is part of the 'stump' series which are all constructed from the small sections of offcut timber discarded by local carpenters.

good eh? what makes the product even better is that Ubico have passed some of the production onto a factory project which employs disabled workers - thus creating the stool into a socially involved piece of furniture.

lovely.

and we particularly love the industrial strap which bands the piece. very tasty indeed.