What a great puzzle for spring featuring six different types of leaves – Oak, Beech, Ivy, Dogwood, Maple and Cottonwood -and beneath each piece is the name of the leaf. Handmade from birch, sanded smooth by hand, with wood-burned details and leaves painted with nontoxic watercolor paints. Completely beautiful and made to order from Just Hatched.

Winning Sun-Faded Denim Anorak and mushroom pop graphic tee

 One-Piece Denim Flight Suit

If you are into clothes for the kids that are a rhapsody in simplicity and quality, then ESP No.1 is for you! This New York based and completely US made company’s collection for Spring/Summer is as usual, unisex and versatile with a combination of rich textural knits and sophisticated hues of denim featuring sailor stripes and skinny jeans. Check out their online shop and Stockists page for more info.

Simple white jeans and cactus pop graphic tee

All kinds of stripes and Roll-Up Beach Shorts

Mint Skinny Jeans and Cotton Knit Cardigan

Chair in Situ II, 2011

A Bedtime Story, 2011

Our latest in our Angle On Artists series is Paul Harmon, internationally exhibited artist and old friend of mine. As I mentioned in this post, we met in Paris when we were both living there – I was very drawn to his colorful and original stenciled style. Paul has a career spanning many decades and is so prolific, it was hard to narrow down the paintings for this post. So, I decided to show a couple recent ones (above) and  a Tribute to Paris (below) and some of his lovely painted boxes.

Some info on Paul: In 1994, Paul had a major exhibition of his work at the invitation of Caen, France. Curated by Galerie Déprez-Bellorget of Paris, this one-man exhibition was the official art show of the D-Day 50th anniversary remembrances. He is also the recipient of many major international painting awards including the Prix de la Ville de Monaco and his painting Walking Man, from this exhibition/competition was chosen by Her Serene Highness, Princess Caroline of Monaco for her private collection. His work is featured in the Elmore Leonard Showtime movie “Pronto,” directed by Jim McBride, and starring Peter Falk, Glenne Headly, and James LeGros.

Collections include the Tennessee State Museum, the Tampa Museum of Art, the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, the Museum of the Principality of Monaco, and the city of Caen, France. He was chosen in 1981 to represent the U.S. in the Bienal de Arte, Medellin, Colombia, SA.

He also has come out recently with a beautifully curated book of his paintings from 1961 to present – see below.

Atget Paris, 1990

Le Jardin du Luxembourg III, 1990

Nature Morte aux Fleurs, 1990

Crossing Borders – a comprehensive survey of 526 selected paintings – available here

I am so enchanted by the promise of this unique event that is coming up in the Delamere Forest in Cheshire, UK on May 19th and 20th. I would so love to attend with the girls. The Spellbound Forest event will twist paths through the forest telling English Fairy Tales such as Tattercoats, The Earl Mar’s Daughter, The Magpie’s Nest and others through theatrical performance, music, visual arts and dance. For those of you who are lucky enough to be around for this, Delamere Forest is about 3.5 hours drive north of London and not too far from Liverpool and Manchester. There is train service from many different cities. Below are some beautiful images of Delamere Forest – also check out the website for more details on the event.

Via

Happy Mother’s Day to all the lovely Mamas! I hope that today is a wonderful day filled with appreciation and love. Here are some lovely Mother’s Day arrangements that I thought you would enjoy. As you can see, I have a thing for flowers in cages at the moment.

xoxo, jeanne

Here is a bouquet I arranged myself (see full story here).

Via

I just came across this great online shop that sells gently worn designer clothes for kids. Elegant Elephant carries carefully selected items from some of my fave brands like: Catimini, Oilily, Jottum, Baby Dior, Kenzo and others. They also carry certain decor items and some new items. So, if you are looking for especially European labels that were previously loved, this place could be the ticket! I’ve selected a few things from their ever changing selection. Take a look in their shop here for more!

Livie & Luca Celestina Gold Shimmer Sandals

3 Pommes ensemble

Ikks boys outfit

Catimini Green Floral Dress

Wow to these one-of-a-kind wallpaper covered pieces of furniture by Cornwall artist, Bryonie Porter. I especially love the ABC-number chest. She also does furniture for non-kids, either on commission or at her stockists.

I just discovered this great new label from Uruguay called Trommpo at the last Playtime NY (see my picks here). It’s rare to see such masterful and fun cuts and love the bright colors mixed with neutrals. They also do amazing and colorful knits. Collection available in their online store.

I am always drawn to the freshness and innovation of Scandinavian design and these playgrounds are no exception. In fact, they are awesome. Two Copenhagen based designers, Ole B. Nielsen and Christian Jensen, of MONSTRUM, are revolutionizing playground design with the simple belief that playgrounds should reflect the world around us – a place full of color and excitement. So why would one restrict kids to the same old sandbox or swing when they can frolic on the crater of the moon, go exploring under the seas in a submarine or ride on an enormous snail, ant or rocket. The duo began their careers in theatrical set-designs and they strive to create structures that are so visually stimulating that kids are involuntarily drawn to them. I think they are succeeding.

This is so cool! A waffle iron that makes mini furniture. This “Furniture Tasting” project by Japanese/Portuguese duo Ryosuke Fukusada and Rui Pereira of Sapore Dei Mobili was inspired by the idea that the contemporary furniture industry is feeding us so much that it’s nearly impossible to “digest” it all. I love furniture and decor, and I agree that a lot of it looks good enough to eat. Well, now that’s possible.