Squint – the Willy Wonka of Furniture!

Tags

Bespoke, British Design, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Colour, Furniture, Furniture Design, Interior design, London, Patchwork, Roald Dahl, Squint Limited, Textiles, Willy Wonka

Good morning, starshine… the earth says hello! (Willy Wonka)

Since I brought up the ever so fabulous Abigail Ahern and her funky Atelier yesterday, it seems only fair that today you get a few happy snaps from our visit to Squint Limited.

I wrote about the eclectic and quirky world of Squint Limited back in February (here, if you’re interested). It has been a small dream of mine to go and visit ever since I discovered Lisa Whatmough’s colourful world of textile-centric home-wares.

For me, it was like visiting the Willy Wonka factory of bespoke furniture and I was just like Charlie with his golden ticket. The joy of all that colour is so infectious – the hardest part is working out which piece is your favourite. Especially when LM suggested I should pick something out for my birthday!!! Definitely a golden ticket day for this girl!

Squint Limited – Bedside Side Table & matching Stag Lamp
Two-tone cobalt blue velvet
(Image by TSL)

Squint Limited – Marble Lamp & Bespoke Lampshade
Hand made in the UK using a dry marble process and part of the new lighting collection. I know not what he is called, but he weighs a tonne!
(Image by TSL)

Squint Limited – Mirror & Wallpaper
I think this may be the Carved Crown Mirror (but then again, maybe not), beside some of the recently launched Squint Limited ‘Flowers’ Wallpaper
(Image by TSL)

Squint Limited – the Chesterfield
How gorgeous is this sofa?
(Image by TSL)

Squint Limited – Table & Desk Lamps
I fell in love with these two-tone velvet covered pieces
(Image by TSL)

Squint Limited – Mirror, Chest of Drawers, Two Lamps AND another Mirror!
THAT rusty orange two-tone velvet…. sigh
(Image by TSL)

Squint Limited – The Curved Sofa & Alphabet Cushions
Not all Squint furniture is a riot of colour,. This sofa sets off the Alphabet Cushions beautifully…
(Image by TSL)

Which one is your favourite?

The very lovely Catherine took great care of me as I tried to make a decision on just which piece I should choose – and, then just to confuse me even further, there was the process of choosing fabrics. I had to go away for a day to think about it! I’ll take some happy snaps when my birthday present arrives.

Squint Limited can be found online, but it really is not the same. Go and visit if you are in London – Squint Limited Shoreditch, 178 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6HU or Squint Limited South Kensington, 1 North Terrace, London SW3 2BA (Just around the corner from the V & A).

Squint and you’ll miss it…

Tags

Bespoke, British, Chair, Chaise, Chandelier, Fun, Furniture, Home and Garden, Homewares, Interior design, Lisa Whatmough, Mirror, Shopping, Squint Limited

Squint Limited Wing Chair

I (electronically) popped into one of my most covetable retail spots today. Imagine my wonder when I saw they now have such a following, they ship internationally!

Squint Limited is a most fabulous furniture design company which produces wonderfully colourful bespoke furniture and home accessories.  It’s unique. It’s joyful.  It makes me smile just to look at pictures of their creations…

Squint Limited Baroque Mirror

Squint Limited French Chaise

Squint Limited is the brainchild of the very clever and creative Lisa Whatmough.  She clearly has a love of textiles and couples this passion with a modern take on British decorative furniture.  The end result is the very recognisable Squint signature style.

Squint Limited Chandelier

Squint Limited Armchair

Wouldn’t you love one of their pieces (or two or three?)

Are You a Retailer’s Wet Dream, too?

Tags

Abigail Ahern, Business, Customer service, Facebook, J. C. Penney, Mavericks Laces, Myer, Peanut butter, Retail, Squint, Squint Limited, Stellar Service, Twitter

(Image from here)

Every great business is built on friendship. (JC Penney)

I am a retailer’s wet dream. You know the kind of customer I mean – I like nice things (who doesn’t?). If you are nice to me and I’m partial to your product, I’ll come back to you over and over again. I’m incredibly loyal – if you treat me well, I will go out of my way to shop at your establishment AND I’ll tell all my friends how fabulous you and your product are. And, I can be quite persuasive, too. I’m often told I should be on commission. I often wish I was!

My local grocer, George, stocks product that I have recommended (and featured in this very blog!), namely Pana Chocolate and Pic’s Really Good Peanut Butter. The girls at Mecca Cosmetica at Myer all know me because I love their whole customer service experience just as much as their products.

Just recently, I’ve had two really, REALLY great customer service experiences and thought I should spread the word.

First up, last week I told you about the groovy team at Mavericks Laces in Melbourne. Well! Not only did the lovely Luke from Mavericks comment on the blog post and advise they are now shipping internationally; today my laces arrived. Given I only ordered them after I posted last week, I reckon that’s pretty smart service.

Oh – here’s the new look brogues ‘in situ’. What do you think?

Robert Clergerie Brogue WITH Dylan Laces
(Image by TSL)

Secondly, you might just recall, if you have a very good memory, my post on Squint – the Willy Wonka of Furniture. I have coveted a piece of their furniture forever.

The Corbiere carved mahogany king size bed made in a classic French style as shown with a patchworked headboard and footboard.
(Image from here)

To be honest, I would probably still be coveting a piece of Squint furniture if it wasn’t for LM. My birthday present last year was a bespoke number selected from the wonderful Squint showroom. As much as I adore their trademark patchwork, being the slightly more conservative type that I am, I went instead for a velvet cabriolet leg bedside table in two-tone orange velvet. I know this is a pretty high-ticket item, but I gotta tell you, Catherine and the team were out of this world fabulous – from the initial face-to-face consultations as I kept changing my boggled mind about what I wanted, right through to the shipping process. A-MAZ-ING!

Here’s a pretty ordinary image of some of my table with Boris, my lamp I picked up at Atelier Abigail Ahern. What can I say – it was a great birthday!

Boris and the Orange Velvet Side Table
(Image by TSL)

In today’s world of social media offerings – with blogging, Facebook, Twitter and all the rest, there’s really no excuse for less than stellar service. But still, there are always some that stand a head and shoulders above the rest.

Have you received any AMAZING customer service recently?

I’d Love Bright Beads of My Very Own…

Tags

Australia, Bespoke Lighting Design, Bright Beads, Cat Deeley, Coco Reynolds, Design, Forest Stewardship Council, Lighting, Marz Designs, Sydney, Wood

I find great lighting and a squint of the eyes makes anyone look better. (Cat Deeley)

Just how gorgeous are the Bright Beads pendant lights from Marz Designs, huh?

Established by Coco Reynolds in 2010, Marz Designs is a young Sydney-based design company. Its aim is to create timeless and innovative designs, with both functionality and quality. Inspired to push the boundaries of many mediums and functions Marz has a quirky and unique style. It works for me!

The clearly talented Coco is currently learning the craftsmanship of woodwork at the STURT school of wood. Her goal is to promote craft practice in collaboration with industry.

The Bright Beads lighting project was developed in conjunction with How We Create  to demonstrate the relationship between designer and manufacturer. These lights have been beautifully handcrafted from FSC certified timbers and can be custom-made to meet specific requirements, at any length and in any configuration to suit. (sigh). I think they are gorgeous!

Marz Bright Beads Lighting
(Images from here)

If you’d like to learn more about either Bright Beads or Marz Designs, check out the website here.