small vase - big effect

When arranging flowers, I always set at least a flower by side to put in a one of my mini vases. I like the contrast between small and big, and I think that a single flower or a very small bouquet can be very pretty.I have quite a collection of mini-vases, I bought some of them when I was travelling (Copenhagen, Japan) or from flea markets.  Those don't have to be designed to be a vase. I use a lot of antic glasses. For example colored glasses are very cool - especially if they match the colour of the flower you are presenting. They are very handy to transport (or bring back when you travel) and that they look very pretty on display as a collection when they are not in use. Here is a selection of my last mini-bouquets. Even big flowers like peonies, look fantastic when they are cut very short.

a little bit of neon - the second bouquet

I used some very simple flowers this time, but they look really spectacular in my"air vase" from the Japanese designers Torafu Architects. this is a thin peace of paper that you can fold in the shape you like.

a touch of pink

It's been a very very rainy Sunday today here in Hamburg. In order to forget about it I wanted to give you a little bit a colour through my blogpost. I got inspired by a very cool project I am taking part in this week. It is called Post aus meiner Küche - (mail from my kitchen). I received a name and address of my "pen friend" last week and we both baked something for each other this week-end and will post it tomorrow. The motto was "very berry" (that's why my blog is pink). My little present is almost ready, but I'll post the pictures during the week, as it has to remain a surprise for my cooking partner. I can't wait to see what the postman is going to bring!I also felt like the right weather today to catch up with my sewing machine. I made my self a new scarf. I hope, you will like it.

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Aujourd'hui il a plu toute la journée à Hambourg. Alors pour oublier tout ça, j'ai décidé de colorer mon blog en rose. J'ai été inspiré par un super projet auquel je participe cette semaine et qui s'appelle Post aus meiner Küche (du courrier de ma cuisine). J'ai reçu le nom et l'adresse de ma "correspondante" la semaine dernière et nous avons du cuisiner un petit quelque chose l'une pour l'autre cet après-midi pour pouvoir le poster demain matin. Le thème donné était "very berry" (c'est pourquoi j'ai eu envie de faire un blogpost rose). Mon petit cadeau culinaire est presque prêt, mais je ne posterai les photos que pendant la semaine, car il faut que cela reste une surprise pour ma partenaire. J'ai hâte de voir ce que le facteur va m'apporter! C'était aussi une journée idéale pour passer un peu de temps à coudre. Je me suis cousue une écharpe. J'espère qu'elle va vous plaire.

very british

Today, I found this fantastic teapot at Habitat. It is designed for Habitat by the London- based wallpaper designer Lizzie Allen. It might be slightly kitsch, but I love it! see you soon, it is time for a nice cup of tea.  

Aujourd'hui j'ai trouvé cette magnifique théière chez Habitat. Elle a été dessinée pour Habitat par la créatrice de papier peint londonienne Lizzie Allen. C'est peut-être un peu kitch mais j'adore! A bientôt, moi je vais me faire une bonne tasse de thé maintenant!

rhapsody in blue

  I don't only love peonies - no I also love delphiniums - the blue beauties. I had another improvised photo shooting in my kitchen yesterday after a visit so to the flower shop - with a little furry visitor. Let's see if you manage to spot him in the pictures. I love using different sizes of vases from very small to very big. I think the flowers look like they directly come out of a fairy tale - I think they look like the hat of a very little magician. But that's probably only my imagination...

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Je n'ai pas qu'une passion pour les pivoines, j'adore aussi les delphiniums. J'ai encore organisé un photo shooting improvisé dans ma cuisine hier après une petite visite chez le fleuriste - et j'ai eu une petite visite de mon petit ami poilu. On va voir si vous arrivez à le repérer sur les photos. J'aime utiliser des vases de différentes tailles pour créer un décor. J'ai toujours l'impression que les fleurs de delphinium sortent directement d'un conte de fée - Je trouve qu'elles ressemblent au chapeau d'un tout petit magicien. Mais j'ai peut-être trop d'imagination...

peonies obsession

I know I've been posting quite a lot of peonies lately but for me it is one of the best things about springtime. I can't get tired of those beauties.Especially the pink ones which are yellow inside. So there you go - here are some new peonies directly from my kitchen. I think peonies are the perfect gift, when going to your friend's party. They look so unspectacular when they are still closed and so incredibly beautiful when they open up. The petals are so thin, that they almost look like silk. That's maybe the reason why I like them so much: They look like they directly come out of a very talented tailor's workshop.

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Je sais que j'ai posté beaucoup de pivoines sur mon blog ces derniers temps, mais je ne peux pas m'en empêcher. Pour moi, c'est une une des raisons pour lesquelles j'adore le printemps. J'aime tout particulièrement les pivoines roses avec un pistil jaune fluo.  Alors voilà: de nouvelles pivoines en direct de ma cuisine. Je pense que les pivoines sont le cadeau parfait à amener à vos amis, lors d'une fête. Elles ont l'air très banal quand elles sont encore en bouton et créent la surprise en s'ouvrant le lendemain matin. les pétales sont si fins qu'on dirait de la soie. C'est sans doute la raison pour laquelle j'adore les pivoines: On dirait qu'elles sortent directement de l'atelier d'un merveilleux tailleur.

Palais XIII

Today I will post about a shop I love love love in Hamburg. This completely unique and magical shop is situated in the Henriettenweg, in the Eimsbüttel district at the number 13, and that's why it is called Palais XIII. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Aujourd'hui j'ai décidé d'écrire à propos d'une boutique de Hambourg que j'adore. Cet endroit complètement magique est situé au numéro 13 du Henriettenweg (le chemin d'Henriette) dans le quartier de Eimsbüttel et s'appelle tout simplement le Palais XIII.

Hamburg is the city in Germany where can find almost all the big publishing houses. That is really one of the reasons why Hamburg is so interesting regarding design and decoration. Palais XIII is working a lot with magazines such as Living at Home or Schöner Wohnen. You will find there some objects, you don't find everywhere in Germany: beautiful lamps from French designers Tse & Tse Associées or black and white china from the Swedish artist Lisa Ottebring. A lot of things are also available in the online shop, but it would be a shame not to visit this very unique place.

Palais 13

Henriettenweg 13 20259 Hamburg

Tu.-Fr 11:00-18:00 Sat. 11:00-16:00

roses and peonies

Follow my blog with Bloglovin nothing special, but just some delicate roses from the market combined with some peonies that I used yesterday for decorating my stand. The new week can start! I hope you enjoyed your week end as much as I did!

Der kleine Dachladen

So today I took part for the first time in a designer market: der kleine Dachladen and actually sold a couple of my stuff and not only to my friends! It was really fun to see how people like my products and I loved decorating my stand. ♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥

Aujourd'hui, j'ai participé pour la première fois à une vente de créateurs à Hambourg: der kleine Dachladen (la petite boutique dans le grenier) et j'ai même vendu des trucs à d'autre personnes qu'à mes amies! C'était super interessant d'avoir un feedback sur mes produits et j'ai adoré décorer mon stand.

Hier sind ein paar Eindrücke: Voici quelques impressions:  

Cupcakes by Stücke vom Glück

 a lovely bird by Frei some space invaders by Kleinod

and here is my L.O.D. - Love on Delivery stand:  

Küchenblume and flowers in my kitchen

So it is time for me to write a bit about my neighbourhood (Kiez in German).I live in a very beautiful part of Hamburg called Eppendorf. It is very green, full of little decoration shops and pretty cafés. In the Isestrasse, where the splendid Isemarkt (a very cool market) takes place twice a week, you will find my favorite flower shop in Hamburg: Küchenblume.

but you know me, I couldn't just have gone there, just to take some pictures...so now, I have some very pretty peonies in my kitchen. I love this season.

Küchenblume Isestrasse 76 20149 hamburg

Mo-Fr. 11:00 – 19:00 Sat.: 10:00 – 16:00

decorating with animals

We had friends over the other day, and they asked me if there was an "animal theme" in the decoration of the flat.I never realised it before, be that is true that we have animals in every rooms of the flat, on pretty much every walls... Animals in the decoration bring a fresh and childish touch, I like very much. I have a tiger print from Sweden in the middle of my living room, that was meant to be for a child's bedroom, but it looks so simple and stylish, and with the right frame, it can look good in a "grown ups" room. You can also have a look at my pinterest board on that topic. Tiger print from the shop - The human empire in Hamburg

Tiger has also a couple of cat friends, to play with, like this one for instance:

and lovely chicken that come from the former GDR and were bought on a flee market in Berlin  But there are not only tigers, cats & chicken in the flat, we also have a couple on nice fishes, rabbits and all kind of animals

Akiko - Ein Stück Japan

So, I think I talked or showed enough of my handmade stuff in the last posts. So let's talk about Hamburg. The first shop I would like to talk about is the beautiful Japanese shop called Akiko - "Ein Stück Japan" in the Hamburg Neustadt. Hamburg has so many design and decoration treasures to offer and so the Neustadt - it is not going to be the last post about this part of the city. Akiko opened her shop in the Wexstraße 39 about eight years ago.

She sells fabric with traditional japanese pattern

 japanese Yusen-paper

as well as decoration items such as boxes, or tableware

She also offers some handcrafted accessories and clothes produced with japanese fabric in her workshop.

Akiko has arranged her shop in a very tasteful and poetic way - with origami cranes dancing on branches but still respecting the traditional japanese sense of simplicity and harmony.

If you are a crafter and want to learn the art of origami (the traditional Japanese art of paper folding) you can join a workshop. The workshops take place in the shop, and Akiko teaches herself. Of course the fabric and the papers can be bought online, but it would be such a shame to miss a visit to this fabulous shop.

AKIKO  Ein Stück Japan Wexstraße 39 20355 Hamburg

Monday   : closed Tu. – Fr.  : 11:00 – 19:00 Sat.            : 11:00 – 15:00

New week end, new flowers

Flower arrangement of the week-end