Edward Bulmer Natural Paint is a British business that’s had a very good lockdown. Whilst we’ve been confined within our own walls many of us have been tinkering, and as a result their Herefordshire HQ has never been busier. Founded by architectural historian and interior designer Edward Bulmer, the paints come in excellent colours. Better still they are made using just 12 earth and mineral pigments meaning they’re breathable, containing no toxic chemicals or plastics and they emit no harmful VOC’s. Whilst the team always offer colour consultancy, this August it’s entirely free meaning you can get expert advice on your own project. Simply send in photos or a video tour of your house, or else set up a zoom call and they’ll help you decide on colours, and after that what ceiling and woodwork hue could work with it. We asked Edward and Emma Bulmer to share a few of their most popular shades:
Invisible Green: This is a very vivid grass green that brings the outside in and vice versa. Of course such a strong colour is hardly ‘invisible’ but we have taken the nineteenth century idea of painting ironwork in a landscape to vanish it. A striking green that brings the outside in, it’s popular with interior designers and Rita Konig used it in her wonderful farmhouse.
Credit: Katharine Paravinicini
Cuisse de Nymphe Emue: A versatile dusty pink that works in most rooms and can look soft with off-whites and greys or dramatic when paired with deeper hues. The name literally translates as the thigh of an aroused nymphe. Interior designer Joanna Plant described it as ‘the most flattering paint colour ever, which makes us all look about 12’ – and demand went off the charts with people repainting bedrooms, dressing rooms and bathrooms.
Welmish Blew: An old way of saying warmish blue. This colour is as useful and attractive as it sounds.
Pearl Colour: One of the most popular off-whites, this looks wonderful as the main wall colour to create a modern, rustic look which we are seeing more and more paired with other colours for woodwork. The beautiful opalescent appearance of a pearl is hard to pin down but it creates a pale radiance like the best jewellery pearl.
Lute: The ultimate beige, we love its robust character. It will instantly proclaim a Georgian residence of the middling sort and is a real friend to an interior with good architectural bones.
To make use of the free colour consultancy service email info@edwardbulmer.co.uk to arrange a time to talk about your project. You can also make use of their Summer Samples Sale, where 3 sample pots cost just £10 (usually £5 each, delivery included). Enter SUMMERSAMPLES at the checkout until 31 August. Sample pots of all Edward Bulmer colours, as well as A5 colour swatches can be ordered on their website. When it comes to ordering the paint, 2.5 litres of emulsion costs £49.50.
‘I explained the idea to Faye and told her, listen, if you win – meet me by the pool at dawn. And bring the Oscar. She was staying at The Beverly Hills Hotel and I knew the guy who worked the pool. I asked him to let us in for a few minutes and then arranged the papers and the breakfast tray. I had it all set when she suddenly appeared, in her dressing gown, Oscar in hand.
This photo was just us.
There was no stylists or PR, no lighting, or assistants. And it only took a few moments. A few years later, I married her.”
We’re pouring over the catalogue to the newly opened Terry O’Neill exhibition that’s just opened at Maddox Gallery, Gstaad. Every Picture Tells a Story is the first retrospective since the photographer passed away last November and it’s a culmination of some of his most iconic works: Elton John performing at the Dodgers Stadium, Faye Dunaway with her Oscar by the pool, Brigitte Bardot with a cigarette balanced on her lip, as well as some lesser known shots like this picture of Audrey Hepburn with dove. Until 20 August 2020 with prices from £2362.50, you can see the full catalogue here.
Audrey Hepburn with dove 1966 120 x 80cm *available in other sizes & editions
And we’ve written about Magnum’s Square Print Sales before, but this time the July sale is a little different. Entitled Solidarity, the sale is being held in collaboration with Vogue and will raise funds for for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The focus is on the power of togetherness with over 100 images responding to the theme. As usual the museum-quality prints are exceptional value, each costing $100, and both Vogue and Magnum will donate 50% of their proceeds to the NAACP. Live from now until 10pm on Sunday 2 August, browse the sale and order here.
Cass Bird, ALTON & DILONE. Navy Pier, Montauk, New York. 2017
Set your alarms as ALEXACHUNG’s online archive sale goes live at 7am this Thursday 30 July, running until midnight on Friday 31 July. Shop past seasons’ runway and commercial collections with prices starting from just £10. Sign up here to receive email access for when the sale goes live. We’ve got a sneak peek of some of the items that will be available:
Falcon Enamelware is a classic, and we’re delighted to have an exclusive 20% off for our readers this August. Light and hard-wearing, it’s the perfect kit for staycations or seaside picnics, meals in the garden and summer cooking. Particularly practical for children, it’s unbreakable and can be thrown around with limited damage, whilst also being dishwasher and oven safe up to 270C. Aside from cooking and dining, enamelware has many uses: Caroline Kent (of Scribble and Daub) uses the pinch pots and round dishes for ink palettes and the tumblers for water pots, and we use ours to store toothbrushes by the bathroom sink. To shop, enter the code ALB20 at the check-out (it applies to all items but cannot be used with other discounts). This runs from 30 July to midnight 31 August 2020. Here are a few of our favourite things:
Mini tumblers made in collaboration with Merci, Paris. Good for espresso. £6 from Falcon:
A teapot that’s good for taking into the garden, £28 from Falcon:
Very useful utensil pot (also makes a good vase), £24 from Falcon:
Set of individual pie dishes, 4 for £48 from Falcon:
2 pint jug with discreet measures on the inside, £28 from Falcon:
As soon as lockdown lifted, we loaded up the car, set off from London and swept our way down through France. From the M25, beneath the tunnel, across the flatlands beyond Calais, down never-ending autoroutes streaming with lorries, squeezing through the gateway of Lyon and out the other side. Then, like a great gulp of air: lavender fields and vineyards and cypress trees pointing upwards to churches perched impossibly on mountain-tops. At last, we were coursing down the lanes, overtaking vignerons in their rangy tractors, towards our green-shuttered house.
Provence is a place with a powerful pull. The great artists came for the luminescence of the light, the film stars came for the glamour of the beach. In 1948 my Granny came for a French exchange and it was this event that marked the beginning of my family’s love affair with the region. In the second in our summer holiday series (we went to Italy last week), we take you to Provence with quotes, films and books that will have you there amongst the thump of the cicadas and the scent of sun-baked thyme, wherever you actually are this summer.
Quote:
‘Provence is a country to which I am always returning, next week, next year, any day now, as soon as I can get on a train.’Elizabeth David
One of the greatest food writers of all time, Elizabeth David perfectly captures France. This quote is taken from French Provincial Cooking, a book, like Provence, that’s always worth returning to.
Food and Drink
This summer I discovered the Tropézienne, a soft, sugar-coated brioche bun sliced in half and filled with a secret cream. Invented in St Tropez in the 1950’s it was beloved of Brigitte Bardot, who had arrived in town to film And God Created Woman. In London you can find them at Belle Epoque, a patisserie with boutiques in Islington and Newington Green, and a concession at Selfridges, along with the most authentic array of French cakes and larder supplies. For London’s perfect croissant, it’s hard to beat Baker & Spice. And for baguette, the unassuming Patisserie Saint Anne on Hammersmith’s King Street is as good as you’d find at the village boulangerie.
Another of the pleasures of Provence in the summer are the little cabanes that set up along the roads selling fruit and veg. This year they were more appealing than bustling markets, and the place to find the best strawberries, melons and peaches from local producers. If at the market, we always go early to reserve our poulet rôti and collect it later, warm in a paper parcel along with its juices. Not exactly the same, but a close approximation can be found in London at Park Road Kitchen. And it wouldn’t do not to mention cheese, of which the area is known for its banon, a soft goats cheese ripened in chestnut leaves. You can find these at London’s La Fromagerie, where they’ve just launched a Friday Supper Club delivering a French feast to your door along with a cheese course that changes each week.
Provence is rosé country, and though there are many famous names (Mirabeau, Miraval, Whispering Angel etc), our favourites come from the Bandol region. You’ll pay more for it but it’s worth it: find it at good wine merchants or via Spring’s online shop.
Cocktail
A classic Provençal aperitif, Orange Colombo is a mixture of sweet and bitter oranges, rosé and Curaçao. Serve in a small, pretty wine glass over ice. It’s also delicious poured over puddings, like almond cake.
For an authentic Provençal apéro hour, remember that the eats are as important as the drinks. Serve peppery breakfast radish, stalk on, to dip in sea salt and crushed pepper, along with thin slices of baguette spread with unsalted butter. Canapés of garlic toasts with tapenades of olives or sundried tomatoes are typical too. Find the best jars at Le Coq Epicier in Camden Passage.
Garrigue
The French word garrigue refers to the typical Provençal landscape where fragrant plants grow wild: rosemary, thyme, juniper, mallow, lavender and other shrubs that can do without lots of water. All of these combined make the most amazing scent, and it’s particularly delicious in honey. Look out for miel de garrigues. Ask friends to bring some home or shop online at bienmanger.com.
Shopping
At Provencal markets one of the highlights are the soap stalls where you can mix and match stacks of bars and buy great cubed bricks or soap-on-a-rope. In the UK the Conran shop stock a selection of the authentic French bars that are made in Grasse, centre of the perfume world, whilst Labour & Wait stock chunky Marseille soap blocks. For the kitchen, Le Petit Marseillaise liquid hand soap, that you can order online here, eradicates all traces of onion and garlic after cooking.
Brocantes are another joy. If you’re looking for someone to go there and do the hard work for you, make a date to visit the Boule-in’s Fêtes d’Automne weekend in September. Run by a husband-and-wife duo who split their time between Suffolk and Cotignac, Provence – their base for sourcing French antiques – the quarterly sales near Lavenham in Suffolk are full of antique French treasures and bric-a-brac.
On Screen
To Catch a Thief: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in and around Cannes is perfection. For quintessential countryside views of Provence see the classic, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, based on the novels of Marcel Pagnol.
Books
Two different takes on Provence include Peter Mayle’s best-selling 1989 memoir, A Year in Provence and Felicity Cloake’s One More Croissant for the Road. Here the Guardian columnist has the arduous task of cycling across France tasting definitive versions of classic French dishes. For a contemporary travel guide, we recommend Weekend Journals, whose design-focussed tips include hotels, restaurants and towns to visit. And for fiction, Françoise Sagan’s scandalous classic Bonjour Tristesse follows 17 year-old Cécile’s hedonistic summer on the French Riviera.
Music
For a taste of the sixties in France, play the iconic 1962 album, Tous les Garçons et les Filles by Françoise Hardy, of which a favourite track is Le Temps de l’Amour.
Paintings
Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), Montagne Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine, 1887 (circa), @The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London
Finally, there’s no better route to the landscape of Provence than via paintings, of which there are so many greats to choose from. Cézanne’s Montagne Sainte-Victoire is so evocative. If you’d like to see more you can take a virtual tour of the Courtauld’s Room 5 here, or read Alex Danchev’s book Cézanne: a life.
Our team share the books at the top of their reading list this summer:
Alex Peake-Tomkinson is reading Rachel Long’s debut poetry collection
I don’t read much poetry in my everyday life and reading poems regularly is one of the few things I really miss from my schooldays but I’ll be making time to read Rachel Long’s My Darling from the Lions this summer. I was lucky enough to hear her read from this debut collection of tender and funny poems. Any summer break is most likely to be spent in my garden rather than somewhere more exotic so I’m looking forward to being transported by the fierce beauty of Long’s writing and I can at least imagine “We’re eating roses on a rooftop. The Med beneath us.” £10.99 (currently £9) amazon.co.uk
Daisy Allsup remains immersed in history with Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet
Like many others, I used lockdown to embark on Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy, reading all three books back-to-back and developing a full-blown crush on Thomas Cromwell. After all that, where to go next? Hesitant to return to the present day, I decided to stay put in the sixteenth century, jumping 40 years’ to 1580 with Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet. This book is a fictional account of the life of Shakespeare’s only son who died aged 11, and whose name was later given to one of the greatest plays in history (Hamlet/Hamnet were interchangeable at the time). Set in Stratford-upon-Avon in the house of the town’s glove-maker, a young child finds buboes on her neck, a fatal signal of the plague. Her twin, Hamnet sets out to find help, but where is everyone? The family’s binding threads begin to unravel, spooling out in grief. Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020, this is the right book for anyone wanting full immersion in another world, rather than poolside frippery. It’s beautifully told. £20 (currently £14.80) amazon.co.uk
On another note, I’m hoping to get to Naples and Ischia later this summer on the trail of the Neapolitan novels, and I’m looking forward to Elena Ferrante’s, The Lying Life of Adults, published 1 September and available to pre-order here. £20 (currently £15.49).
Francesca Martin recalls fashion show days with André Leon Talley’s TheChiffon Trenches
Back in the day when I used to attend fashion shows, the extremely tall figure of ALT, often in sweeping velvet capes sitting next to Anna Wintour, was an imposing but familiar feature. So I was intrigued to discover his rise through the ‘chiffon trenches’ as he calls them and along the way, his friendships with fashion luminaries such as Manolo Blahnik, Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent. At times, he is rather too enamoured and in awe of his subjects for my liking but he is extremely knowledgeable and no shirker – he gets to the top by sheer graft and talent. He is also generous to a fault and his chapter on helping Galliano (whom he calls ‘the Baudelaire of couture’) for example, to stage a fashion show when Galliano had run out of money is both fascinating and revealing. £20 (currently £14.82) amazon.co.uk
Clemmie Jackson-Stopps is diving into David Mitchell’s Utopia Avenue about a 60s psychedelic band on the rise
The last time I sank into a new David Mitchell novel was on honeymoon, lying on a beach next to the crystalline Greek sea. No such luck in 2020, but I am no less excited about diving into Utopia Avenue, Mitchell’s new book published on 14 July. I have to confess to being something of a superfan of Mitchell – his Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet and Cloud Atlas both rate in my favourite novels of all time. Known for his superlative prose and extraordinarily immersive parallel worlds, Mitchell is a master storyteller. If this book, a portrait of a 1960s psychedelic band on the rise, is anything like his others, I will be hooked from start to finish. £20 (currently £13.32) amazon.co.uk
Annie Reid discovers master storytelling from Elif Shafak in 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World
This book has haunted my dreams since I read it. Its slight size weighs heavy with injustice – sexual violence and other atrocities experienced by Leila, a sex worker, whose last 10 minutes and 28 seconds looks back at the chapters in her life with beautiful, colourful stories. Time, memory and friendships are explored in this book that confirms the wonderful Elif Shalaf as a master storyteller. £14.99 (currently £11.55) amazon.co.uk
Domenica Marland has found a slow escape in a classic Henry James novel
I used lockdown to read books I don’t ordinarily read. Lots of these have been waiting for me to pick up on my bedside table, like this Henry James classic. Portrait of a Lady touches on many themes of the current climate such as isolation, long distance communication and new chapters. As I have spent lockdown in the countryside, the first part of James’ novel felt apt as the characters rarely leave their country home confinements. Their days, like mine, revolved around drinking tea, walking and anticipating the next exciting visit from a neighbour or friend – all of which felt familiar and comforting to read. One cannot mention the book without mentioning Isabel Archer, the protagonist, a refreshing and confident character who James uses to explore femininity and showcases her unusual decline of expected British gender norms that the protagonist finds unreasonable. This book was a welcomed escape to the 19th century, a world that was much slower and more reflective than we find now. £10.99 (currently £7.99) amazon.co.uk
Curtis Sittenfeld’s Rodham is next on the list for Elizabeth Eaton
The small amount of reading I’ve done this summer is pretty embarrassing. The book I WANT to be reading is Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld. I have always found her books perfect summer reads – page turners that somehow feel like guilty pleasures, but with better writing. This one reimagines Hillary Clinton’s life without Bill. And, if readers haven’t been through the rest of the Sittenfeld canon, you could easily find a few more worthy of a beach read. £16.99 (currently £11.99) amazon.co.uk
If you’re staying in London over the summer then do look out for the new series of short walks with renowned Blue Badge Guide Charlie Alexander and fashion stylist Jayne Pickering. The idea is to guide you around bits of London that you think you know – but don’t. Hear wonderful stories and discover London like never before. The first walk will be on Tuesday 28 July at 10.30am, meeting in the City outside St. Paul’s Cathedral. No need to worry about being in a large group as there are just 6 spaces available for each walk, and it costs £40 per person. DM @jaynepickering_style or @chaucercharlie to book your space and look out as there are more dates to come this summer.
Molly Mahon has become something of a household name, with her block printing tutorials an Instagram hit during lockdown. In her first book, House of Print: a modern block printer’s take on design, colour and pattern she shares the story of her brand, from finding inspiration in India to using her textile and wallpaper designs to decorate her home. We love Molly’s upbeat manner and in the book you’ll find encouragement as well as insight on picking colours and layering patterns. Follow simple step-by-step guides to block printing on paper and fabric, and then there are 5 projects to try out at home including napkins, tablecloths, books, lampshades and cushions. We are delighted to have a copy of the book, which came out on 9 July to give away via the form below:
House of Print: a modern block printer’s take on design, colour and pattern by Molly Mahon. Published by Pavillion Books, 9 July 2020. £16.99 (currently £12.99) available at amazon.co.uk and mollymahon.com
The shops might be open again, but lockdown has made us reassess our habits. Instead of buying new, there’s great fun to be had going vintage. You have to have a magpie’s skill of finding gems among the ordinary in a great warehouse. It’s better to start off in one of the curated collections here or hone in on these other tried and tested bigger emporia.
Vintage Market, Brick Lane
If you only get to go to one place, come here. It’s the UK’s largest collection of independent vintage clothing and accessories. Leather jackets, 40s’ suits, lace shirts, they have everything and because they are all individual shops it’s a joy to go round. Pick up business cards from the ones you like and follow them on Instagram for the latest items. 85 Brick Lane, Spitalfields, E1 6QL. Open Friday & Saturday 11am–6pm; Sunday 10am–6pm
Vintage Basement, Shoreditch
Some great bargains to have here; I picked up a Liberty dress in the Everything for £10 basement. 7 Cheshire St, London E2 6ED. Open daily 11am–7pm
Pick’n’weigh Vintage Kilo Store, Covent Garden
Again, this is serious fun to go round. Fill up your basket and pay by weight depending on the sort of items you’re buying. Look no further for Converse sneakers. 14-18 Neal St, West End, London WC2H 9LY. Open daily 12-6pm
Antika Vintage Department Store
Find football T-shirts and great denim. There are some new things here too as well as homeware and books. A great place to browse. 55-59 Hanbury Street, E1 5JP. Open everyday 11am-7pm
Rokit Vintage
There are a few Rokits across London of which the smallest and the best is the one in Brick Lane. I bought a wonderful yellow floral shirt complete with pointed collar.You can also shop online and via instagram @rokitvintage. 101 Brick Ln, E1 6SE. Re-opening soon. Weekdays 11am-6pm, weekends 10am-6pm
Nordic Poetry, Bethnal Green
Beautiful shop with, as the name would suggest, Scandi brands. Because it’s so curated, you will see beautiful things but they come with a price tag. 141 Bethnal Green Rd, London E2 7DG. Open daily 11–7pm (til 8pm on Thurs & 6pm Sun)
Reign, Soho
Like lots of the vintage shops, drops happen on Saturday and Sundays. This is a small, well-curated collection with big turnover. If you have a good eye, you’ll always find something here. 12 Berwick Street, W1F 0P. Open 11am-8pm daily.
Retrouvé Vintage, Hackney
If you’re looking for vintage childrenswear, Retrouvé shop on Wilton Way has a lovely selection including hand-knitted jumpers, petticoats, Liberty dresses and more as well as womenswear. The shop is quite small so if you prefer you can book a private appointment by emailing ginny@retrouvevintage.com. They also have a seamstress who can make alterations. 61 Wilton Way, E8 1BG
Serotonin Vintage London
Serious designer brands – Gucci, Dior and more. 194 Brick Ln, London E1 6SA. Open 11am-8pm daily (Sunday 1-8pm)
Hunky Dory Vintage
Some fabulous items here. I bought a Japanese floral skirt circa 1950. 226 Brick Lane London E1
Beyond Retro
This is a massive shop – great for retro sportswear. 110-112 Cheshire St, E2 6EJ
House of Vintage
Perfectly curated. Two outpost from this Canadian-born shop. 20s through to 70s. Two stores at 4 Cheshire St, E2 6EH and 28 Amhurst Road, E8 1JN.
Fridays at Portobello Market
Rummaging through the knits or looking in awe at the 70s prairie dresses at Portobello Vintage market remains my favourite place to pick up vintage buys. All the traders are so friendly; we’ve never been disappointed. Fridays all day under the flyover by Portobello Road.
Laura von Behr Vintage
We’ve written about Laura Von Behr before, and she’s now got an airy new studio in Blackstock Mews. Book an appointment and browse her beautifully curated selection of dresses and blouses.
We’re renovating our bedroom and have been scouting around for some new pictures. We don’t want to spend thousands of pounds but we do want a few beautiful pictures with lovely frames. These are our favourite sources so far:
8 Holland Street: a great selection of artists from Gary Hume to Howard Hodgkin and Elisabeth Frink. Prices start around £600 (the Philip Sutton below is £950) and you can also contact the Gallery directly to source something specifically (note: they also sell other furniture and accessories, we particularly like their mid-century lighting).
Etalage: based in Gloucestershire, this Gallery sources wonderful prints and oil paintings from around the country. Sometimes they then frame them in their colourful collection of bobbin frames (you can also buy these separately). From Picasso and Matisse prints to vintage landscape oil paintings, these are pictures that you definitely want to live with. Prices start from around £100.
Partnership Editions: they’ve just released their High Summer drop (sign up to their e-mails to receive the VIP sneak previews). Prices start from £200 and artists include Fee Greening and Jessica Yolanda (below).
Wayne Pate: Not a Gallery but an artist selling directly through his own website, based in Brooklyn NY (you can also buy him through 8 Holland Street above). Prices start around $800 for his wonderful graphic collages.
Purdy Hicks: inspired by the recent lockdown, their current online exhibition is entitled Rebooting Nature and includes a variety of their artists’ work. We also particularly like the work of Pierre Bergian (below). The Gallery is based in South Kensington and open for visits from Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 6pm.
Wilson Stephens and Jones: run by Rosanna Wilson Stephens and Rita Jones who have the most impeccable taste, this Gallery is the dealer for Hugo Guinness (below) and Ben McLaughlin, amongst many others. If in doubt, do pick their brains as both Rosanna and Rita are brilliant at helping you decide.
Catharine Miller: specialising in contemporary European and South American Art, we particularly like the section under £500 which includes this piece, A Happy Ending below.
Cricket Fine Art: Leslie Pratt started this Gallery (now in both London and Hungerford) as a mother of three young children showing artists she loved from her home. The business grew and now she represents a wide range of contemporary artists including one of our favourites, Lottie Cole (below).
Eames Fine Art: As well as representing some of the biggest names in the Art world (they are currently showing an exhibition of Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore prints), look out for the newer, upcoming artists they also represent with extremely reasonable price points. For example, Karen Keogh, whose watercolour below of Tuscany is £460.
One alternative that we’ve found to buying expensive paintings, is to purchase old museum or Gallery exhibition posters. Two brilliant dealers are A Hare in the Forest and Plakatcph which sell posters by Matisse (below from A Hare in the Forest), Picasso, Hilma Af Klint (below from Plakatcph) and many others.
However you spent lockdown, it’s likely that creative hands have been busy. Now’s the chance to submit your masterpieces as part of CREATE! a new competition to raise funds for literacy charity, Schoolreaders. The call for entries is now open and there are four categories to choose from: Painting and Drawing, Photography, Needlework and Textiles, and Other Creations. These will each be judged by an impressive panel including Hugo Guinness, Harry Cory Wright, Emma Bridgewater and Sarah Foot. The prizes in each category have particularly caught our eye:
Painting and Drawing: An original Hugo Guinness Linocut in a vintage frame
Photography: A framed Harry Cory Wright photographic print
Needlework and Textiles: A framed ‘Thread the Word’ embroidery
Other Creations: A personalised Emma Bridgewater teapot
The closing date is 8 September so there’s still time to create something new if your back catalogue isn’t looking too promising. The idea is that entrants (or rather their parents) will make a donation to Schoolreaders to support a child’s reading for a whole year. This will help those who have fallen behind with their reading during the COVID-19 crisis. Open to all ages. Enter here.
For older children and young people aged 16-25, Tate are inviting creative submissions that respond to one of seven iconic works in their collection, and the winners will then be displayed on London billboards for two weeks in August. The Open Call is for works in any form: a make-up look, a photograph, a painting, a poem (just remember it will need to be reproduced on paper). The works to respond to can be found here, and include a Guerrilla Girls poster, Millais’ Ophelia and John Simpson’s Head of a Man. To enter email collective@tate.org.uk with your submission before the deadline on Monday 27 July 2020. Good luck!
Public artwork of Rosa May Billinghurst, created for LDN WMN by artist Shadi Al-Atallah.
It’s the start of the summer holidays, and a fitting moment to start our escapist mini-series that will whisk you to sunnier shores. Take a holiday to Italy this week, wherever you are, with Letitia Clark’s guide to La Dolce Vita:
In 2017 I packed up a single suitcase and left London for Sardinia. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew I needed to get out of the city, and after 10 years in and out of work in hospitality I’d had enough. I craved the sun, the sea and good, simple food. I met a Sardinian chef, Luca, who became my partner in love as well as work and we decided to take the plunge and to move back to his home. Three years, one pandemic, one Brexit and one book later and here I am, now single, but still living La Dolce Vita (more or less) in Sardinia.
I first fell for Italy way back in 2009, when I studied History of Art in Venice. Over the years the love, like all types of love, has changed, been shaped by experiences good and bad, but ultimately endured. Most importantly it has been captured in my first cookbook, Bitter Honey, which is a love letter to the island of Sardinia and the simple joys of Italian food.
What with a global pandemic, many people’s holidays to Italy this year have been cancelled, so I thought it would be a good thing to provide a slice of La Dolce Vita for you to enjoy from your own home: whether it take the form of a delicious pasta dish, a classic film, or a nearby café where you can pretend you’re in Italy.
Quote
‘To make time to eat as Italians do is to share in their inexhaustible gift for making art out of life’ Marcella Hazan.
One of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite writers on Italian food. This sums up not just the Italian attitude to food, but to life in general. Life is made into art. Sitting in a piazza sipping an aperitivo, strolling leisurely through sun-dappled streets lazily licking a gelato: the beauty of Italy is the exquisite ‘art’ in these everyday moments. The time taken to enjoy everyday pleasures such as eating is something which I talk a lot about in Bitter Honey.
Shopping
I’m currently obsessed with Sicilian ceramic earrings, specifically those from Etna Bijoux, who you can find on Etsy.
Food and Drink
When I lived in Hackney Campania & Jones was a favourite haunt, and even now I miss it. It feels more Italian than many places in Italy. The River Café, though expensive, is a classic and a London institution. The food is reliably delicious, and the Negroni’s good and strong. Former River Café chef, Tim Siadatan went on to create Trullo, a wonderful local London restaurant which feels simultaneously very London and very Italian. It was one of the only UK Italian restaurants Luca deemed acceptable. Stefano Vallebona, a good friend from Sardinia, runs the lovely Vallebona. They have both a warehouse in Earlsfield and an online delivery service. They stock many high-quality Sardinian ingredients, and if you drop by Stefano will shower you with samples and drinks. He is incredibly generous and very knowledgeable, and also one of the best cooks I’ve ever met. Kitty Travers of La Grotta Ices makes English-style gelato in a range of enticing flavours. The best ice cream/gelato in London, without exception. And Natoora delivers the best of the Milan markets all over the UK. Lemons and citrus galore.
Italy on Screen
My latest discovery is The Big Night, featuring a young, and very sexy Stanley Tucci. Though American, and featuring some really dubious Italian accents, it is sad, funny and charming, and chronicles the trials of two Italian brothers who run a traditional trattoria in America.
Books
Since moving here I’ve read nothing but literature about Italy, so I have a million recommendations. Tim Parks chronicles everyday life with warmth, wit and charm, whilst Matthew Fort’s food writing around Sicily and the islands is a good read. I have also enjoyed Eric Newby’s A Small Place in Italy. Food-wise, you can’t go wrong with anything by Rachel Roddy, Marcella Hazan, or Sophia Loren, all of whom write about Italy and Italian food with great passion and insight.
Songs and Radio
Volare by Domenica Modugno must have been used in a thousand films about Italy but, cliché or not, it still has infinite charm. The classic book by Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard, was recently read on Radio 4. It makes great listening.
Cocktail
It has to be a Campari spritz, or for me, a simple Campari soda. I love the premix bottles, and I collect them to use as vases and many other things. Drink over ice with a vivid slice of orange and some salty green olives or crisps. Heaven.
Recipes
These three recipes taken from Bitter Honey are just right for now. Buon Appetito.
Letitia Clark is an illustrator, writer and cook. Her first cook book Bitter Honey: Recipes and Stories from the Island of Sardinia was published on 30 April 2020, £26 from amazon.co.uk. Find her work on her website and follow @letitia_ann_clark.
It’s goodbye for now…
The team at A Little Bird are taking a break to recharge and make some exciting changes behind-the-scenes. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
