Brighten up a room.

Orla Kiely has made her mark on the world of design from her handbags to home furnishings and small touches with her now iconic prints.

At Tsunami UK we are love her sunflower cushions and have recently bought the three shades to brighten up a guest bedroom sofa.

They come in three shades apple, straw and raspberry in 100% cotton  they are 47cm by 47cm so big enough to make a statement but not so overpowering to dominate the room.

Lets have a change.......

It’s a Bank Holiday weekend and you’re in London and you feel like a change with a view – try the Vista at The Trafalgar Hotel over looking Trafalgar Square.

Billed as one of the best rooftop views in the world.

It takes in the whole of Trafalgar Square with all the beautiful architecture and the bustle of the tourists posing next to the imposing iconic lions. You can see the National Gallery at the back and to the south Whitehall. 

So kick back have a drink and some nibbles and soak in the view.

Opening Hours:

Monday - Saturday 12pm - 11pm

Sunday 12pm - 10pm

The Trafalgar

2 Spring Gardens

Trafalgar Square

London

SW1A 2TS

020 7870 2900

Design Notebook………….

Georg Jensen silver.

There is not one designer who you could say appeals to men and women and also covers the home. From his striking modern jewellery to his silver teapots and coffee jugs Georg Jensen covers everyone with his simplicity of style and elegance.

The business is now over a hundred years old was first founded in 1904 as a small workshop in Copenhagen, Denmark by Georg Jensen – a graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts who had previously worked as a sculptor. The academic education of Jensen, however, had been only the natural continuation of his training as a goldsmith which began when he was fourteen. Before starting his own business he had also been an apprentice to one of the most prominent Danish silversmiths at the time. During his thirty years of work he set numerous trends in jewellery and silver making that have been widely accepted in Europe and the rest of the world and built the foundations of a constantly expanding prosperous business.

Georg Jensen was one of the biggest representatives of the Art Nouveau movement with his innovative jewellery and silverware designs.

 Jensen specialized in the production of silver flatware using the techniques he had learnt from his father and mastered as an apprentice. He adopted the organic curvilinear and gentle forms promoted by the Art Nouveau. The natural world was the major source of inspiration for models such as the blossom, cactus, dahlia, fuchsia, lily of the valley, rose, cypress and acanthus patterned silver cutlery. The designer and his colleagues were also inspired by the arts of ancient local and world cultures. Jensen and his co-workers, such as designer Johan Rohde, created distinctive and unique silver flatware sets and separate pieces having the Viking, Nordic, Old Danish, Persian, Mayan and even Elsinore patterns.

Jensen worked mainly with silver in the beginning of his jewellery making career,. In the spirit of the Art Nouveau movement Georg Jensen experimented with adding various precious and semi-precious stone as the accents to his jewellery designs. The semi-precious agate stones were amongst the most preferred in his workshops for their pastel and bold diverse colours ranging from turquoise to bright yellow. During the Art Deco era Georg Jensen became the leader in jewellery production by introducing geometrical designs and sharp straight lined decorative ornaments and patterns. The works became so influential that they were soon widely imitated throughout Europe. The Jensen women’s jewellery remained the most abundantly produced, but the silver accessories for men such as the tie bars also became popular for their new less curved and elaborate and more “manly” designs.

Throughout the 20th century the company started by Georg Jensen continued to expand. Throughout the years notable designers such as Henning Koppel as well as Nanna Ditzel, and Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe created some of the most memorable models and collections of the company.

Seasonal recipe for August

Greengage and almond tart
A fabulous summer seasonal desert which is perfect hot or cold.

Serves 4-6

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 25 min

50g butter

50g ground almonds

25g caster sugar

1 large egg

12/250g ripe greengages

195g/20cm butter pastry case

Knob of butter

2 tbsp flaked almonds

METHOD Heat the oven to 400F/200C/gas mark 6. Dice the butter into a food processor. Add the almonds, caster sugar and egg. Blitz into a thick paste. Spread the paste in the pastry case. Halve the plums round their middles, winkling out the stone. Plant, cut-side uppermost, in the frangipane with a little space between each one. Melt the butter in a frying pan and quickly toss the flaked almonds to coat evenly with butter. Scatter over the tart. Bake for 25 min, or until the frangipane is firm and swollen, the plums are weeping and the flaked almonds golden. If liked, dust with icing sugar before serving hot, warm or cold.

Seasonal Food for August

New in this month……..

Plums, greengages, sweetcorn, blackberries, early damsons, crayfish, red grouse, hare

Still in season: Artichoke, aubergine, basil, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, courgettes, cucumber, fennel, French beans, garlic, lamb, new potatoes, onions, pak choi, peas, rabbit, radishes, rocket, runner beans, sorrel, spring onions, turnips, watercress ; apricots, blueberries, cherries (English), gooseberries, loganberries, peaches, raspberries, redcurrants

VEGETABLES

Artichoke Aubergine Beetroot Broad beans Courgettes Cucumber Elderflowers Fennel Jersey Royal new potatoes Mint Pak choi Parsley Peas Rocket Rosemary Samphire Sorrel Spinach sweetcorn Watercress

FRUIT

Apricots Rhubarb Blackberries Blueberries Cherries Gooseberries Raspberries Strawberries Greengages

MEAT

Grouse Hare Lamb

FISH AND SEAFOOD

Crab Crayfish Herring John Dory Mackerel Salmon Sardines Sea trout