24 May 2015

Coastalicious Resort Fashion

With the weather warming up our northern hemisphere, Mirabelle is feeling Coastalicious. This article is no invitation for retail therapy, other than sending your Winter wardrobe into hibernation and sprucing up those Summery items from last year out of the closets.

Off you go, enjoy the great outdoors: feel the light breeze caress your hair, catch a glimpse of sunshine (no matter how elusive it might be), observe nature coming into its own, and listen to the songbirds! Take pictures out of wild flowers or try identify them with the help of a botanics book, or a knowing friend. Venture down the roads less travelled, make it an adventure for you and your significant others. Improvise a picnic or buy a bag of potato chips from the pier and share it. Pick seashells discarded by sea tide onto the local beach, or just lay a plaid onto the garden lawn and make out a teatime celebration with your loved ones, share stories and anecdotes. Make sure to include nature into whatever you do, for nature is a provider of peace and harmony.



Sources: (1) Cave Swim, Point Lobos (State Reserve CA), photography by Kevin Russ, via Flickr. (2) The Organic Certified 100% Natural Sparkling Citrus Bloom Body Oil by Swedish cult brand Estelle & Thild will invigorate the senses with a burst of citrus base notes and hints of mint. (3) Inspire Organic Cream Eye Polish ('Inspire' is a shade of metallic baby blue with a hint of silver) by RMS Beauty. The RMS Beauty product range was created by Makeup Artist Rose-Marie Swift, and are not only organic but also gluten-free, GMO-free, soy-free, NANO-free and not tested on animals. In addition, the formulations are based upon raw, food grade and organic ingredients in their natural state, allowing their living, healing attributes to penetrate and rejuvenate the skin. (4) Pancratium illyricum, a fragrant bulbous perennial found on the sandy beaches of Northern Corsica, photography by Mirabelle, (01/09/2012). (5) Raw Sapphire Earrings, part of the 1909 fine jewelry collection by Erica Weiner, inspired by antiques, and handmade in NYC. Sapphire is a very interesting stone indeed: "The ancient Persians believed that the earth rested on a giant sapphire and its reflection colored the sky. For millennia, this blue stone's healing powers have been associated with the eyes: Egyptian physicians created an eye wash with sapphire, and Medieval texts refer to it as an elixir for the eyes (particularly when dissolved in milk). [...] Buddhists believed that sapphires had a calming effect on people, which facilitated their devotion to prayer and meditation." (source: Erica Weiner). (6) Thin Multifaceted Pale Sea Glass Eco-resin Stacking Rings with Metallic Gold Leaf Flakes, by RosellaResin, via Etsy. (7) Marinière Glénans Délavé (Nautical Striped T-Shirt), by Tricots Saint James, image capture from their Printemps-Eté 2015 Collection (SS2015) catalogue. Tricots Saint James are a highly-reputed French coastal leisurewear manufacturer, based in Normandy and established 1889. They started off as a specialist knitwear firm, catering for fishermen, which soon enough appealed to a wider range of sailors, yachtmen and seaside tourists worldwide. (8) Harp perforated leather espadrille wedge sandals, with laser-cut scallop trim and ankle strap, by Tabitha Simmons, via Net à Porter. More footwear from Tabitha Simmons website. (9) Cape York Pearl Shells by Coastal Vintage. (10) Rizzaneze (Southern Corsica), photography by Eric Volto, via 500px.

12 May 2015

The Tile Files: Azulejos

Welcome to Mirabelle's brand new monthly design series, The Tile Files. Forget "Be There or Be Square", as square wasn't a shape we started off with last month! Instead we went for hexagonal, paying particular attention to the Provençal Tomettes. This month is a different set of rules as we are up for flamboyance and opulence as a resonance of one to the other. We are about to admire those highly-decorative hand-painted tin-glazed ceramic tiles - mostly blue in colour - that are described as the pillar (elements) of traditional architecture in Portugal, Spain and their former colonies of Latin and South America. The tile technique is also found in The Philippines. Anyway why go cryptic when Azulejo is our brightly-coloured answer!

Paróquia de Santa Marinha de Cortegaça

As tempted as we might be to associate Azulejo with Azul ('blue' in Spanish), it derives in fact from Arabic Zellige ('polished stone'), a tile decoration technique directly influenced by Roman mosaics and later perfected by the Hispano-Moresque.

Azulejo is a tale of brio and panache: it is meant to get your attention! The colour that traditionally defines the azulejo is blue, due to the fact that when the artform had reached its pinnacle in the 17th century, it was being influenced by the white and blue duo scheme from the Ming Dynasty porcelain. The traditional azulejo focuses upon a palette of blues which, in their hues and effects, provide depth and perspective against a neutral (i.e. white) background. Yet in earlier times, azulejo included richer and warmer colourways, as testified by La Alhambra de Granada (Spain). 

Plaza de España, Sevilla

Azulejo may present itself bare in design, or overly intricate and ornate and therefore suited to the more baroque architecture. It may ornate church façades, imposing state and public buildings, and private residences, not to mention street infrastructures (fountains, benches, signage, or even bridge balustrades). The latter's most famous depiction as a testimony to the craft, is visible on Plaza de España (Seville), as part of the ensemble erected for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, an altogether landmark example of the Spanish Renaissance Revival style.

Not only are azulejos found in the great outdoors, but also in the great indoors, where they clad the floors, walls, ceilings and courtyards of monasteries, churches, universities, public buildings and private houses alike, sometimes in pure carpet style decoration where they enrobe every curve and movement of a surface, including arches, window surrounds and seats. Ornate tiles may be used as a decorative accent, as a border (frieze) or lintel, or more dramatically repeated over as a single motif piece, from floor to ceiling.

Azulejo Portuguese

Azulejos may be abstract or figurative in design, with earliest examples of azulejo being purely geometric as they were directly influenced by zellige. Each individual piece of tile may be painted in such a way that it represents only a fragment of a design element that is part of a bigger picture once assembled together with other tiles in a definite sequence in order to form a fresco or a mural, where it may go beyond the decorative and the trompe l'oeil, by relating a story, depicting a religious scene or edifice, or commemorating a battle.

Beyond the ornamental value of azulejos lies a more practical reason: the tiles keep interiors fresh during the Summer months, and dry during the rain season. The tile heritage has remarkably lasted well into the present day. Six centuries on, azulejos are still being produced, to the delight of design connoisseurs and tradition lovers, either through loyal representation of classic style, or in a more avant-garde albeit surrealistic interpretation, as seen in the Lisbon metro stations and La Casa de Música (Porto).

There certainly is a remarkable symbiosis between the solemnity of stone and the merry sobriety of tile, like a cheerful candy package cleverly unwrapping parts of a candy, as encapsulated by La Igreja Matriz de Cambra:-

Igreja Matriz de Cambra, Vouzela, Portugal
Casa de los Azulejos

Upon those sweet considerations, The Tile Files are tip-toeing out of those magnificent monuments. We will be back next month, yet should the prospect of the wait make you feel blue - you have every reason to feel that way - as our next visit will take us north to explore a close variant of azulejo - therefore expect more hues of blues!

Sources: (1) Paróquia de Santa Marinha de Cortegaça, Portugal, via Metalocus. Additional information about the flamboyant church, via Wikipedia (in Portuguese). Original photography by Markus Brunetti, part of his 'Façades: Kathedralen, Kirchen, Klöster in Europa' 2014 photographic exhibition. (2) Bridge balustrade, Plaza de España, Sevilla, photography by Michelle Chaplow, via Andalucia.com. (3) Azulejo Portuguese, part of the Azulejos Portugueses album by rhox2, via Flickr. More azulejo delights from the Azulejo Flickr group! (4) Igreja Matriz de Cambra, Vouzela, Portugal, photography by Sandra Coutinho, via Wikipedia. (5) Interior courtyard of Casa de los Azulejos, Mexico City, photography by Anthony Sloan, © Estate of Anthony Vail Sloan, 2009.

Additional Resources:

9 May 2015

eBay Buy - 19th Century French Door Knocker

Mirabelle netted this little gem out of the eBay interwebs four weeks ago: a 19th century hand-shaped cast-iron door knocker, that I purchased straight off for 50 Euros (no auction) - from a vendor based in the Bordeaux region. A few days later, it landed through the post and I was over the moon about it!

The door knocker is to be fitted to the front door of the old Corsican family house, in replacement for the bronze one that used to be there - until it got stolen.

In the meantime, my personal track-record of five eBay purchases in the nine years since I opened my eBay account, can hardly describe me as the compulsive eBay shopper. Though convenience and the readily availability of vintage items got the better of me, when I considered getting a door knocker. I just didn't relish the prospect of scouring those junk shops and jumble sales miles away in the elusive hope of sourcing it, so eBay presented itself as an option of choice. Now I might have started developing a little compulsion over eBay as I am currently looking for sconces and a desk lamp. I shall keep you posted on this!


Source: All photography by Mirabelle.
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