Le Printemps

If there is one French word whose etymology sounds full of promise and poetry, then Printemps is it. Deriving from Latin primus tempus, Printemps - pronounced [prɛ̃tɑ̃], i.e. with silent '-ps' - heralds the first period of the year. Tempus lends the idea of tempo, rhythm, movement. And as nature is awakening from its Winter slumber, creativity gets the better of it... Take a leaf out of nature's book of inspiration!

Sources: (1) (Cropped) picture of Textile Sample Book from Paris, France, 1862, via The Metropolitan Museum. (2) Custom-Dyed Necklace by natural, vegan London-based dyer Rebecca Desnos. No animals are harmed in the process as all the dyes are plant-based. The botanical colours are soft and eye-pleasing, resembling diluted watercolours. They incorporate natural imperfections, ombrés and gradients. Do check out Rebecca's Instagram for more beautifully-staged plant-dye concepts! (3) Fresco at the Château de Beauvoir, in Échassières (Allier, France), decorated by French artist Claire Basler who works and lives at the château, the best of both worlds indeed! The walls of her abode are flamboyantly decorated in her trademark florals and trees, like the great outdoors have invited themselves in. The fine line separating indoors from outdoors - and that separating the living space from the work studio - is blurred further by dainty posies and larger-than-life bouquets of long-stemmed flowers that the artist scatters in vases around her living/ working space. (4) Nature keeps an eye on the bigger picture always and Spring prepares for Summer bounties! Chamomile ready for tincture (29-July-2015), by Avena Botanicals,an organic herbal apothecary and biodynamic garden set in Rockport, Maine, USA, founded by herbalist and gardener Deb Soule. (5) Ditch the dour face of Winter with a pack-a-punch vitamin smoothie! Spring Green Detox Madness Smoothie by the sunny happy crew over at Hello Glow. (6) The spirit of Spring in the English garden, as crisply captured by Sanderson's Maycott Prints. Pictured is the popular Primrose Hill fabric, in Cherry/ Primrose (Ref: DMAY221940). (7) The fabric is not only used to drape windows but also to upholster armchairs, as demonstrated in this fresh-looking sitting room by Period Living (27-Jun-2013) featuring the Verona Armchair by Multiyork. Photography by Dan Duchars. You just want to sink into that chair and sip on your Green Smoothie (6)... and a naughty slice of cream cake - I know you do! (8) Illustration by Aniko Levai, via Design Sponge (25-Jan-2016).

Palm Sunday Twists & Turns

In the Christian calendar, Palm Sunday (also referred to as Passion Sunday) celebrates the triumphal arrival of Jesus Christ on colt-back in the city of Jerusalem, the week before his death and resurrection, where the population welcomed him by waving palms and laying them on his path, as a sign of gratitude.

Palm Sunday heralds the start of the Holy Week, which culminates into the Easter celebrations. Traditionally Christians take palms or box, olive, willow or yew branches to their local church on Palm Sunday for those to be blessed by the priest and bring good fortune to abodes and households. The branches are kept for one year, and laid on a mantelpiece, vanity, cabinet or other chosen piece of furniture, or placed between a cross/ holy picture frame mounted on the wall and the actual wall itself. Some Christians place the blessed palms on the graves of loved ones. Some will hang a piece of palm frond woven into a cross by the rear view mirror of their car.

Now whether you are a believer or not, you cannot fail to recognise that some of those palm pieces are works of Art all to themselves as the fresh, young and tender leaves are split, bent and painstakingly interwoven into intricate patterns, creating religious representations or more abstract ones. In Corsica, the event makes the local news every year without fail, as both the religious fervour and the craft are celebrated.

However in recent years, the local palm trees have been suffering from major setbacks in the form of red palm weevil infestations brought by trade imports from the Far East, via container ships and contaminated wood pallets. As a result, it is becoming difficult to source healthy young and tender palm. Meanwhile we need to ensure that the palm-weaving craft, a fragile piece of cultural heritage, is shared and carried through from one generation to the next, or it may one day vanish altogether once the elders and other individuals in the know are gone.

Featured here is a proud example of Corsican craft applied to Corsican palm. There is a lot going on in the technique (look at those layers!), and Mirabelle is very admirative of it! So pretty in its sophisticated simplicity!

Source: All photography by Mirabelle.