Aynhoe Park's Cabinet of Curiosities

Oh, don't I love it when a blog visit sends me onto an unexpected journey with twists at every turn! Curiosity takes you places you hadn't heard or thought about!

Hui's wedding dress by Phillipa Lepley; wedding venue: Aynhoe Park.

It started off with The Londoner Rosie Thomas's customised wedding dress post, followed by her wedding designer Phillipa Lepley's portfolio, and then onto her client Hui's wedding venue: Aynhoe Park, Oxfordshire, England. But what could have easily been mistaken as yet another palladian country house, revealed a full-scale treasure trove of eclectic antique pieces, eccentric objets d'art and modern pieces that have blent together well into a potent cocktail and lent the place a distinct mood halfway between antiques shop, Natural History Museum and a well-travelled, well-heeled collector's cabinet of curiosities! And when I come across those, time crashes to a standstill. Exploration is a must!

The Aynhoe Unicorn: bold, brash and larger than life!

The Aynhoe Unicorn (detail), painting by Rico White, via A Modern Grand Tour

If history, the statuary, and unique quirky heirloom pieces are your thing, then you have it in spades here, and the little kid in you will awaken to those treasures. I must say that I am no fan of taxidermy and animal trophies in all their forms but if I summon the little kid in me convincingly enough, I might be able to work miracles, Night at the Museum style...

Look up, look down, the folly is all around! Photography by Barker Evans.

This is certainly a magical place that has the power to turn into a magical land of its own accord, depending upon how wild your imagination is and/ or with Santa's little tipple helpers! You are nudged on your journey: Aynhoe Park is interlaced with elements of fantasy (unicorns of all creatures!) and Narnia-esque elements raring to come to life and play!

White Witch Awakening, by Miss Aniela, surreal fashion series photoshoot (2014), via ibid.

Thus all that is needed is to believe and to let your imagination loose and soon enough the creatures will come to life and whisk you away into their dreamlike world! Step into the wardrobe, enjoy the party, Christmas is only a twinkle away!

Pair of Brass Waterlilies, via A Modern Grand Tour

The Ostrich Feather Lamp in 'Ivy', via  ibid.

Wooden Cobra Carved Sculpture, via ibid.

1970s Shell Table by Antony Redmile, via ibid.

* Last updated: 06-Jan-2018

Source: Have cash? Purchase a piece of the action and take the magic home. Or just leave it where it belongs, at Aynhoe, providing an enchantment piece to guests and visitors. Yet if you are serious about parting with a little cash and take home an investment piece that is both unique and eccentric, Aynhoe is destination shopping delight!

Aynhoe Park hosts hospitality events and weddings, which is another way of getting up close and personal with its magical wonderland!

El Raja Key Archive by Robert J. Kuntz

Rob Kuntz is a living legend and El Raja Key Archive is here to prove it. Now ask any of the people in the know within the Role-Playing Games (RPG) community, and they will agree. I also witnessed it first hand when Rob and I attended Lucca Comics & Games 2015, of which he was a special guest. Rob Kuntz is up there with Dave Arneson, the creator of Dungeons & Dragons® (D&D®), and Gary Gygax, he who made it all happen from the maproom to the boardroom, and from the figurines to the seven-figure profits. Meanwhile Rob's name will forever remain associated with the legendary Castle Greyhawk and his no-less-legendary character, Robilar. So yes, we are about stuff of legend here.

A timeless piece of gaming that is set to become a collectible!

Although Rob was one of the youngest in the original crew, back in the early 1970s, his formative years in Lake Geneva (WI) amongst a bunch of creatives and visionaries, shaped his style, honed his craft and nurtured his talent. Bear in mind that Rob has never sold out. He has remained true to his core values, and not lost sight of the power of creativity as a game designer, and imagination as a gamer - and how to unleash them both and keep them up. Rob has never ceased to be a prolific author and designer either. When he's away from the public eye, you can be sure he's holed up at home working on a project.

Throughout his career that spans more than 40 years, Rob has authored an impressive number of adventure modules and has consistently remained a firm RPG favourite amongst his loyal fan-base and those Original D&D® (OD&D®) afficionados.

Gem of many designs! The Sunken City adventure module has an original artwork by Jim Roslof.

Tread carefully for Rob doesn't want to be typecast. To associate him solely with the world of RPG would be to deny him his versatility. He branched into new territory years ago, as a screenplay writer and a novelist, and now as a game design theory author, with a few books in the pipeline!

Rob's brand new company, Three Line Studio partnered with TLB Games earlier this year in order to capitalise upon his impressive intellectual property. As a starting point, they produced El Raja Key Archive, a retrospective of his early work, brought together under the DVD project as The Collected Maps, Manuscripts, and RPG Artifacts of Robert J. Kuntz.

Rob's classic RPG adventures: imagination unleashed!

Fans are rewarded with four editions to choose from: Basic, Standard, Deluxe and Collector's. Psst, if you want to feel spoilt and special, go the extra mile and stretch your dime: treat yourself to the Collector's edition!

The DVD is a must-have, not only for the die-hard OD&D® aficionados and Rob's loyal fanbase but also to a new generation of gamers looking to explore the origins of D&D® and their legendary adventures. 

El Raja Key Archive DVD is a testimony to Rob's 40-year+ legacy, packed-full with fascinating OD&D® material that harks back to the origins of the game. With Christmas only four weeks away, this is one experience that will make you think (and strategise!) outside the box. Happy gaming y'all!

Source: All imagery via TLB Games.

Presidential Showdown: Triumph for a New Cultural Era

In the wake of the presidential election of Donald J. Trump, the air has turned sharp and crisp with optimism and the promise of a reborn America like our parents had enjoyed. A new dawn is rising over the socialist paradigm swamp that had gripped the West since before our parents were even born (1930s), namely The Frankfurt School, serving under different guises the socialist agenda that is now in full swing.



Thanks to Mr. Trump, the global agenda of the private interests and corporate elites has been exposed to a wider segment of the population, and the new presidency will tackle it. Mr. Trump assured that under his presidency no dream will be too big. The forgotten man and the forgotten woman will rise and the USA will become prosperous again.

Alongside it, the cultural marxism that has infiltrated, compromised and jeopardised the mainstream media (MSM), education, religion, morality, family, employment, private property, cultural identity, national sovereignty, and thought process, will be challenged further and hopefully dismantled by the powers that be. The population will hopefully join in once they come to the realisation that they have been duped all along under the false premise of freedom of speech and freedom of choice.



Political change in America will send ripple effects and political change to Europe. Now unless you were born in Europe and have been enlightened about the detrimental effects of socialism and communism to a Nation, you will have no idea of the levels of mediocrity that European nations have been forced to sink to under the EU-UN umbrella over the last 35 years, and this includes design and lifestyle.

You will understand that as a design blog, Mirabelle has an obligation to report these facts to you and get political. I do respect voters choice yet I cannot help but be baffled by the Hollywood backlash against Trump and the dissent from the college kids who should know better but would rather burn the American flag and envisage their whole lives under a jobless, future-devoid, open-border, state-controlled economy that only serves the likes of Goldman Sachs, Bilderberg Group, George Soros, Monsanto and nefarious trade agreements like the TPP. Get a grip, kiddos!

(Pict source)

Although Mirabelle has strong reservations regarding Trump's policies for the environment, the new presidency will however redefine a new society, and creativity will soar to new heights like skyscrapers. Mirabelle is launching a new series: TrumpPower. Over the coming weeks, we will be exploring and celebrating the representation of prosperity and success in culture, art, design and fashion. Stay tuned!

Source: (1) The Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump John Lewis Christmas Ad, is based upon (2) the British high street retailer John Lewis Christmas Advert 2016 that was cleverly 'reworked' by the creative crew at Joe. You gotta love Buster the Boxer... and the garden critters! (3) Congratulations to President-Elect Trump and to Vice President-Elect Pence on their electoral win! Thank You America photograph, via Donald J. Trump's official website.

Slate & Peppermint

As I was stood there on my local beach the other day with Tickle, two words popped into my mind: Slate & Peppermint. Slate like the colour of the sky and the sea in this incredible reflective display as the back-end of Summer comes crashing down into Autumn. Peppermint as the vegetation, parched and burnished after a hot unrelenting few weeks, is awaiting the long overdue salvation of the rain. I'll see you on the other side of the rainbow!

Source: Photography Mirabelle Design Inspiration.

Tiny Housing, Grand Living: Orii di Corsica

Welcome to our brand new series, Tiny Housing, Grand Living. Herein Mirabelle explores compact living habitat under all its guises, spanning climates, cultures and timelines. I am starting off with a bang and a WOW! of wonder, with the integration of tafoni (honeycombed rock surfaces) into the built environment, with whimsical faerical results! Just follow me down the southern part of the Mediterranean island of Corsica.

Those under-rock troglodyte shelters are called Orii in Corsican (Oriu, singular). They look like they might have - either directly or coincidentally - influenced  fantasy authors (and graphic artists!), and one would be forgiven for thinking Tolkien and The Smurfs Village as they tread the smooth rockfaces and climb the sea-salt-polished boulders surrounding those enchanted mushroom-shaped dwellings. The shelters are perfect examples of a harmonious integration of nature into human habitat.

Originally used as shelters in prehistoric times (as far back as 7,000-10,000 BC), those peculiar ground-level caves were later rendered more habitable by nomadic shepherds who erected dry-stone walls to close off openings. The shelters were also used as granaries. Oriu di Grossetto (pict 1-2) depicts this fascinating contrast between the smooth mushroom-like cap and its weathered, hollowed basis. Meanwhile Oriu di Canni (pict 4-6), with its pointed spire-like structure, resembles a chapel. This article being only a synopsis, many more Orii of note are to be contemplated at Ma Corse!

Sources: (1) Double Oriu di Grossettu and (2) Arche du Chaos de Grussettu (Grossetto Tafoni Arch), photography by Corse Sauvage, via Flickr (18-Jan-2012). Further details (in French) from their informative website, Blog Corse Sauvage. (3) Oriu de Caldarello, photography by Ma Corse (Jean-Marie Vergès). Further details (in French) from their comprehensive Orii section. (4) Oriu di Canni, photography by Christian Comiti, via Flickr. (5) Oriu di Canni, photography via Perierga (article in Greek). (6) Oriu di Canni, photography by Loïc Colonna. (7) A tafoni close-up (for reference only): Tafoni Sandstone Rock, from El Corte de Madera Park, San Mateo County, California, photography by randomtruth, via Flickr. "Tafoni are small cave-like features found in granular rock such as sandstone, granite, and sandy-limestone with rounded entrances and smooth concave walls, often connected, adjacent, and/or networked. They often occur in groups that can riddle a hillside, cliff, or other rock formation. They can be found in all climate types, but are most abundant in intertidal areas and semi-arid and arid deserts. Currently favored explanations controlling their formation include salt weathering, differential cementation, structural variation in permeability, wetting-drying, and freezing-thawing cycles, variability in lithology, case hardening and core softening, and/or micro-climate changes and variation (i.e. moisture availability). Tafoni have also been called fretting, stonelace, stone lattice, honeycomb weathering, and alveolar weathering." (source: Wikipedia).

Sweet Sensations

This is one chemistry lesson we won't want to skip! No boring textbook or crazy professor tagging the blackboard with obscure chemistry theorems in double-Dutch speak. Here we have liquid poetry in motion, harmless explosions revealing their complexity, dilutions into water creating swirly bursts of colours mixing into ombrés, captured on camera, immortalised in their fleetingness by a host of talented artists. The inky shots lend a cocktail of special effects, illusory textures, modern ballet choreography, 3D profoundness that captivate and take us to the antichamber of dreamscape and the imaginary before they evanesce.

If only our science teachers had used the trick as a way to captivate a class of pesky teens to illustrate themes based around the periodic table of chemical elements, molecular formulae, density and gravity, then kids like myself would have given science more than a passing glance. Now I simply cannot take my eyes off those little beauties:

Source: (1) and (2) Part of Marcel Christ's non-commissioned 'Pario' series, via Wired. The paint and water mix was blasted with compressed air and captured at the staggering shutter speed of 1/10,000th of a second, to immortalise pattern effects that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye! The result creates unique one-of-a-kind ephemeral abstract artforms that look set in glass (akin to those glass marbles or paper weights that enclose swirly patterns). (3) and (4) From the 'a due Colori' personal portfolio by Alberto Seveso, via Behance (3), which also applies the high-speed camera process to an ink and water mix. We would be forgiven for mistaking the liquid mix for crunched organza or magnified close-ups of pollen! (5) and (6) 'Abstract 1931b', both part of the 'Across the Volumes' series by Kim Keever, via Co.Design. Artistry comes out of diverse talented guises. Take ex-NASA thermal engineer Keever, who has channelled his creativity via visual effects created by dropping industrial paint tints into 200-gallon fish tanks, with a scientific approach. "The natural properties of the different pigments allow them to move in different ways through water molecules" (via Co.Design). Here pigments and water create clouds reminiscent of renaissance paintings.

New Year Pep Talk

Symbolically a New Year heralds a new beginning, a new lifecycle, an upsurge in energy and positive vibes, boosted by a plethora of desires, hopes, wishes, ambitions and resolutions. Come the second or third week of the year however, the outlook might appear a touch less rosier for whatever reason, as those hopes might start paling down into the day-to-day reality of life, wishes might start wobbling a notch, and resolutions slowly going up in smoke...

Instead of beating yourself up on those "failing" goals, just celebrate last year's achievements, and break down those ambitions for the New Year into more manageable, achieveable units. How about keeping it simple and down-to-earth, and celebrating the beauty of life, those little things and mundane moments that we tend to take for granted? Slow down the pace of your life to better enjoy the company of your loved ones, take the time to (re)discover your immediate surroundings, take a short journey to the local museum, the next town or the closest place of interest and immerse yourself into it. Make someone's day, bake a cake, perform random acts of kindness, give the local charity a hand, invest your spare time into a hobby or a cause. And in the process, see what you are about, find out who you truly are.

So make it happen in 2013! Find yourself, surprise yourself, and make this your year, your lucky year!

Sources: (1) 'Just Be Cool' gilded poster by thevaguely, via Etsy. (2) Via One Little Bird. (3) Via Crush Cul de Sac.

Z Movie Set

North of Bastia (Corsica) is a kitsch seaside hotel with a colourful and eccentric reputation that goes beyond its love affair with concrete posts and crazy paving. Its grounds double up as an alfresco impromptu modern art centre, with upcycled consumer waste, weathered raw rusty sculptures, metal wreckage, junk and debris. There is an air of neglect and abandonment that confer it that lived-in feel. Facts and fiction blur further as you venture deeper into the lush semi-tropical swampy gardens. The mind boggles and you start wondering whether what you see is meant to be showcased or you have actually entered a parallel universe... Is this a military testing area, an abandonned Soviet bloc resort, a failed Tiki trove, a jumble sale gone wrong or a (Rob) Zombie film set?

Across from the hotel, the pier is a crazy architectural feat, with totems, rusty sculptures, plaster figurines and incongru artefacts flirting with art from afar, broken down by shots of colour, incrustations and mosaics. It seems whoever concreted and partitioned off the creek with the pier had some fun and games trying to liven up the utilitarian look. You either get it or you don't. If in doubt ask the loyal crowd of afficionado hotel residents for their view. What is certain is that you will not remain indifferent to the rawness of it all and that's the name of the game!

The Festival d'arts "Singulièrement Brut" art fest has been in residence at the Hotel Caribou, 20228 Porticciolo, Cagnano, Corsica every Summer since 2006.

Source: All photography © Mirabelle Design Inspiration.

Brooke Shaden: Plunging into Fantasmagoria

Brooke Shaden is a promising young American photographer who brings Pre-Raphaelite proportions to her photography, what with painting quality, evanescent ghostly ambience and a cool symbiosis of stark and riches, plus evocative and thought-provoking titles to match.

Source: All photography by Brooke Shaden: (1) 'Sleepwaker', (2) 'An Intimate Affair', (3) 'The Lion and the Lamb', (4) 'The Inconvenience of Spirits' and (5) 'The Baby's Room'.

Mark Ryden: Pretty in Pink & Sold Out

Art book publisher Taschen features a treasure-trove of creative outlet and American artist Mark Ryden is no exception to the rule, as testified by his highly coveted and now sold-out Pinxit collection.

Source: Taschen. Top illustration is 'Allegory of the Four Elements'. More about Mark Ryden from Signature Illustration.

Because You're Worth it!

'I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.'  ** Marilyn Monroe **

Source: Here is a declaration of independence in feminity, a fresh yet defiant statement of truth that no other young lady than Marilyn Monroe could have mustered with candid honesty and which would decades later end up as a mantra for the modern woman on a Facebook page clocking over 3 million 'Likes' to the counter!

Meanwhile Marilyn spent her short lifetime battling prejudices in their derogatory demeasure brought about by her divine looks and status as a hot sex kitten. The Californian actress who claimed having spent most of the 1950s on her knees, who slept at night wearing only a bra and a drop of Chanel No.5, who hairdried homemade pasta ribbons in her bid to be the perfect housewife to Joe DiMaggio, and who popped uppers and downers like there was no tomorrow, happened to have a thirst for knowledge (Arthur Miller), a quest for cinematic recognition (The Actors Studio) and a general lust for life. She was the product of the American dream, its coming of age and ultimate demise. She remains however one of the most alluring and enduring actresses of all times.

Photographic Sources: (1) 'Marilyn Reading at Home, 1953', via Vi.sualize.us/ Photobucket. (2) 'Marilyn Monroe by Douglas Kirkland, 1961, pt.9, Trials and Errors', via Vi.sualize.us. (3) 'Marilyn Monroe', via Vi.sualize.us.