Flannel, Foxglove and One Fancy Fox

You know how it goes: you start off reading something online and end up caught in an interweb that steals hours from your life, hours which you will never get back. Sometimes though, you can turn this to your advantage, especially if you are an artist in search of inspiration - or more prosaically - if you have a blog to feed.

I started off this Brett Ryder journey by logging into my inbox, looking at a newsletter from the Balance Festival, and from there randomly clicked on one of their sponsors - Arctic Power Berries - that took me right to one of their own sponsors - Fenwick - and there this illustration from The Summer Season campaign caught my eye. A blog article was born.

The Summer Season campaign by Brett Ryder for Fenwick

The artwork looks a little frivolous, thank goodness, for frivolity is what is needed right now after the last few months my family and I have been through. So a little sunshine and a smattering of quirky characters and floral embellishments will do us fine. Besides, an ode to Summer will always get our votes, especially after a rather long Winter packed with bitterly cold days and nights spent in a Medieval house with no central heating and a leaking roof terrace!

More surrealism with a softer side is to be had when you browse Brett Ryder's agency portfolio. Here are a few notable pieces:

 'Can you build softer skills?' article for Construction Manager magazine, artwork by Brett Ryder

'I couldn't get anywhere' article for Brummell magazine, ibid.

Health Affairs, MERS in the Middle East, ibid.

Action for Happiness for The Telegraph, ibid.

'Rites: A Childhood in Guatemala', by Victor Perera for Beat #6, published by Heart, ibid.

Nongfu Spring mineral water bottle label - 'Summer', artwork by Brett Ryder

Wahey, if that bottled water taste as magical as its label, we are in for a treat!

Make sure to check out Brett's website portfolio.

Say it with Flowers

When words fail to express how much I miss you, and fail to lend me the strength to hold my own onto that ship...

While your being gone has cast our lives into disarray like a tempest unforeseen, bashing us castaways against the harshness of our depleted surroundings, wreak havoc our lives, split open our hearts...

Despite your not being afar for I can feel you around, softly brushing past, hesitant tip-toe, lingering into regretful embrace, gliding up and down the Stairway to Heaven in nocturnal errance...

If only you whisked me along.

Bloomers Flowers & Decor

How I care to imagine living a day without you and still carry it through, whether my life will be whole again despite the hole that you left...

How what mattered yesterday has come to pass and lies at our feet in its irrelevant, insignificant splendour...

And whether I seek to explain to the rest of you here - or not,

I shall never cease to love you.

When words lack a word and words fail your hurt, elude or go astray, laced into the atemporality of the present hurt...

You have to forget the words and forgive them too.

And let flowers do the talking for you.

© Nathalie Hachet Kuntz, 11-Apr-2018

Happy New Year from Yesteryear

As the New Year is kicking into gear, and our idea of the obligatory New You is following suit, it is all too tempting to map it out of Brand New Things as opposed to just New Things! Now hold on. How about turning back the clock, especially as far as those vintage French New Year fancy cards (a.k.a. mignonettes) are concerned?

Bonne Année (1908)

The design of those yesteryear cards bears more gusto and compulsion than today's watered-down/ minimalistic representations. Look at those freestyle calligraphic fonts embossed in gold dust and swathed in flowers, a call for Spring in the thick of Winter: how dainty and desirable are they!

Bonne Année (year unknown)

Picture the scene: you get ready for breakfast, check the post as coffee is percolating away, and bring back half a dozen of those adorable mignonettes from the letterbox to your kids and spouse. Open them together and relish on the sweet words sent out to your family by other loved ones, as you sip café au lait and munch on chocolatines. Rejoice in the knowledge that the senders are receivers too as they too are experiencing the tokens of family joy which you sent them. 

Happy New You, Y'All!

Bonne Année (1912)

Bonne Année (1909)

Bonne Année (1906)

Bonne Année (1908)

Source: Move over, eBay, the big boys are in town! Delcampe is the specialised ephemera auction site from Belgium that describes itself as the greatest marketplace for collectors, with a current offering of almost 80 million items from the world over - I kid you not!

Postcards (> 46.4 million items to choose from!), postage stamps (> 22.8 million!), books, magazines and comics (> 2.6 million), old papers (> 2.5 million, anything from autographs to invoices and lottery tickets!), numismatics (> 1.1 million!), and other collectibles (> 3 million, including photography, advertising and music). From the commonplace to the rare collector piece, from the affordable to the extravagant, from the dilettante à la Mirabelle to the serious hobbyist à la J. Paul Getty, Delcampe has it covered.

Bilingual, so why not? A Happy New Year (1908)

You may kickstart your collecting career with less than five dollars to spare, making you the proud owner of a 100-year-old greeting card (see above). Collecting has to start somewhere and it might as well start with those as the risk factor is close to nil. Note the strong use of symbology for love, luck, happiness, peace, eternity and prosperity: heart, four-leaf clover, horseshoe, lily of the valley, dove, forget-me-not and mistletoe. (1) Bonne Année greeting card from 1908. (2) Bonne Année greeting card (year unknown). (3) Bonne Année greeting card from 1912. (4) Bonne Année greeting card from 1909. (5) Bonne Année greeting card from 1906. (6) Bonne Année greeting card from 1908. (7) A Happy New Year greeting card from 1908. Cards (1) to (6) are still available to purchase.

Literary Classics by The Folio Society

The old adage, 'Don't judge a book by its cover', is a cracking old chesnut - especially when aimed at... books! We understand it unwise to base an opinion upon the look of a book alone, and by extension to everything and everyone we come into contact with in life. As much as we are trying to underplay this though, poor artwork does no justice to a good story whatsoever!

A novel, a political treatise, or a poem anthology, for example, might not command the imperious need for illustration per se, yet a little visual wouldn't go amiss. We would expect a few lithographs or photographs for a cookbook, travel guide or garden book - as essential descriptive triggers that entice you to turn your hand to a recipe, visualise a place or identify a particular plant - yet in my life I have come across books within those disciplines that were devoid of such illustrative artefacts. A big let down!

Overall, books with any sort of visual appeal (slipcase, dust jacket, binding, illustrations, endpapers, etc.) are bound to be more eye-catching and engaging than those that puritanically resemble an austere brick on the outside, and open up to an uninterrupted flow of words, cover to cover, without much as a blank page or typographical embellishment to punctuate - lighten up - the flow. War & Peace, anyone?!

Inveterate book worms might shrug this off as a bout of coquettishness, superficiality or distraction on my part. But bear with me on this one; our modern times are so infused with visual stimulus that we find it hard to imagine a book without the seeming artifice of decor. Artifice, come again! If you come across a book you know nothing about, your first opinion will be subjectively based upon its looks. To the design-conscious and those in touch with their feminine side, the book cover is an appetizer, the first encounter, the deal breaker as to whether or not they will wish to find out more about the book, grab it, leaf through it and purchase it... or leave it behind on the shelf and walk away.

A book makes more sense when it is illustrated. It makes it whole; it personifies it and makes it come to life. Of course disaster may strike there too: you do get those books with great word content, marred by a disappointingly poor set of images - I have encountered those in spades! Not helping the final purchasing decision, unless you can just blank them out and concentrate on words alone.

As a niche upmarket publishing company that respects both authors and readers in their expectations, with collector appeal and hence no compromise over quality of detail and creativity, The Folio Society (est. 1947) understands that literary classics deserve impeccable styling. The house delivers "carefully crafted editions of the world’s finest literature". There you are welcomed by creativity across the board and books that are anything but bland, cheap and predictable. Literature is praised and embraced as an art, where it feels special once again. A nice observation to be had when Amazon's mass-consumerism is pretty much crushing out the last gasps of what a great book should be looking like: fine and regal! A beautiful book makes for a beautiful read.

"We believe that great books deserve to be presented in a form worthy of their contents. For nearly 70 years we have celebrated the unique joy to be derived from owning, holding and reading a beautiful printed edition." - The Folio Society

Sources: All books published by The Folio Society, do check out the production credentials! (1)  Paradisaea apoda, illustration by John Gould and William Hart, from A Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise by Richard Bowdler Sharpe, 1891–98., © The University of Manchester. Extracted from The Malay Archipelago: The Land of the Orang-Utan and the Bird of Paradise by Alfred Russel Wallace. Introduced by George Beccaloni, preface by Steve Jones. Bound in printed and blocked cloth. Set in Dante. Volume one: 392 pages; volume two: 352 pages. Frontispiece and 32 pages of colour plates in each volume. Maps and over 60 integrated black & white illustrations in total. Blocked slipcase. P.S: The Paradisaea apoda illustration is also found in the limited edition, Sharpe's Birds of Paradise by

Richard Bowdler Sharpe, which collates his 79 plates. Introduction by Sir David Attenborough.

(2-5) Montage by Mirabelle, assisted by Picmonkey. Clockwise from left: (2) Paradisaea apoda, cf. (1) for details.

(3) The Darling Buds of May by H.E. Bates. Introduced by Ian Jack, illustrated by Alice Tait. Bound in cloth. Printed with a design by Alice Tait. Set in Bembo. Frontispiece and 6 colour illustrations. 160 pages.

(4) The Camberwell Beauty and Other Stories by V.S. Pritchett. Selected and introduced by William Trevor, illustrated by Clifford Harper. Bound in cloth, printed and blocked with a design by Clifford Harper. Set in Goudy. Frontispiece and 10 colour illustrations. 408 pages.

(5) The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Illustrated by Eric Fraser. Bound in paper blocked in gold with a design by Francis Mosley. Set in Fournier with Omnia display. 19 black & white illustrations. Printed map endpapers. 248 pages.

"In the digital age, information is served to us instantaneously. Success is measured by speed, and we can dispose of the written word at the click of a mouse. This is why Folio books are the perfect tonic. We offer the reader an opportunity to pause and reflect; to spend time appreciating beauty and wisdom. The books we select for publication are timeless – and in the editions we produce, they will be enjoyed and valued now and in generations to come." - ibid

(6-9) Montage by Mirabelle, assisted by Picmonkey. The Temple Flora, by Robert Thornton, a Folio Society limited edition, introduced by Stephen Harris. Illustrations clockwise from top left: The Queen Flowers, The Aloe, The American Cowslip, Night-Blowing Cereus. Quarter-bound in Nigerian goatskin, cloth sides. Front board printed and blocked with design by David Eccles from 'The Night-Blowing Cereus'. 232 pages with 9 preliminary monochrome plates, 5 preliminary colour plates and 29 flower illustrations. Text printed on felt-marked Modigliani Neve paper and plates printed on Modigliani Insize. Green ribbon marker, coloured top edges. (10) Commentary volume by Stephen Harris, The Temple Flora, presented in solander box, bound in buckram, 128 pages.

@MirabelleDesign @bloglovin Thank you! We're so pleased you enjoy our editions 😀

— The Folio Society (@foliosociety) March 13, 2017

@foliosociety You are so welcome! A beautiful book makes for a beautiful read. Your editions are delightful! 😀

— Mirabelle Design Ⓥن (@MirabelleDesign) March 15, 2017

The Garden Beckons

A garden is Man's vanity project, a reinterpretation of nature for our own comfort: growing the edible and cultivating the eye-pleasing. It is an extension of the home, a solace, a place where we unwind and kids play safely. A space where we surrender our thoughts; we let our mind wander and there it takes us down its wondrous pathways... There is the private garden and the public garden, and off the charts is the secret garden, a personal host to the unkempt thoughts and the ordered ones, the wise desires and the wilder ones.

A vegetable and fruit garden is a practical way of attending the land and yields crop to our labouring hand. The practical garden certainly was so for our elders living in rural communities and to which land had to be productive, not stand idle. What else is a garden? A garden is a place of observation - an observatory of sorts - where the little seed we planted rewardingly comes to be, and the pruned shrub has been lent a hand so it shall draw the vigour that will make it strong and prosper. A garden is a testimony for oneself and others. There is nothing more satisfying than to be the custodian of a plant or shrub or tree that an elder lovingly put into soil and nurtured, for future generations to enjoy and care for in turn. For I do believe strongly that there is a little of us that lives on with each plant that we commit ourselves to.

Sources: (1) Where to start? Garden inspiration might nudge you down the local flower shop, or it could just be a walk in the countryside or a spot of sunshine... The Little Potting Shed of Tarporley, Cheshire, is the little sister of The Potting Shed of Alderley Edge, an exclusive leafy Cheshire town south of Manchester. (2) There is a lot of action going on in horticulturist, writer and BBC presenter Alys Fowler's garden and its size (20ft. x 16ft.) debunks the assumption that one shall need ample space in order to grow a wide variety of plants. Alys's compact garden is a punch to the senses; it is packed-full with colours, textures, aromas and edible plants! Her facetious Jack Russell Terrier Isabelle lends a hand, oops a paw! Photography via Pinterest and believed to originate from BBC. (3-5) Britain has some of the most inviting nurseries/ garden centres in the world, replete with oodles of style and Venusian charm, an effortless romantic inclination, and an attention to detail and presentation. This craftsmanship comes together as a living Liberty pattern (or other favourite British florals) or a canvas to a poem, that distill your experience as quintessentially British! And wait a minute! Those nurseries also cater for the palate (oh, the plump freshly-baked Victoria sponge cakes!), and the home in equal measures of style. Petersham Nurseries, Richmond, Surrey is one example of that very British quintessence. (6) Wispy Verbascum like this one pictured by Norwegian lifestyle blog Roser og Patina will be noticed in the cottage garden and stand its own amidst lupins, foxgloves and delphinium. (7) Digitalis purpurea, Foxgloves, Ibid. (8) What came first, chicken or the egg? No worries, a hen is always the bearer of good news: fresh eggs! And it gives the garden and the owner a little company, and a country feel. Hens are friendly, social and curious. Photography by Ali Harper in Georgia, USA, to illustrate the Dandelion Greens and Pepper Omelet recipe designed for Kinfolk magazine. (9) Flowering right now in the wild, on the shaded roadsides of northern Corsica, the elegant and statuesque Bear's Breeches (Acanthus spinosus) can also be grown from a packet, from an online place like Crocus. (10) Pink Sunday Sage (Salvia horminum), a heritage seed by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Co. (pictured below).

Further Inspiration: Find out more fascinating facts about Alys Fowler's life, from BBC Countryfile. Also catch an episode or two of her BBC TV series, The Edible Garden, from Archive.org. Alys's eponymous book, The Edible Garden may be purchased from Barnes & Noble.

'If I had a magic wand, I’d like to see what would happen if we’d never had the Enclosures Acts and still had small-scale subsistence farmers, where the land was not owned by the few but by the majority. It would be interesting to watch how that played out and whether our lack of understanding about food and where it comes from has partly been caused by the fact we have capitalised the countryside for the benefit of a few individuals.' - Alys Fowler interviewed by BBC Countryfile

P.S: More garden inspiration from Mirabelle, Mirabelle's Secret Gardens, and La Baguette Magique!

Love it! Your gardens are beautiful! https://t.co/BO4uJgho1J

— Baker Creek Seeds (@rareseeds) June 14, 2016

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).

A Wonderful Winter Wedding...

If you follow Mirabelle's sister blog La Baguette Magique, you will have found out my big news: I just got married to the loveliest man there is, Roby! Our Big Day was an intimate affair - only close family members - and no lavish ceremony. It was all about pared-down simplicity.

Though needs to be said that we forfeited neither style nor elegance. However we dispensed of the following: wedding planner, professional photographer, personal florist, bridesmaids, wedding attire, hire limo, band/ DJ, private chef... and five-course banquet for that matter. Sorry if this may not be the idea of a fairytale wedding for some of you, yet for both Roby and I, it was exactly the way we both wished our Big Day to be: low-key and fuss-free. A by-product of low-key and fuss-free meant that our wedding came out to be inexpensive, yet not in the sense of tight-fisted or cheap, i.e. lacking the essentials or attention to detail. Ours was inexpensive *and* luxurious!

Here let me share with you a few hints and tips on how to achieve an inexpensive fuss-free wedding reception that does look the part:-


Wedding Venue:

The wedding lunch took place at my parents' house.

Table Decor:

Living on an island miles from the closest town, we had to make do in terms of floristry for instance. From the local general store, my mum picked a small cream rose bush whose pot she wrapped up in foil and then wrapped in a heirloom crocheted doily held together by an elastic band. She also picked a bouquet of mixed flowers (pink carnation, chrysanthemum, red rose, gerbera, pistacia lentiscus, papyrus, etc.) that she placed in a tall crystal vase.

Flowers instantly add grace and elegance!

Table Linen:

Family heirloom embroidered white linen that belonged to my grandma, dating back to the 1930s, and still in pristine condition. Our ultra-special family occasion linen!

Making a statement with heirloom pieces...

Tableware:

Making a statement with heirloom pieces, and going tone on tone, as white on white is so chic! White porcelaine de Limoges plates. Silverware & crystalware, family heirloom pieces from early 20th century to the 1960s.

... and white on white is so chic!

Menu Fayre:

Mostly buffet style finger food for the apéritif and first course, laid out on trays placed on the dining table: canapés (of thin gingerbread slices spread with fig and walnut jam and finished off with a layer of soft blue cheese); cherry tomatoes sliced halfways and held together on cocktail sticks with a dice of artisan smoked/ cured meat in the middle; courgette (zucchini) fritters; freshly-made mushroom pizzas from the local bakery, sliced in bite-size squares, shop-bought savoury palmiers, fresh grapes, cheese bites.

The Buffet Table

Main Course:

Scallops in a white wine sauce prepared by my mum, served straight off the oven in their individual fancy ramekins. 

Dessert:

Galette des Rois, ordered fresh from the bakery. The galette is an Epiphany pastry speciality from France, made up of puff pastry filled with Frangipane (almond paste). We personalised it by serving it with homemade candied kumquat slices and caramelised persimmon slices. [P.S: If you are feeling adventurous, why not make your own Galette des Rois, from scratch! Try David Lebovitz's recipe.]

Roby's favourite French sweet is a Christmas chocolate speciality called Papillote!

Beverages:

Champagne (Charles Lafitte and Alfred Rothschild et Cie) from apéritif through to dessert. Some dry white wine served with the scallops. Mineral water and upmarket apricot juice as soft drinks.

 Afters:

Black coffee served in English china cups, and chocolate fancies, including Papillotes.

Our wedding dog Tickle never got himself in a pickle with his wedding collar on!

Source: (1) Mirabelle montage of Magical Thinking Henna Letters 'N' (Nathalie) and 'R' (Roby) by Urban Outfitters. (2-9) Photography by Mirabelle.

The Tile Files: Majolica

In interior design and the decorative arts, an Italian noun that rolls off the tongue in a little dance usually has a lot of premise to it, and Majolica is one of those words! Welcome to Mirabelle's monthly design series, The Tile Files. We've had quite a journey so far, from Tomettes to Mosaics, via Azulejos and Delftware, and right now we are about to embrace the wondrousness of Majolica in its bold design, rich decorative layers, deep strong colours and endearing crackled glaze. 

Tin-glazed Earthenware Dish, via The Metropolitan Museum of Art

As much as Majolica is mellifluous by name and by nature, it seems that its heyday is being reinvented by every major art movement. First off, Majolica is a generic term. Scratch its veneer and you find a confluence of timelines and spaces, yet rooted in the same influences. For the purpose of our tile-based research, we aim to concentrate mostly on Victorian Majolica decorative tile, although we need to be aware of other variants of the ware, most notably the decorative tin-glazed earthenware of Maiolica, popular in Italian Renaissance (14th-16th century). The name is believed to be a Medieval Italian reference to the Balearic island of Majorca, a pottery stopover on the Hispano-Moresque wares trade route to Italy. Maiolica ware was mostly used for presentation dishes, drinking vessels and apothecary jars. The designs on the wares depicted a scene or told a story as istoriato wares do.

Art Nouveau Floral Majolica Tile, via Tile Heaven

In general, Victorian Majolica is known to be brightly coloured, richly adorned, layered, moulded and embossed, with emphasis upon florals and curves. Contrasting from the multi-coloured designs are the monochrome ones, which play on the depth and intensity of one single colour, from deep and dark to watered down to a watercolour effect. Closely-guarded trade techniques produce the high-gloss lead-glazed finish, with other effects of translucency and opacity being also achieved. Alongside colour and finish, relief techniques were achieved, by means of cloisonné, tube-lining (a.k.a. slip-trailing), or barbotine (raised painted slip decoration). Stencilled slip tile designs befit the streamlined industrialised processes. Meanwhile the advent of the Arts & Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau will confer Majolica a modernist, angular and voluptuous decorative edge that bridges the gap between the 19th and 20th century.

Art Nouveau Majolica Tile, via Tile Heaven

Historically-speaking, Mintons Ltd. (part of The Minton Tile Companies) is the English pottery manufacturer that is the most associated with Victorian Majolica. The firm started off under Thomas Minton, producing blue transferware for dinnerware, including the popular Chinese-inspired Willow pattern. His son Herbert Minton took the family business to pastures new (with a resolutely modern, design-led approach), branching out into decorative encaustic tiles, and forming partnerships with designers and architects in the process, attending worldwide trade fairs and gaining recognition as high-profile contracts were signed. Minton took on French engineer Léon Arnoux as Art Director and the latter produced Majolica coloured glazes that gained a lot of attention at the Great Exhibition of 1851.

As much as the second half of the 19th century had heralded Majolica's heyday, the 20th century took the fortunes of the English pottery industry as a whole into disarray, through a series of mergers and restructurations that progressively squeezed innovation out of the production model and with it the richness that had been experienced in earlier times. Staffordshire, the pottery county of Britain par excellence, took a hard blow in the process. This bittersweet statement shouldn't prevent us from admiring and appreciating those designs of the past that actually appear so contemporary and fresh through their choice of bold colours and inventive motifs.

Art Nouveau Tile by Sherwin & Cotton, via Art Nouveau Tiles

Sources: (1) Tin-glazed Earthenware Dish, late 14th century, Tuscany, Italy, via The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (2-3) via - and available to purchase from - Tile Heaven. Let us note in passing their interesting history of art section on Majolica. (2) Art Nouveau Floral Majolica Tile, manufactured in the U.K. by Corn Bros, circa 1900, features the popular Victorian and Art Nouveau theme of foliage and florals. The central motif resembles a blue poppy, with a foliage border surround. Interestingly the motifs sit at the intersection between Victoriana and Art Nouveau, with signs of Victorian exuberance, as opposed to the more rigid and restrained (stylised) geometric representations of Art Nouveau, as found for instance in the (3) Art Nouveau Majolica Tile, manufactured by id., circa 1905. Further fine examples of Majolica tiles may be viewed from Tile Heaven. (4) Art Nouveau Tile, circa 1910, by Sherwin & Cotton (1877-1911), via Art Nouveau Tiles. The website boasts a fine Art Nouveau collection, with some stunning examples by the likes of Marsden Tile Works, Alfred Meakin and Pilkington.