Celia Birtwell Presents GoodWeave Prize at Decorex International 2011 | GoodWeave Manchester UK

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Celia Birtwell Presents GoodWeave Prize at Decorex International 2011 | GoodWeave Manchester UK. It was a fantastic day, if not a bit nerve racking. Meeting Celia was brilliant and if I'm still designing when I'm her age I'll be chuffed to bits!

The show, the rug, Celia Birtwell and Chelsea pensioners.

Wow what a fantastic four days! Decorex is an amazing mix of interior fixtures, fittings, decoration and people. The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a lovely setting for the whole event, with gardens to wonder round if you fancy some fresh air. The Goodweave stand was fairly busy the whole time, so not much chance to admire the grounds, but plenty of time to meet lots of people and be introduced to new and exciting companies.

The entrance space with it's fantasy based underwater world was lovely to walk through each morning and was designed by NH Design. I particularly liked the shell head board and delicately frilled bedlinen. A lot of the stands had a theatrical edge to them whether it be the bedouin tent of the Rug Company or the seaside themed And So To Bed stand. Our stand was not so theatrical, but my rug was displayed to it's full potential and really stood out. I was quite taken aback when I walked round the corner and saw it there in all it's glory! It got quite a lot of attention and lots of lovely compliments.

Meeting Celia Birtwell was a treat, you could say it was the equivalent of meeting the Queen. She is followed by her entourage always ready to carry her bag. We had some photo's taken and hopefully at some point I'll be able to put one on the blog. I also got a signed copy of her book which I'm looking forward to reading.

The Chelsea pensioners would from time to time make an appearance and it was great to see them in all their regalia. They had a good look round and had chats with people on the stands and were even up for the odd photo. Here you can see them enjoying a nosey round the stands first thing while it was still quite. Their red coats look amazing, but I'm not sure how they manage in the heat as the temperature was 26'C this week in London and hotter in the marque!!

Altogether a fabulous opportunity and one to never forget, I felt very privileged to be there. Thank you to Jacaranda, Woven Ground and GoodWeave for giving me that opportunity.

Looking back in time

Just been having a look at some new collections by some of my favourite companies and there's an interesting feel to this new batch of collections. We've just had a trend for all things science related and inspired by the 1951 Festival of Britain and the remake of old favourites such as Lucienne Day's Clayx. Now we seemed to have moved on slightly, but still in the same vein, naive interpretations of flowers and objects. I love Harlequins Delphinia (top image), with the tall plumes of brightly coloured flowers that flow nicely across the pattern. I also like Sanderson's Fitzroy (bottom image) with the almost faded out colours and simple leaf forms. It certainly seems we are looking back in time when life was much slower and less complicated.

I'll watch out for some of these new collections at Decorex and I'm sure I'll come back inspired and desperate to get designing new repeats!

Decorex International 2011

Decorex International 2011 - ABOUT DECOREX. This is where I'll be in September along with GoodWeave who will be exhibiting my rug. The rug is being made up now as we speak, in Nepal and I'm really looking forward to seeing it when it's finished.

Decorex looks like a fantastic place and I'm sure I will be inspired by all the interior products on show. Only one thing needed now and that's to go and find a posh frock and make sure I look presentable and have my lippy at the ready! If photos are allowed I'll make sure I take plenty so I can show you it when I get back.

Image: Decorex International 2011/Fromental