lord of the manor at ICFF 2013!

hello everyone! happy friday! we have just realised that this time next month, we will be in new york at the ICFF show! how exiting, we just can't wait.

you can take a look at our ICFF profile here, and in the meantime i will be introducing to you in more detail our brand new wallpaper design, 'Lord of the Manor'. we hope you like it, and please do come along to the show to have a look at it in person!

Lord of the Manor

this year we are introducing our new wallpaper design, 'Lord of the Manor'- a damask design with a dreamy countryside theme. as through-and-through city dwellers, we have grown up in the city, and know its attractions and beauty well. we admire the long history and culture that the city has; not just in its iconic buildings and bustling life, but its relationship with the countryside, too. London events like the Horseman's Sunday in Hyde Park, the Chelsea Flower Show and even the 'Thames Beach' on the South Bank all remind us of our connection with the great outdoors. 

one colourway of the wallpaper. you can see the others soon, we promise!

we always feel like we want to sense the seasons and the time of day. on a cold day in winter, we want to be able to feel the warm sunshine of spring, and the beautiful colours that accompany autumn. one thing that has never changed whilst we have lived and worked in the city is that longing for being closer to nature- through a little gardening, sitting outside in the sun or having picnics in the parks that are nestled away in London.  

of course, being typical 'city mice', we don't think we could live without our coffee shops, department stores and art galleries, all wonderful things that we can visit and enjoy at any time in London. but sometimes we dream about the idyllic lifestyle that we can imagine in the countryside. we often 'touch' these areas by going horse riding, visiting the beach and walking our dog in Greenwich park. you could say that we always think romantically of the country- how lovely it must be to don a tweed jacket, silk scarf and ride around on the rolling hills with our family and some sheepdogs! and whilst it may not all be true, and just a little fantasy of the country, it's something that we find very soothing.

a close up of the wallpaper. we decided that the dog's name is 'lon', named after a friendly neighbourhood dog from yukari's childhood!

so this is why we made this wallpaper- to remind us that, even whilst we are in the city, we can still fantasize about 'our countryside'- one romantically populated by horse carriages, Mr Darcy-esque gentlemen, wild pheasants and beautiful manor houses. we have put all of these, our favourite little things, into the wallpaper- we hope you will enjoy this whimsical countryside dream as much as we do.

we hope you are looking forward to this new wallpaper! a reminder that ICFF will be hosted at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on 11th Avenue at 38th Street, and will run from the 18th-21st of May. our stand number is 2420, we really hope to see you there! if you can't make it, then we will be tweeting directly from the event via our twitter account, @ysdlondon as well as updating you on our progress via our facebook page. so no worries if you won't be there to meet us in person, we will be sure to tell you everything in the best way possible!

our new friends KAASA

hello everyone! we hope you are well, and staying warm during this chilly start to spring.

today i'll be telling you about our new retailers, KAASA, located in Saitama, Japan.

in fact, KAASA is opening today, the 10th of April! we want to stay 'omedetou gozaimasu' to katsue-san and asaco-san for the grand opening of their store.

we have been friends with katsue-san and asaco-san for a number of years, and were delighted when they announced that they would be opening up an interiors store in Japan. we were very honoured when they asked to have our cushions, lampshades and wallpapers in their store. at the moment, they are stocking a selection of our London Paris New York cushions, our Cushion #9 range (with an exclusive Henry in the Rain design!), several Sammy the Sausage Dogs, our Wish We Were There tote bags and furoshiki, various lampshades [see below picture] and are displaying our London Paris New York and Wish You Were Here in London wallpapers.

isn't this display great? we love the use of space! the Sammy dogs look very happy!

we are especially excited about being stocked in KAASA because this will be the exclusive place to buy our company's range of home goods in Japan at the moment! we have our wallpaper distributed in Japan by both Kabegami and WALPA, and now that we have a great retailer like KAASA, we are able to stock our cushions and lampshades and other housewares in Japan. so this venture is very exciting for us as a company in London!

KAASA show a creative way of displaying our Wish You Were Here in London wallpaper in the 'Summer Holiday' colourway. the display method is really impressive- this is a traditional Japanese sliding door that katsue-san and asaco-san made themselves. brilliant!

we wish you all of the best in your new business and we would love to visit your beautiful store one day! katsue-san and asaco-san, yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

if you are visiting, or live in Japan, and would like to visit KAASA for everything yukari sweeney design, please do get in contact with them via their web page: http://www.kaasa-komono.com/ i am sure they would be very happy to hear from you! they also have a Facebook page that we really encourage you to 'like'- you can find it by clicking here: https://www.facebook.com/kaasa.komono 

if you have any questions about our international retailers, or are interested in stocking our products in your own store, please do not hesitate to email us at info@yukarisweeneydesign.com! we'd love to hear from you. in the meantime, do visit our facebook for up-to-the-minute updates from us all here at yukari sweeney design.

our collaborations- an update!

hi everyone! isn't the sunshine great? teddy's been enjoying the park even more now the days are getting lighter.

i'm just popping in to let you know that a few new products of ours from the S/S 2013 range have been launched on the Debenhams site. we are very excited to see them!

our 'british isles' bed spread looks so cute! we love the fresh feeling of this room set too. we hope you will like all the icons and images on there! you can find the bed linen here.

a summer themed travelling mug depicting all the fun to be had on a camping trip. have you been camping before? maybe one day we will get to go- it looks like a great time! you can find the mug here.
the rest of our Debenhams: Editions range, including items from 2012, can be found online as well as in stores nationwide. we hope you will keep an eye out for us if you visit! we are looking forward to seeing the rest of the collection as it is released.

 

and last but not least, the Lady of the Manor wallpaper at Anthropologie has been restocked on the EU site. so if you are still on the lookout for it, now is your chance! you can find the wallpaper here.

we hope you don't mind our lack of updates recently. we are working on some big projects at the moment that we have to keep quiet about! we can't wait to share the news with you though. this year is looking to be very exciting for us! please do stay tuned through our facebook page for up-to-the-minute news on our life in the studio, and sign up to our mailing list for monthly news updates! or, alternatively, do email me with your thoughts at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com. i always enjoy hearing from you! until next time!

happy new year!

hello everyone, we hope you are well. our apologies for being so late in wishing you a happy 2013. things have been very busy- it's shaping up to be an exciting year for us!

one of the many nice things that happened to us at the beginning of the year was having our Japanese agents, WALPA, come and visit us. this time we met mr and mrs hamamoto, ms okamoto and mr hayashi. it was a pleasure to meet you again! we first met at ICFF 2012- you can read all about them here, in this feature blog. it was really fun to see them again for a great meeting and a lovely dinner afterwards- how lucky are we? we are going to be sending our wallpaper books to them for this new year, and we are preparing for that now. stay tuned to this blog and our website for more news on our work with WALPA! we are very excited to work with them.

we were also alerted of our appearing in the sunday times HOME supplement with some of our work for the Debenhams Editions range for 2013. unfortunately we can't reveal too much of what will be launched for this year (yet!) but we are really excited about it- we went to the preview evening, and were so happy with what we saw. we will, of course, be letting you know all about the new range once it has launched in march.

with all of these goings on in the studio, we need all of the help that we can get- so we were very pleased when our hard working intern, Ellie, came along to help us out with our work. she will be joining our team (that is me, Yukari and Teddy) once again, and we are really happy to see her again! above you can see the stickers and labels that she has made for our wallpaper book that will be being sent to WALPA. funny how everything works out, isn't it! we look forward to working with you, Ellie!

 
just a quick reminder that we have a facebook page for you to 'like' and follow, where you can see all of our various goings on in the studio. we finally reached 400 fans a few days ago! that was very exciting for us. you can visit our facebook and twitter accounts any time to say hello- we love to hear from you! until next time, stay warm and happy!

our happy holidays!

hello all, we hope you are well! today at yukari sweeney design we have turned our sights towards christmas. yes, we know it's only november, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared!

you may have seen on our facebook and twitter that we have released a new product, namely our wolfgang in the woods gift stocking. this little wolf is fast becoming our mascot!

little wolfgang will do his best to make sure no one else's paws get into your presents before you do (watch out, snowy)!

these stockings are the perfect gift holder for your loved ones in the holiday season! what will you find inside? our stockings feature a blue, grey and green print of a little wolf and his favourite trees with silver star detailing and cute hand stitch. the reverse features a yukari sweeney design logo with falling snowflakes.

the stockings are available in small ('baby paws') size and large ('big wolves') size, read left to right.

 of course, our 'baby paw' sizes aren't just for little wolf cubs! if you have a present waiting for you in the form of, perhaps, a special little blue box that doesn't require a large stocking, then these smaller sizes are perfect. and a lot easier to fill!

now we turn your attention to our furoshiki- a brilliant alternative to paper wrapping and a great present all in itself. we think it's a great eco-friendly alternative to paper wrapping. our wish we were there furoshiki are the perfect guilt free gift, for yourself or others- the fabric was kindly donated to us by our friends at CADWorks and every proceed we make goes towards tsunami relief in japan, following the 2010 disaster in toúhoku. you can read more about LIFE311 and our charity work in this blog update, to see exactly where your money will be going!

each large furoshiki is 95cm x 95cm and printed on cotton. the folding pattern seen here is 'bin no tsutsumi', which you can see in our furoshiki folding blog updates.

the aim with our furoshiki is that you can fold them in multiple, practical ways in order to reuse them after you have used them to wrap your gift. each furoshiki comes with a sheet of folding ideas, which will give you inspiration to the many ways that you can use your new cloth. of course, feel free to use it as a table cover, throw or even a scarf! the fabric is light enough that it can be used in all kinds of ways, and we think that these gifts are a great idea for something that will last year round, not just during christmas!

for more gift ideas, visit our sample sale; 50% off a large range of lampshades and soft furnishings! use code YSBLOG at checkout for a further 10% off!

 if you want to know any other information or get a little inspiration for your own holiday events, please do contact us via email, our facebook or twitter. it would be great to hear from you!

introducing WALPA!

hello all! we hope you are well. winter is here now, it's very windy and cold- we hope you are wrapped up warm!

today i am introducing you to WALPA Japan, run by the very knowledgeable and friendly mr hamamoto and his team. we first met them in 2011 at ICFF, and have since really enjoyed working with them. they are now an official retailer of ours in Japan, and we are very excited to be talking about them today!

we love their work philosophy: they aim to bring happiness and comfort via wallpaper. they love 'cool, cute and interesting' wallpaper and strive to bring people together through good design. at WALPA, they feel that often japan is regarded as the most 'cool' in terms of culture, fashion and design- but when it comes to interior and home design, 99% of homes have just 'predictable, plain wallpaper'. to them, wallpaper design, no matter how great, seems to be left out when it comes to being creative in the home.
WALPA want to help people regard wallpaper like clothes- something that can be changed as often as we like, with lots of different styles to suit our moods and interests, not just every ten or so years when we feel like we 'have to' change the paper because it is too old. they have decided to collect a group of international wallpaper designers and collectives who share the same passions and principles that they do- being stylish, forward thinking and cool. WALPA aim to 'pour more love into the home' by helping their clients chose the wallpaper they like, when they like!

"Yukari's attractive designs are based on keeping tradition whilst knowing current trends and future classics", says our profile page. we love the cool look of our products on the website! thank you, WALPA!

and check out Aretha, their little four legged friend. we think teddy might have competition for the 'cutest studio dog' award!

WALPA will be stocking all of our wallpaper, and you can find yukari sweeney design's full profile here. as it's a japanese site, it may not be possible for some of you to read the introduction to our company- but rest assured, it is very similar to the 'about us' on our website...so you're not missing out too much!
 

if you have any questions about our international retailers, or are interested in stocking our wallpapers in your own store, please do not hesitate to send us an email! we'd love to hear from you. in the meantime, do visit our twitter and facebook for up-to-the-minute updates from us all here at yukari sweeney design.

our friend Kei

hello all, we hope you are well and coping with the sudden autumnal weather; umbrellas at the ready!

this week, i'll be showing you a bespoke order from a very familiar face; kei, former Sweeney member and a great friend and helper of ours here at yukari sweeney design. you may remember that he was very instrumental in the making of a lot of sammy the sausage dogs as well as the setting up of our stands at past shows like 100% Design. kei has recently moved back to japan and has set up his own salon in tokyo. congratulations kei! we are all very proud of you.

here we have unpacked the just-made lampshades to check them over. we sent this photo to kei, who was very happy!

kei ordered, alongside some wish you were here in london wallpapers and sammy the sausage dogs, four lampshades; one large manor house damask shade, and three bespoke designed individual london paris new york shades. he had decided that the large shade was to hang in the reception/ waiting area, and that the three london paris new york lampshades would hang above each of the hairdressing chairs on the salon floor. given kei's love of stamps, we are certainly not surprised that he chose this range!

clockwise from left; london, paris, new york features on 10"x10" box shades.

for the three smaller hanging designs (pictured above), kei decided that he wanted three similar shades as they were to be hung over the cutting chairs. his ceiling is quite high, too, so the design had to be bold enough that details could easily be picked up. for each of the three lampshades, yukari decided to concentrate on one city per shade, highlighting the iconic buildings and scenes that the cities are famous for. the background colour was also altered for each, with a sunny yellow being used in paris, a nautical blue for new york, and a fresh green for london.

kei also ordered a large (20"d x 12"h) lampshade in our manor house damask 'spring' design for his reception area.

we think kei's use of the larger shade over the reception is a great idea, almost like a fresh take on a chandelier being the focal point of a meeting area! since the shade is so large, yukari and kei decided on a more subtle colour scheme and design would be a good idea, so as not to overpower the other elements of the salon- like our wish you were here in london 'summer holiday' wallpaper, which can be seen in the picture above. he has always helped us out with his wallpaper hanging skills, so we're happy to see very neatly hung paper here! he also sells sammy the sausage dogs- he is the master of making things, after all, so it's only right that he has a few of them himself!

we love kei's use of vintage feeling stamps- not only does he have them on the lampshades, he has made a laptop cover and decorated his partition, too. doesn't it all look great?

we are so happy that kei has used so many of our products in his salon. if you are ever in tokyo, now you know where to go if you are interested in seeing our products- and getting a haircut by a very talented stylist, of course! we'll have the exact details of kei's salon coming soon- he is currently building a website for it, so we will keep you updated.

for more bespoke profiles and products, take a look at our facebook- and our twitter often has behind the scenes looks at studio life. or, if you're after a bespoke project or products yourself, please do drop us an email or take a look at our website. we are always happy to talk with you and answer any questions you may have!