yukari sweeney design

a belated happy new year!

2012-01-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

hello all, we hope you are well. we're very sorry for not posting a blog update until now, but we have had a very tough start to the year! we'll explain more below. but we hope that your years have gotten off well- good luck with keeping any new year's resolutions!

this week we have been talking to our friend and fellow designer in Tokyo, Joe. he created our websites and soon-to-be-released online shop for us, and as well as keeping us updated about what is popular in design in Japan, he is also a product designer himself- so we are very lucky to have him! this week he showed us pictures from his trip to a boro-ichi, a type of Japanese flea market that is held in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. what makes it so special is that it's only opened up every 15th and 16th of January and December, and draws over 20,000 people- it has also been running since the 1500s, so it's a great event to attend. when he visited, Joe found some really interesting things on display there- we especially love the cast iron kettles, as we have one ourselves!

we would love to see these things ourselves, as looking for upcycled products is a great hobby of ours- be it furniture or things for the home, we really enjoy seeing old objects put to good use again. it's a great way of making life a little bit happier, too- the people in the second photo look like they're enjoying themselves, and you never know what you may find! it would be great to see this kind of market for real some day...we hear the festival they hold as part of the market has really yummy food, too! thanks, Joe, for showing us! you can read a little more about the boro-ichi here.

but now, a little bit of bad news. last week, we found out that our studio space in Greenwich had been flooded during the day. luckily, it wasn't a big flood- a few inches of water- but as our studio space is in a basement, the damage was a lot worse than we were prepared for. we have lost quite a lot of wallpaper, samples and a fabric, which we are very disappointed about! here are some pictures that we took of the damage. crazy isn't it!

we hope to be up and running again soon. sadly, as the flood damaged the floor, we can't work in the studio at present, so we'll be doing all of our work from home! it's a little tough, but we'll get through it. i hope you can be patient with us whilst we get everything sorted.

there is some really good new though, to cheer us up from the week we have just had! our new friend and client Sara from Stockholm, Sweden, has sent us a picture of her daughter's room that she has wallpapered with our Wish You Were Here in London design in the 'Winter Morning' colourway. here are a couple of pictures that she sent us below- day and night!

thank you so much Sara- we hope that you and your daughter can enjoy the design for many years! it looks great. we're very lucky to have such happy clients!

we've added Sara's photos to our facebook album of client's photos- there we have a lot more pictures that we've been sent by our wonderful customers of their beautiful homes with our products in. take a look!

if you have any photos of our products, let us know- we always like to hear from you and, with your permission, will pit them in our facebook album! you can email them to me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com, or leave a comment below, so we can reply to you. of course we also have a twitter, website and facebook for you to follow us on, so there's no excuse not to get in contact!

it's almost christmas!

2011-12-07T04:00:00.001-08:00

hello all, i hope you are wrapped up warm!

today we will be thinking of some different gift wrapping ideas, in the form of our furoshiki, and sharing with you our new studio-cum-shop layout that we have made in Greenwich, London. we hope it inspires you to have a different approach to gift giving this year!

you may remember a while ago our 'tying project' that we made when we launched our range of furoshiki at 100% Design in 2010. we want to remind you again of it as the season for exchanging presents and visiting friends and family arrives- instead of carrying food to a house for a party in a paper bag, why not wrap it in a cloth or one of our furoshiki? there are many different ways of tying the furoshiki to hold wine bottles, presents, food gifts and more! you can see all those ways in the various furoshiki blog posts we have done (here, here and here) telling you how you can tie your own.

our charity furoshiki using the 'bin tstutsumi' method- literally 'bottle folding'!

we think that it's nice to give a friend, family member or loved one something a little different- wrapping paper can be beautiful but it's often thrown away after one use, and can't be used for much else. but if you give somebody a gift wrapped nicely in a special furoshiki, the gift becomes more special and what is on the outside can be treasured just as much as the gift within. all of our furoshiki come with a sheet of folding instructions and presented in a small cardboard box, so if you want to give the gift of a furoshiki on its own, that can easily be done too. there is also the added touch of the furoshiki having been made for charity towards japan- you will be doing a good deed as well as brightening up someone's gift!

we have some good news to bring you about our studio space in Greenwich, London, too- now, as well as having a studio space to work in, we also have a small area in front of our workstations that we are using as a showroom for our lampshades, wallpapers and home accessories.

a few shots of the space, which we hope you can come and visit!

we thought it was about time to have some space to show off our products since launching the wallpapers and cushions that make up our studio collection. now that we are being lent the beautiful 1951 Ernest Race Rocker made for the Festival of Britain, a collaboration piece between ourselves and the lovely people at Firefly House, we want to be able to show it off in a nice way. so we worked with the small display space we had to make a little shop where people are able to come in and browse our products or look through our wallpaper book. we have our studio space to work in, behind the shop area, so we can quietly get on with designing and making nice things for you.

and of course we have teddy to keep an eye on us in his custom-built-by-kei doggy house...

if you are interested in visiting us, please do drop by. you can find our address and a map to follow if you want to find us, on our website! please give us a call if you do want to see us, as we aren't always in. sometimes we have to drop things off or take out our little Teddy monster. if you have any comments or questions please feel free to email me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com, or leave one below, so we can reply to you. of course we also have a twitter, website and facebook for you to follow, so please don't hesitate to get in contact with us! until next time!

our kodomiru christmas

2011-11-30T05:51:00.001-08:00

hello everyone! hope you are well. today we'll be giving you a quick update on our Kodomiru Christmas project.

it's very nearly december, which means it's time for us to send off the gifts to everyone at in Fukushima. Ms Ishimaru, of the kodomiru charity, told us about a school and their wish when we were talking about our role in helping Kodomiru at Christmas time.

in the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, the coastal and some inland towns in Fukushima were completely destroyed, with very little or no remaining buildings left intact. we are helping one of the schools demolished in the flood. they are a pre-school and nursery, caring for children ages 0 to 6. their school was left in ruins by the earthquake, but Ms Ishimaru told us that their christmas tree, which was carefully put away in storage upstairs in the building, was one of the few things that they could retrieve from the wreckage. what a touching story. but of course, all of the decorations were lost. so they needed some help, and that is where kodomiru and yukari sweeney design came in!

here are some photos of what was left of the school. i think you will agree it is a worthy cause to help out with.

we asked our friends and colleagues to help us with getting together some decorations that we could send to Ms Ishimaru for her to give to the school, which has relocated to another school to look after the children. you can read more about that, and the kodomiru charity, in this blog entry posted earlier last month. we were so very pleased and surprised that we got a good response! we have to say a big thank you to the kind messages of support we recieved, as well as the decorations that were sent.

みんな　ありがとう　ごさいます！

thank you so much, everyone!

below are some of the gifted decorations that we were sent. we think they will have a charmingly decorated tree this year! we really do appreciate it, everyone. we hope you will continue to keep supporting us so greatly with our charity work in the future.

lorna at garrendenny lane interiors sent us a big box of elegant decorations and a signed card. thank you lorna!

this is a box of cute baubles from everyone at the illustration studio i work at. we also signed a card! thanks guys!

the brilliant people at the church of london agency sent us this cool decoration and a message to the children. thank you!

and these are just a few of the decorations and gifts we are sending the school, on behalf of yukari sweeney design. we hope they like them!

as ever, please do leave any comments or messages below, or email me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com - we love to hear your thoughts! we also have a facebook, twitter and website for you to visit, all of which we update frequently with pictures and notices of what we are getting up to. we hope you enjoyed reading the blog!

keeping warm through winter

2011-11-17T07:03:00.000-08:00

hello all! it's suddenly turned very chilly, hasn't it. now when we take teddy out we have to wear warm clothes...teddy loves the autumn leaves in greenwich park, though!

today i'll be telling you a little more about the latest project that More Trees/ LIFE311 charity are implimenting to keep the residents of the wooden prefabricated houses warm during the cold winter months. you will remember my blog update telling you about the charity project earlier this year- we are supporting this very worthwhile cause by donating 100% profit from our 'wish we were there' furoshiki and tote bags.

in japan, winters can get extremely cold, and for those left without permanent housing after the earthquake and tsunami earlier this year will be struggling to keep warm inside. though the wooden structures are insulated to an extent, there is no central heating installed, so for the colder months something else must be done in order to maintain a comfortable living environment. this is where the concept of the 'pellet stove' comes in.

we would love to experience and enjoy the warmth of a pellet stove!

pellet heaters are an environmentally friendly, renewable source of energy and heat. they are free standing, natural material burning stoves powered by 'pellets', a 100% recycled product made from manufacturing by-products that would otherwise end up in landfill. these 'pellets' can also be made from wood chips, bark, waste paper and other organic materials. another advantage to the pellet heaters is that they leave minimal mark on pollution levels- the burners don't produce much ash, and only contains 5% moisture- wood has up to 50%- ensuring that smoke pollution is kept low. for a project that relies on sustainable resources, this small detail is very important.

these are the 'pellets'. they look a little like bran cereal, don't they...!

we like this new project because it really emphasises the importance of sustainable energy and of warmth in not just in the body, but in the spirit too. one new owner of a stove, living in the housing project, said 'It's kind of nostalgic, isn't it?' - another resident said 'With the warmth of this stove, we can warm our hearts throughout the cold winter'.

another comforting factor about the stoves is the cost to keep them running through the colder months: for 10kg of pellets, it costs 399¥ - that's approximately £3.20 or $5.10. such a small price for a large bag of pellets is great news, and heartening to the residents of the houses. 'If you compare [the price] to typical winter heating bills, it is a lot cheaper, which puts us at real ease', said one young resident.

as you can see here, the pellet stove produces enough external warmth to keep water warm, reducing the cost used for electric warmers.

the reason for such low costs of manufacturer is the local production for local consumption ethos that LIFE311 maintain. by using a local stove maker in the town to make the stoves and provide the pellets to the houses' residents, they can cut down on the costs used for importing from elsewhere in Japan. not only that, but the installation is performed by the manufacturer and his team from the factory- this way labourer fees are kept to a minimum, but the factory is still able to promote its craftsmanship whilst keeping costs down, as well as keeping locals employed. below are some photos of the installation in progress:

the installation is practical, and because the stoves are a special compact and slimline version, they fit cosily into the home without too much distraction.

LIFE311 say about the project: 'The pellet stove has been a popular heater in the past few years; [the] heaters convert wood base biomass into high quality fuels...there is also the advantage of being able to promote a new energy industry and recruitment opportunities' (source: LIFE311 website). we really are enthusiastic about this project and support it wholeheartedly. there is a video of the pellet stoves arriving in the community by NHK Japan, which you can watch here:

we are glad to think that there is the opportunity for warmth and security during the winter months for those in all of the houses built by this great charity project. we hope you can continue to support them by donating even a small amount or by our 'wish we were there' products.

please also visit the LIFE311 facebook page and twitter- all photos seen here are courtesy of them, and we hope you 'like' their page and follow them too. if you are interested in a pellet burner of your own, this website has some great information that can help you do so.

and please do remember, folks, that we are in the process of sending off as many christmas ornaments as possible to children and families in Fukushima. we need all the help we can possibly get! click here to find out more.

as ever, you can contact me with any questions or comments at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com - i can help you with any questions or further informations you may need, as well as translations of the video or anything on LIFE311's facebook page that you want to find out more about. if you haven't already, be sure to visit our facebook, twitter and website for constant updates and information about our upcoming projects and products. until next time:

がんばれ，日本〜！[you can do it, Japan~!]

help us make a christmas for everybody

2011-11-10T02:46:00.000-08:00

hi everyone! hope you are well. we know it's a little early, but we want to bring the thought of christmas to you for a little while.

recently yukari has been in contact with the lovely Ms Ishimaru, founder of the kodomiru charity based in Nagoya, Japan. from Nagoya, she organizes volunteer work in the Tohoku region of Japan, in areas where the earthquake and tsunami hit the worst. kodomiru is a charity focussing on the well being of childrens' futures. it is important to remember that schools and communities were destroyed in the earthquake, not just homes, and that for many young people their futures will be very uncertain.

we met kodomiru's Ms Ishimaru through a mutual friend in Yukari's home town of Nagoya, after they did some volunteer work for her charity. we were introduced and since then we have been discussing with her the best way to go about helping those in Japan who have lost everything begin to rebuild and feel even a little bit 'normal' again.

kodomiru began life as a charity formed in order to gather resources for the schools in the worse effected areas of Tohoku. by asking individuals for their support by donating unused picture books, she was able to supply vital educative supplies for nursery schools and daycare centres to use with their children. it was a popular drive, and though donations was plentiful, the reality of the situation was that the small size of these nurseries and day cares restricted the amount of space that could be used to house books and resources.

four (of many) filled bookshelves! well done, kodomiru!

ever resourceful, Ms Ishimaru then began to approach companies and individuals for donation in order to buy and send bookshelves to the various nurseries, daycares, and prefabricated housing areas in Tohoku. of course having books is wonderful, but it can be problematic when you have nowhere to store them! so it seemed natural to send these storage cabinets to them. now, Ms Ishimaru and her colleagues in kodomiru are concentrating on supporting and helping those involved in the nurseries themselves, including the staff, teachers and carers that work for the wellbeing of those struck by the disaster.

Ms Ishimaru has been a parent for 10 years, so she knows how important it is to have the right kind of environment for your children when they are developing. during her work recently, she has visited the temporary housing communities in Fukushima and was reminded of the time of year- winter was approaching, as were the traditional holidays of christmas and new years. of course, it is hard to think about how somebody in that situation can enjoy a christmas in a place so different from normal.

a 'christmas cake', a tradition in Japanese households for the family to eat. isn't it cute?

in her own words, Ms Ishimaru wanted to become santa for those children! her plan was to have a christmas tree in the community, and have lots of decorations on it for everyone to enjoy. in Japan, christmas is celebrated as more of a commercial, as opposed to religious, festival. new years in japan is very important and a long standing tradition is to spend this time with your relatives and humbly think about the year past, and the year ahead. so many families will come together in Japan at new year, and special efforts are made to do so. but for children, christmas is a fun time- it's exciting to eat a christmas cake, get a nice gift and decorate a tree!

this is where we come in: kodomiru and Ms Ishimaru need our help to decorate trees! a small ornament for a tree can make a big impact in a child's christmas night. they can become little gifts to the children and adults who have lost so much this past year. to us, christmas is an important time because we get to spend time with our loved ones and exchange gifts- so what better way to think about others, and give a small piece of happiness to people in Japan who have had such a tough year.

let's decorate a tree and make christmas a fun time for children in Japan with kodomiru.

it doesn't have to be expensive, it just needs to show your empathy for those left with so little at christmas. often people don't need expensive gifts or a lot of food- it is sometimes enough just to know that you are being thought about at a special, beautiful time of the year. so please help us!
the best kind of ornaments to send are light, non-fragile and something child friendly. it doesn't have to be expensive or hand made, it just needs to be something that a child or adult can hold and place on a tree, together, at christmas. you can send your ornament (the sooner the better!) to us at:

Yukari Sweeney Design

46 Royal Hill

Greenwich

London SE10 8RT

United Kingdom

we just know that all the people living in temporary housing communities in Fukushima will be so delighted to recieve something from wherever you are. maybe you can include a message of support too! anything is going to be very appreciated. we'll keep you updated on this as much as we can in the run up to christmas. we really hope it will be a success!

for any comments on the post or questions about mailing us your ornament, please email me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com. for more updates and pictures, as well as news on the project, please visit our twitter, facebook and website. we'd love for you to share this blog post with everyone you know- the more, the merrier! thank you for taking part, if you choose to do so. your contribution will make such a difference!

hello to a new friend, and our old friends!

2011-10-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

hello all! we hope you are well. we are back from a brief sabbatical in which we were all so very busy after the show that we haven't had time to report a thing on our blog! we hope that you can forgive us, we'll be blogging more from now on.

after shows like 100% Design, it's always very important to get our contacts in order and make sure that we get any samples, images and information sent off. you never know who could want our home accessories stocked or our wallpaper books in store! this week, i'll be telling you about Bouf, an online retail website selling accessories and wall decoration for the home. our wallpaper, 'wish you were here in London' and our 'cushion #9' are now featured there.

Bouf approached us at the 100% Design show this year, and encouraged us to submit our wallpapers and home accessories after seeing our stand complete with the colourways of our new 'wish you were here in London' wallpapers. we took a look at the website and were happy to see that they promoted a seller, as well as buyer, friendly ethic. after making a company profile for ourselves, which you can see below, to share some information about ourselves, we have made our three colourways available the website for you to buy.
we have also recently made enough of our 'cushion #9' to be in stock to sell on Bouf. we are excited to announce that they are now for sale on the website alongside our wall papers, and that we will soon be uploading some christmas items that we will be selling. we hope you are excited to see them!

you can click on this profile here to be taken to the profile itself. go on, have a look!

another reason that we enjoy being associated with Bouf is their eclectic range of home accessories, fashion and products they have on sale. there are very unique products and we are working alongside some very innovative comapnies who are given a lot of freedom to sell great products and things for the home.

we also want to mention the lovely individuals who have reported on our show at 100% Design this year. after all, they are a big support to us, and are always kind enough to tell their readers and clients about us and our efforts!

Scarlet Opus are a trends forecasting collective who always have their eye on the latest trends and products to be released in the design world. we have known the wonderful Victoria for some time now, and she and her team are always so supportive of what we do. this year we were so busy with our stand that we didn't get to have a chat with her, which was such a shame, but she managed to snap a little picture of yours truly when i was talking to some interested individuals at the stand. what a candid moment! we hope to speak to her soon!

she also reported on us at the show with a highlight on our new product launch this year. we love how she has brought together our new products, and we are so happy that she loves little Henry in the Rain as much as we do! Victoria, you are great, thank you so much!

Firefly House are our north london stockists. if it seems we have been talking about them a lot, it's because we have- we cannot say enough about these lovely people! they are always talking about us and our products, and we have done collaborative work for them in the past that has been great fun to design, and seeing the end product is always so fulfilling and a huge boost to our confidence that we can be entrusted with such projects.

we love their work ethos, and their shop is just the greatest. as big fans of mid-century design ourselves, we are so very lucky to have found like-minded individuals who we have learned so much from. thank you Jan and Russell! here is to more years of great friendship, inspiration and collaboration.

last but most certainly not least is the wonderful Lorna at Garrendenny Lane Interiors. we have known Lorna for a long time too, and are so happy that our relationship with her is still as strong as ever. Garrendenny Lane are our ireland stockists, and they have been supplying design-savvy individuals with our products for many years now. she has recently featured us on her blog, with a special focus on our 'cushion #9' and 'wish you were here in London' products.

thank you Lorna! we hope to see you in London soon!

that about wraps up all of this month's goings on. as ever, you can leave any comments on this blog, or send them to me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com - i love to hear from you! you can also check out our twitter, facebook, website and join our mailing list, too. there are plenty of ways to stay in touch with us!

oh, and before i forget- have a happy halloween! we'll be out trick or treating with teddy...what a scary thought!

100% Design 2011!

2011-09-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

hi everyone! we hope you are well. what a lovely 'Indian summer' we are experiencing! we must all enjoy the days of sunshine before autumn kicks in.

today i'll be reporting on the wonderful time we had at 100% Design London last week. it seems like an age ago that we were working through the night to get things done, but here we are now doing all the follow up work and sending off samples! here's a picture of our stand in 100% Futures.

not too shabby! we feel like 'wish you were here in London' is a theme that all people can enjoy, and so we wanted to create a relaxing yet modern atmosphere in our stand this year.

here's a close up of our table, which was covered by a handmade, bespoke tablecloth made by our wonderful seamstress, Izumi (but more on that later!). you'll recognize some of our products, including the Charity for Japan furoshiki and tote bag, as well as all three of our new products, cushion #9- which you can read more about in our new blog entry here. at the end of the table you will see some of the newest launches at 100% Design- our ceramics collection!

yes, we have been keeping pretty quiet about those since our visit to stoke-on-trent. but here they are, and we really love how they've turned out. the morning set looks especially cute, we think. they will be up on the website very soon.

the 'morning set', with a london design to compliment the theme. buses, horse guards and london bridge- a refreshing look at every day london!

our 'london fog' mug. here is a picture of both sides of the one mug, which have a unique little scenario- a gentleman and a police officer are having a fun, 'sherlock holmes' themed evening in foggy london. we love the streetlights, designed by the wonderful kei.

our 'rain' mug, a little carry on from henry's rain shower. this mug will keep you company on a stormy afternoon, or even a sunny one! we hope you enjoy it.

all of the ceramics that were launched at the show will be up on the website as soon as we get them in stock and ready for you to buy. we hope you will look forward to it! as you wait, here's some more photos of our stand.

the ernest race chair that we were loaned so kindly by firefly house. we are so lucky to know people like them who will give our little company such a wonderful project! thank you, firefly house!

a hand cut sign by yukari making sure we kept the chair safe and sound.

our sammy sausage dogs! popular as ever. all three found a new home this year. if you want one of your own, you know where to find them...

and our popular double processed 'gone fishing' lampshade. it made quite a splash this year! (okay, that was bad...i couldn't resist it, sorry!)

finally, here's a few close ups of the lovely tablecloth made by izumi as part of our tableware range, that includes ceramics as well as these hand made creations. it was absolutely lovely to work with izumi, who we know didn't sleep whilst making sure it was getting done- that's dedication! the tablecloth is hand printed and hand finished with all the detailing done very carefully and with great success. we'll be offering this bespoke service to our clients soon, so stay tuned for more.

the buckles are a great feature that make the feminine florals a little edgier.

we love the pleats. it makes it very traditional yet a little 'punk', too! featured on top are our new cushion #9.

a close up of more floral patterns from our tulip tulip print.

the fabric, printing and design can all be made to your specification, that's what makes it such a special thing to own. we hope you are as excited as we are about this new project!

we had such a great time at 100% Design this year, and we made a whole lot of new friends and learned many things. thanks so much to all involved, and if you came to say hello or were kind enough to feature us on a blog or website, we really appreciate it. THANK YOU!

for any comments, questions or if you visited the show and want to say hi again, feel free to email me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com, or follow our twitter, facebook and website for more updates. thanks for reading, and we hope that next year we can bring you another successful update about the show!

introducing...cushion #9

2011-09-29T03:40:00.000-07:00

hi everyone! we hope you are well, and have enjoyed your summer holidays.

today we are introducing to you a new product in our ever growing collection. say hello to the 'cushion #9', a small cushion made to fit perfectly into your favourite chair or stool.

this cushion has been inspired by our recent addition to our furniture family, a beautiful 1960s Eames RAR Rocker. you might remember our excitement about this chair a few months back! since we love this chair (and indeed all of the Eames furniture and artwork that we have been pouring over since meeting the wonderfully knowledgeable people at Firefly House) we really wanted to make something that shows our love for great, lasting design. and this is where the 'cushion #9' comes in!

to some Eames fans, the name may sound a little familiar. we were 'researching' (okay, we admit, enviously looking at) the history of the Eames couple's products in a nice little book we have, when we came across the 'Case Study House #9'. this house was designed by Eames, for their friend John Entaza, from 1945-1949. the house was built in mind to promote the home as 'a returning place for relaxation and recreation through reading and music and work- a place of reviving and refilling, a place to be alone for preparation of work, and with matters and concerns of personal choosing'. this relaxing yet practical ethos fit perfectly with our idea of what the home should be, and how objects in the home should be used.

being big fans of relaxation AND of hard work ourselves, we wanted to create a product that would help you unwind when you needed, as well as aid you in concentrating on your work when it is due. each cushion is hand printed and 30cm by 50cm; the 'cushion #9' is made to slot nicely behind the small of your back in an armchair or even a work seat, and its firm feather pad filling makes sure it's soft and snug when you need it to be. we looked at the colour schemes of the house and at the many colours that the RARs themselves came in, and found that a recurring strong yet soothing palette was being developed.

we took this palette and ran with it, creating a colour scheme that paid a small homage to our beloved chair. so our inspiration for these cushions is becoming a little clearer now. with our love for our Eames RAR and functional yet endearing design, we decided to create a little family of characters that could encompass the charming and masculine ideals of the case study house and of our own likes. now in turn, i will introduce you to our three cushions- henry in the rain, wolfgang in the woods and our baby bird.

henry is a boston terrier who has gotten caught in a little summer shower. we knew he should have stayed under his owner's umbrella, but he wanted to have fun running around i suppose. who blames him! you can buy him here.

wolfgang is a wild wolf who has made his home in a beautiful woodland clearing. his hobbies include chasing leaves, sleeping in tree hollows and basking in the moonlight. here we see him singing underneath his favourite bright star. you can buy him here.

our baby bird design may be a familiar sight to you, if you have known us for a while. two little birds make their home in the branches of a peaceful tree. we can watch them enjoy their time with one another, growing up side by side. you can buy them here.

we wouldn't have been able to make this post or, indeed, these cushions without having met the lovely Jan and Russell of firefly house. their enthusiasm and love of all things mid-century has really sparked a great creative urge in us- we are addicted to their flickr! and they are (we can't say this enough!) just the most supportive and wonderful people. if you want to learn more about designers like the Eames couple and their contemporaries, or just talk to some great people, take a look at their blog. they have very interesting and educational updates about designers, furniture, and general goings on at their shop in North London, as well as news on furniture that they have. we'll be sharing news of another collaboration we've done with them very soon...so stay tuned!

we hope you will welcome these new additions into your home! as ever you can contact me with your comments or questions by e-mailing me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com or by visiting our twitter, facebook or website. with so many ways to get in touch you have absolutely no excuse! we hope to see you soon.

behind 100% Design

2011-09-07T05:26:00.000-07:00

hi everyone, how are you? we are very busy here, getting ready for the 100% Design show on the 22nd. we are all burning the candle at both ends! today we have a little behind-the-scenes look at what we're doing in preparation. we hope you enjoy reading it!
we've been busy organizing all of our new products for the show, like wallpaper, ceramics and cushions. we're happy to say that we're well on our way to being ready...finally! we have some great news coming up later on in the year that we've been busy preparing for, which we hope you will stay tuned for. it's all very exciting but we're not allowed to say a word about it- so you will have to be patient with us! but in the meantime, have a look at what's been going on...

our whole team are busy working on making our stand ready. izumi, our newest team addition and a very talented dressmaker, has been preparing our tablecloth that will be a beautiful focal point for our stand. it's amazing watching the whole thing come to fruition, and i hope you will love it as much as we already do. kei, our hard-working designer: he is so talented that we have also asked him to collaborate with us on a mug that we will be including in our new ceramics range. ellie, our lovely assistant, has been helping us by making sammy the sausage dogs for our stand and press packs. here's our little board full of ideas for the new range. if you think it looks busy now, just wait until a week before the show- it'll be overflowing!

i, as your trusty blogger and erstwhile 'public relations' first lady (i'm being a bit big headed, aren't i!), have been busy updating the 100% Design website with our newest press release and product descriptions. i've also been making sure that brochures, leaflets and cards are being printed. what a busy time! i'm enjoying every minute, along with every sip of tea that fuels me! i hope you can stay tuned to our twitter and facebook feeds, which are showing little snippets of what's going on in our studio. check out the cup designs we've been sampling!

and of course, yukari has been making sure that all of her beautiful designs are being made into the products that we want to sell. she's working hard every day! right now she's putting the finishing touches on the ceramics range that we're going to be bringing out at 100% Design (as you can see above, it's a very precise process). she's also been working hard at making wall panels and ensuring that the labels for our new wallpaper are being printed off nicely. she's not getting much sleep these days, but i think that she has a few other things that are keeping her going- as you can see below...

maybe we'll all be resorting to that soon!

as usual you can contact us by emailing me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com, commenting on this blog post, by visiting our facebook, twitter or website, and of course our 100% Design page. with so many ways of getting in touch with us, you have no excuse! we'll be updating with photos and small pieces of information in the run up to the show, and would love for you to see what we're doing. until next time!

a sustainable japan

2011-08-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

hello everyone, we hope you are well! let's see if we can make this week a fresh start.

today we have a small update on the state of our charity project for japan. we have been selling our furoshiki and tote bags from the website, and the tote bags are being sold by the lovely people at garrendenny lane, too. we're always making the bags and furoshiki in our studio with our team, so do feel free to order- you would really be doing a great deed!

though the story is no longer in news reports worldwide, there are still people struggling: they have lost their homes that may have housed generations of their families, and their hometowns may be quarantined because of irreparable damage or even radiation problems. in fact over 30,000 people are still living in temporary housing and school halls and gyms. it is not something to overlook- we in the west may not be able to help physically rebuild japan, so we should emotionally support people as much as possible, as life like this can feel isolated and unsettled as there is no real space to call 'home'.

as a surface design company we feel a sense of love and 'home' is so special. of course we want to help these people as much as possible with rebuilding their feeling of safety and belonging in their hearts. so when we watched this program we discovered a group of very dedicated and selfless people in sumita town, an inland town in Iwate prefecture, japan. sumita town is situated nearby to a japanese cedar tree forest, and they use this special wood to create sustainable, long lasting and extremely well made temporary housing for those people left without homes after the earthquake.

the mayor of sumita town announced the project in january of this year, having watched the recent news reports of disasters in various parts of the world. using the town's own budget, not government money, he decided to draw up blueprints for sustainable housing. 'we want to help our neighbors, no matter what', he said, of the decision to build housing even if his area was not hit by the tsunami and earthquake. 'this precious forest was left to us by our ancestors...we must use these valuable trees in a sustainable and respectable way'.

the houses, made of FSC approved cedar wood, are constructed using the 'kesen daiku' method. the 'kesen daiku' way of building is a craft passed down from building the beautiful and centuries old shrines in japan, from the period when modern methods of building were not available.. one house costs around $32,00 to build, which may seem a lot, but is much less than the steel fabricated temporary housing many people live in now. these houses are often cold in winter, and baking hot in summer. unlike this, each wall of sumita's cedar wood houses are fitted with an insulation layer to make sure the houses are warm in the winter and well ventilated in the summer.

LIFE311, a charity affiliated with the More Trees NGO, became involved with the project and now fund the building of these houses through communities outside of sumita town. the town's efforts were recently praised by the composer ryuichi sakamoto, speaking through the LIFE 311 More Trees NGO- he said 'inland towns should not exhaust their budgets to make these houses. we need to help support their efforts'. in may, 98 families moved into the houses in sumita town. the houses are not only eco-friendly and sustainable, but the fact that they are made of wood is something psychologically beneficial, too. 'wood makes [the houses] feel cozy. i feel safe that the tsunami won't reach us [inland], too', a new resident told the reporter. his house was destroyed in his coastal hometown. 'the mountains will protect us. this wood is helping us regain a calm state of mind.'

we really want to promote this feeling of safety through care and traditional craftsmanship. not only is it fitting with our 'slow life' ethos, it is healing and so important towards the full recovery of japan. we will be donating the money we have amassed so far from our charity project to this worthwhile cause. LIFE311 is a really worthwhile cause and we will be giving the money to them from now on.

we hope that we can encourage you to send donations to organizations that will directly receive and be able to use even a small donation immediately and on a much more personal and direct level. we found a blog that has a great list of places to donate to here.

as ever, let us know your opinions by commenting or sending an e-mail to me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com. to get immediate updates and news, 'like' our facebook, follow our twitter and visit our website. we hope to hear from you soon!

our london

2011-08-11T05:10:00.000-07:00

hi everybody, we hope you are all safe and well. this week's blog update is a little bit sad, but we hope we can cheer you up with some good news!

this past week we have been dealing, as a city based company, with the riots that have been spreading through every area in london. thankfully we and all of our family and friends that live here are safe, and we hope you have been too. our studio in greenwich was nearby the areas targeted for looting and rioting, thankfully nothing was harmed. we are wishing you all the best if you have had problems and are still coping with the repercussions of these peoples' actions. we are sending all of our best thoughts and support to you.

with peoples' faith and sense of safety and love for their city rapidly decreasing, we think it is about time we revealed to you our new wallpaper design. we have been working on a london themed design for many months now, and we are finally getting it into production this month, in time for 100% Design. we hope that this design will speak for itself in representing the city that we love and live in.

all of our wallpaper evokes a subtle sense of nostalgia and happiness. ‘wish you were here in London’ is our tribute to those halcyon days. so many memories of childhood were made in this exciting city; it would be such a waste to forget them when we are captured in the hustle of everyday life. we see iconic buildings and beautiful sights every day, but if we slow down and discover a quiet street or small café with people enjoying themselves, we can capture the stories and joys of each person who loves london in a unique way. look around; who knows what new surprises you might find.

the shock we felt when seeing japan be destroyed hit us all over again with the recent events in england. we felt as though people were so fortunate to live in a relatively safe country and yet some are destroying it- what a shame to be so lucky but to take it for granted. we want to encapsulate london's beauty and strength in this wallpaper, to try and keep what we love as well as possible.

this city contains such history, spirit and wonderful people. we hope everyone can begin to work together and learn to live happily again soon.

as ever, leave any comments or contributions to the blog below, or email them to me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com. also, if you haven't already, 'like' us on facebook and visit our website for more product updates. we also have a twitter account now! you can follow us and we will be updating a few times a day leading up to 100% Design in september. until then, stay safe and stay happy!

an invite for afternoon tea

2011-06-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

hello everyone! i hope you are doing well during this hot summer. we all have to be careful not to go overboard and get burned when we're out having fun!

we know it has been a while since we have updated the blog with any news of products for the upcoming year, but we promise you we have been very busy with some fun things that we can show you in the next few months. we have to get rolling if we want to make it in time for 100% Design, after all!

we thought we would show you a bespoke project we have been working on for one of our clients. having previously seen our sought-after 'afternoon tea dress' she was really enthusiastic about us making her something elegant yet quirky to wear at different functions, such as weddings, during the hotter months.

our client caroline, who ordered this dress, is a very active and bubbly person; we once saw her in a very pretty summer dress, which looked beautiful, wearing a pair of converse sneakers underneath- this really sums up who she is! when she is at weddings and parties she will probably wear some cute heeled shoes or sandals, but we wanted to make something she could easily dress down with a pair of sneakers too. she wore a pair of birkenstocks when she came in to be fitted and that looked really nice with it, too!

here she is in the finished dress! we think it suits her beautifully.

for this project we contacted izumi, our friend and dressmaker, who worked closely with us and our client to make sure that every last detail was something that suited the person wearing the dress. we talked extensively with our client to make sure that her chosen design and colourway, manor house damask in 'night', was suitable for her.

caroline, izumi and yukari talked about the choice of colourway for the dress for quite a while. in the end, caroline said that she wanted to use the darker colour as it was something a little edgier and more up to date. the many colours that are on the dress already really pop out this way, and we can all see the design a lot clearer; it is something that compliments both caroline's figure and skin tone, as well as making it elegant but also a little quirky and different.

the matching ribbon and lining are such a cute idea. izumi really did a good job!

we kept the design very simple and streamlined to suit caroline's tastes. by making a traditional dress shape with long but subtle pleats and a square front, the dress becomes tasteful and flattering enough that we can put a bold design onto the fabric. the lining on the inside is a more feminine pink, as is the bow around the waist- this adds some softness to the dress shape and stops the dark blue colour from overshadowing her future choice of accessories and shoes that she may wear with the dress. we also hear she has some very cute dr marten shoes in pink that she is planning to wear with the dress...we just can't wait for that!

the ribbon sits nicely on her back, and the pleats are just high enough that it gives a very elegant shape to her lower body.

caroline has promised that she will send us some photos of her in her new dress as soon as she has attended a few weddings, so we will keep you posted on how it is being worn with her style. we really like to see our clients happy with what we have made for them.

as ever, let us know your opinions on this dress by leaving a comment below or emailing me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com. you can also, if you haven't already, visit our website as well as 'like' us on facebook. we always love to meet new people, so do feel free to get in contact with us at any time!
take care and we will see you very soon!

a furoshiki for every season

2011-06-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

hello everyone! we hope you are well and enjoying the sunshine (and avoiding the showers).

today we will be adding another three different ways of tying furoshiki. it has been a while since we've done this, but we've been thinking of ways we can enjoy the summer with our charity furoshiki. now we have them for sale on our website, you can enjoy the tying with us!

feel free to follow the instructions and tie up your own furoshiki. you can look back here, here and here for other ways of wrapping your gifts. and show us your ways of tying, or your own wrapped gifts, by contacting me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com. and if you haven't already, join our facebook site and take a look at our webpage for up to the minute news on all things yukari sweeney design! take care, and until next time, enjoy your summer.

100% design and a journey to the midlands

2011-05-26T06:06:00.001-07:00

hello everyone, we hope you are well. we got caught in a few rain showers this month, it's all a bit blustery these days, isn't it!

we have a couple of things to tell you about today. firstly is some very exciting news: we have been accepted for 100% Design London this year! we will be exhibiting in the 'Futures' section once again in 2011, and we really hope to see all of our dear friends there as well as seeing the new faces we've met since last year's success. over the next few months before the show in september we will be letting you in on some little surprises that we have planned to showcase at our stand. we hope you are as excited as we are about being able to show you all of the things we are planning for our company!

now for some more news. this year we have been carefully planning our move into designing on ceramics and housewares. we have been wanting to do this for a while, and now we have the opportunity to do so, we are very excited to say that we have made some lovely friends who have given us the advice and opportunity to do so. we went on a little 'field trip' to meet some pottery manufacturers in stoke-on-trent this week, and after having a chat with them, and a look around at some of the beautiful ceramics they produce and sell, have decided on a few cups and plates that we are really looking forward to making some designs for.

we'd like to say a big thank you to them for being very patient with us. we always ask so many questions, and it was a big relief to meet them face to face and have all of these little things sorted out! we also were kindly given some samples to take with us and begin planning designs on. it is so nice to see that there are small, thriving family businesses in britain that care so much about keeping on a legacy with hand produced ceramics that are true to their region's traditions.

we really had fun on the trip, and even the long journey was kept entertaining by the beautiful scenery that rolled past as we were on the train. we didn't know so many places had huge fields filled with cute cows, sheep and horses! what a nice life they must have. we really love the countryside, but arriving back in london was nice too when we saw familiar sights like town houses and groups of busy little pigeons.

we did not have to worry too much about having a day off though, as our ever present office dog teddy was holding down the fort in our absence. isn't he a busy guy!

aren't we lucky! he was answering emails and phonecalls all day. looks like he got a lot more done than we usually do, too. as always, you can get in contact with us (and teddy!) at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com as well as on our facebook and website. we always love hearing from you, so do not hesitate to get in touch. see you soon!

a slow life

2011-05-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

hello all, how are you? we hope you are well. the weather is so lovely, but be careful of those storm clouds- we've almost got caught in a shower a few times this month!

recently we have been showing you a lot more of our 'behind the scenes' pictures and information. we hope you have enjoyed looking at all the things that inspire us as a company- we posted these in order for everyone to see what drives us when we are working. today we will be expanding on all of these small things that help us work by thinking about what the things are that motivate us to work our hardest and ensure our surface design is as good as we can make it.

this year at yukari sweeney design we have decided to try and take a step back and focus on what is really important in our lives- having the ability to enjoy our surroundings. after witnessing the absolute destruction from the earthquake in japan, a subject which is very close to us as a japanese and european company, we realised that in life we are all putting far too much importance on getting things done as quickly as possible. instead we want to focus in on the things and the people that we really love to spend life with. we noticed that these days, culture is geared around moving and evolving so quickly that we can't even keep track of what is happening- fast food, 'fast fashion' and fast transport all make us rush around so much that we can't even think about stopping and enjoying what we have right now.

so we would love to remind people that what really matters is the time you take to enjoy the slowing down of life that occurs when you take a little moment to breathe and appreciate your surroundings. we feel that what is important is the present; it can all fly by so fast that all you will have are regrets if you don't slow down, appreciate your environment and the people around you every so often.

this is where our new concept of 'slow life' comes in. we really want to take the time to think about the amount of effort, skill and patience it takes to create something that will last much longer than the ever changing trend. our inspiration comes from age old japanese practices like the methodical practice of tea ceremonies and the intricate woodcutting process that creates the traditional screen prints of ‘karakami’. these are both arts that require patience and the learning of new skills. at yukari sweeney design we want to learn from the people who devote so much to make their interests and professions the highest level they can.

we gained inspiration from a special whisk used in tea ceremonies called a 'chasen'- this small bamboo whisk is hewn from one single shoot, with hundreds of fine teeth that create the perfect shape to whisk tea smoothly with practice. it is a time consuming and artisan task to even carve the whisk, let alone learn how to use it efficiently. however if you can slow down and appreciate such skills, it fulfils your future life and makes your knowledge much richer.

it is our mantra this year that we concentrate on that craftsmanship based ethos; that is, we put care into creating special things that will last. if you want design that goes somewhere as personal as your own home should, in our opinion, connect to you in a special way and be something that has love put into it. by putting more detail in our processes of design, for example hand finishing wallpaper panels or hand printing on a bespoke made fabric, we can bring this 'slow life' to you in a special way that does not compromise the life that you have as a busy individual. even by having a nice teapot or well designed and made cups in the home encourage you to sit down and enjoy a drink and take in your surroundings.

we hope you can enjoy a slow life with us this year at yukari sweeney design. we look forward to being inspired by tradition and learning to enjoy our time, too. as ever, if you would like to share with us the ways you like to relax and enjoy the way you live, feel free to email me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com; also join our facebook group and visit our website too, for more updates on our various upcoming projects and press features.

a happy looking life

2011-05-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

hello everyone! how are you? i hope you've all been keeping well in this spring sunshine.

this week we have a special profile on a member of our team here at yukari sweeney design, joe. he lives in tokyo and is our website designer, he made all of the wonderful graphics and is currently designing a special project that will be revealed this summer!

he studied product design in london and, after moving back to japan, is now a graphic designer and a very important member of our team. he recently sent us a wonderful email with all the lovely things that he collects in his home, after being inspired by our previous post with all the things in our studio that we love.

joe likes to collect old things with stories and interesting histories. we really agree with this, it's always lovely to have things that have their own past to them- it makes them even more special.

he keeps us up to date on popular fashion, interiors and food in japan at the moment.

in his spare time he likes to cycle to the river and spend some quiet time fishing. we like this quiet kind of life. it seems he has made a good balance between his work and free time.

and we can see that his love of good design is in his house, too! we could learn a lot from him. we enjoy working with a designer like joe, he really understand us as a company and we can't wait to collaborate with him on more projects in the future.

as ever, keep up to date with our new products and projects on our website and facebook. we love to hear from you, as ever, so do feel free to e-mail us at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com. until next time- stay happy!

things we like

2011-04-21T07:16:00.001-07:00

hello everyone, we hope you have been well and enjoying the easter sunshine like we have!

this week our blog update will be showing you some of the things that we love and that we keep around to give us a little happiness as we work. recently we reorganized the studio space in greenwich that we work in, to accommodate for our new projects for this year. this means we have a lot of things that we use to make the place a little prettier!

these are some of the cute objects that we have collected from junk shops and markets over the years. we really love these kinds of things, they are very uncommon to find so whenever we get our hands on them we really love them.

some of these items have even been used in our photo shoots for our wallpaper- you might recognize the little toy cash till from the website, or maybe the woodblock letters and the big cotton reels from our shows last year!

even using an old mug as a pen holder is nice for us, we really like the thought of reusing older items not just as decoration but as something a little bit bright and useful. and we used this big letter to make a stack of books look a little more decorative!

this is our to-do chalk board which always reminds us of our projects that we have to finish. it can be really easy to miss something so marking them with cute and colourful tape helps us to see things properly. the things that need to get done seem to grow every day...

having fun little quotes, postcards and pictures around the place help us relax a bit and remind us why we need to keep working. of course 'it's all my parents' fault' is a little excuse for when we need it!

and this is our biggest 'like', our studio dog teddy. he is always there to get in the way when we are busy, as dogs do, but we do love him a lot! he and kei are best friends, so they always play together when we have spare time. here he is in his 'herman miller' box bed, he always sleeps in there whenever he gets in from running around like crazy in the park.

as always, feel free to visit and 'like' us on our facebook page, and look at our website for more updates and galleries of our products. as always, if you have any suggestions or even want to tell us the things that you like, do e-mail us at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com. until next time, we hope you have a great easter!

working in the studio

2011-03-31T09:08:00.001-07:00

hello everyone! how are you? we hope you are well, and wish you a happy april!

today our blog post is 'behind the scenes' at our studio in greenwich. we have some photos of our hard working team, as well as a little sneak peek that simon, of Cadworks UK, has sent us of our charity furoshiki being printed! it looks so beautiful, we really can't wait to show you all. but first, we will introduce you to our team here at yukari sweeney design.

ellie is the daughter of a good friend and client of ours- she is very interested in graphic design and often comes along to our studio to helps us out with our various projects. she is very hard working and does a great job print screening for us! here she is doing exactly that on one of our wish we were there eco-bags.

this is kei, who has been working for us for quite a while now! he is in charge of making all of our sammy the sausage dogs- choosing the fabrics, stuffing and sewing them together. it's a very hard job. he has also designed a very cute furoshiki for us as and often helps with the making of our products, as well as overseeing a lot of the things that go on in the studio. he keeps us all in check! he is also a big fan of teddy. today we see him sewing together the eco bag pictured above.

this is izumi, she is a very talented individual who makes our tote bags. she is also going to be helping us with our bespoke fabric service, as she is great at interpreting our ideas and making them into a reality. we can't wait to start more projects with her. in the future, we will be working with her to make an afternoon tea dress- we will definitely show you the results!

and here i am- helping out with cutting the fabric for the tote bags! i work at yukari sweeney design mainly for the technical and organisational side of things, but sometimes i help out in other ways too. or at least try to!

one day we promise to get yukari herself out from behind the camera!

next, we have some photographs that simon of Cadworks UK sent us of our charity wish we were there furoshiki being printed. this is the first time ever that we have seen the digital printing process for ourselves- it looks impressive even inside the printers like that! this is our design being printed upon the fabric that simon and his team so very kindly donated to us for our charity furoshiki.

thank you so much simon! we really appreciate it. we are so privileged to work with such generous and empathetic people.

for more updates and photographs, always feel free to join our facebook group and visit our website too. we always love hearing from you!

what we are doing for japan

2011-03-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

hello all! it's almost april, how fast this year has flown by...

this blog is a follow up to our senbazuru project that we posted last week. during our time figuring out the best ways to fund raise, we have been struck with just how generous our friends in the design world are; the wonderful lorna, of Garrendenny Lane, will be selling our charity tote bags, and has promised to endorse our senbazuru cause on her blog and facebook site. thank you so much! we'd also like to give a huge thank you to simon and his team at CADworks UK, who has so kindly donated fabric to use for our charity furoshiki.

our aim with the design of these bags and furoshiki are to symbolize strength when faced with difficulty. Koi are known for swimming upstream in life, and the Koi, on the bag, are moving forwards even though the water is flowing against them. like the Koi, we like to believe that the people affected by the earthquake can move with life even when they are faced with a very 'upstream' struggle. the narrow tote bag, as well as being a slightly quirky shape for you to carry, is symbolic of a river that is guiding the fish towards a better life.

our design of the hand printed eco-bags are for sale with all profit going towards japan. they are big enough to carry around your books, maybe a bit of shopping or your things for when you take your dog out for a walk! each one is screen printed and machine washable. they can also be found for sale at our website as well as at Garrendenny Lane's website.

the furoshiki are sized approximately 88cm x 88cm in total and will feature our limited edition 'wish we were there' design, which you can see below. all of the profit made on the selling of these furoshiki will go towards relief for japanese earthquake and tsunami victims. they can be found for sale at our website, for a limited time, at £20 each.

please note both of these products, as well as a range of lampshades, sammy dogs and wallpapers can also be bought from our studio space in greenwich, meaning postage and packaging will not be necessary. please do visit us, we'd love to have a chat with you anytime!

even if it is only a small amount that you can afford to give, we urge you to help. emotionally, the impact can be overwhelming, but we find that the best way to deal with such a huge disaster is to act upon it. our senbazuru project is ongoing, and will serve as a reminder to us that helping the japanese survivors with thought as well as action is something so important.

again, we are posting a list of charities that we are currently donating through and have heard of, pertaining to japan:
Red Cross- a worldwide charity with offices in japan currently aiding those in danger of being hurt by health problems existing before or caused by the earthquake and tsunami.
Global Giving- a great company who give a staggered donation breakdown of what your money will go towards.
Shelterbox-a worldwide organization who have a brilliant system of aid boxes that have items that can be used by individuals to survive whilst homeless or without resources.
Search Dog Foundation- a worthwhile foundation who have been sending over teams of doggy search-and-rescue units, to help find survivors in the rubble of the tsunami.

as always, do leave any comments below, e-mail any queries or suggestions for blog updates to kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com or join our facebook group for more information. our website will be updated with more products in aid of charity for japan as soon as we can think of them. thank you for reading, we hope to hear from you soon! and don't forget to send in your senbazuru messages!

one thousand paper cranes

2011-03-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

hello everyone, we hope you are all well- the sun has come out now, it is really beautiful weather!

today's blog post is about the earthquakes and tsunami that swept through japan almost two weeks ago now. our company has many connections, both family and friends, to japan. so we were all watching in horror as we saw the news on friday morning that a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the tóuhoku region of japan. we feel that empathy is just as important as a monetary donation, and have begun to think about how exactly we can help people affected by the disaster. in this blog update we'll be sharing with you a big way in which you can get involved in such support.

senbazuru is a japanese word, which literally translates into '1000 cranes'. the tradition of making 1000 paper origami cranes as a good luck or well wishing symbol has been in practice for many years in japan. the idea behind the origami is the belief that the crane, or tancho, is a mystical bird, and for each paper crane folded, an individual will be granted a wish by the creature, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. there are 1000 cranes folded because a crane, in japanese mythos, is said to live for 1000 years, and represents the soul of a great warrior. this symbol of strength and well wishing is something we would love to make and send to the people of japan, to show them that we are supporting them with hope and love as well as materially.

we have decided to make our own senbazuru containing messages of hope and support on the inside of the cranes. we will be featuring our own wallpaper designs on the 'origami' paper, instead of the traditional colours supplied in a pack. we urge you, and anyone else you know, to send us a message to put inside your own crane. it can be a simple line, even a word, or a whole paragraph of support. we will print this message on the inside of a crane before it is folded and added to the senbazuru line. please e-mail kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com with your message, and we will hand write it on your crane.

senbazuru have long been used in japanese wedding ceremonies as a symbol of bestowing good luck and happiness on relationships, but they are also used at sombre memorials serving as a reminder of the lives that have been lost and the people in mourning. often bunches of senbazuru will be hung outside of shrines or memorial sites, and the above photograph is a group of cranes that is hung at the hiroshima memorial park. our cranes, and i am sure many others', will help to honour those lost and hopefully make those who have survived feel strong and honourable themselves.

we will be updating this blog with reports about the progress of our senbazuru project. we really hope you can take the time out to help us. we would like to think that if we get each individual to donate even a tiny amount per crane to a charity listed at the end of the blog, or of your own knowledge, just how much we can help in japan.

a list of charities that we are currently donating through and have heard of, pertaining to japan:
Red Cross- a worldwide charity with offices in japan currently aiding those in danger of being hurt by health problems existing before or caused by the earthquake and tsunami.
Global Giving- a great company who give a staggered donation breakdown of what your money will go towards.
Shelterbox-a worldwide organization who have a brilliant system of aid boxes that have items that can be used by individuals to survive whilst homeless or without resources.
Search Dog Foundation- a worthwhile foundation who have been sending over teams of doggy search-and-rescue units, to help find survivors in the rubble of the tsunami.

for the senbazuru messages, any queries, information or even to share with us your own experiences in japan or of loved ones in the earthquake, leave a comment or e-mail kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com. we always love hearing from the people who read this. for constant updates, please visit our facebook as well as our website, which will have charity product updates running as of next week. thank you for taking the time to read this, and we really hope to hear from you soon.

irish house and homes

2011-03-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

hello everyone, we hope you are well! the weather is so lovely outside, the sun is really shining- it's beginning to feel like spring now!

our blog update today showcases some lovely photos that the ever supportive people at irish house and homes magazine have taken using our wild west toile in mist. the pictures are so elegant and we love the way that they have used the furniture in the room with our wallpaper. it is so refreshing, and we are really amazed with the outcome!

doesn't it look nice! we love the combination of the 19th century wild west feel with mid century furniture.

we really love to see the wild west toile wallpaper being used in so many different ways. we feel that the classic design allows it to be used in a big range of ways. it looks beautiful when paired with more 'masculine' accessories, but it also looks great when used alongside classic furniture in rooms.

this feature wall is very a simple idea, but it makes a lovely statement- we love their use of furniture from all eras.

we hope you enjoyed looking at the photos! we'd like to say thank you to lorna sixsmith at garrendenny lane who alerted us to the magazine's feature as well as actually playing a big part in the magazine's choosing our design- lorna has always been a very firm supporter and great friend of ours, and we really do appreciate all the good words she has pit in for us along the way.
as always, if you have any photos of or comments about our work, do leave them here or e-mail me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com - we always love hearing from you. don't forget to check our facebook page and website for more updates, too. see you next time!

some very cute little mushrooms

2011-03-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

hello everyone, how have you been? well i hope! and enjoying this beautiful sunshine? we are!

today we are showcasing one of our client's lampshades that she very kindly sent us some photographs of. the design is one of our new ones, titled 'rain'- it has mushrooms and raindrops, reminding us of a woodland floor. seeing our new design in a lampshade is really great, and hearing our client loves it is even better.

the shade is a bespoke design, hand printed on linen- you can see that the top of the lampshade is slightly narrower than the bottom, which we think really suits the chunkier stand that it is on. don't you think the lampshade looks nice in this room? we really like it.

thank you so much to caroline for sending us the photographs! we really are happy to hear you love it so much.
as ever, if you have any photos, comments or even questions for us, we'd love to hear from you- please feel free to contact me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com with your input. we always love getting feedback! don't forget, if you haven't already, to join our facebook page and to visit our website- we'll know if you haven't, so say hello to us!
until next time, take care and we'll update this soon!

our dream chair

2011-02-17T08:28:00.000-08:00

hi everyone! how is your february going? we hope you had a nice valentines!

we have some really great news to share with you. we have gotten our hands on an original 1960s eames and herman miller rocking chair! it's so beautiful, we can't believe it still. yukari has always said that it was her dream chair which she thought she would never get in a million years, so you can tell we are all so happy about it!

aren't they beautiful? we are so in love with this kind of timeless design.

when we went to see our wonderful friends at Firefly House we spotted some original herman miller eames rockers and then got to talking about how beautiful we thought the chair designs were. so imagine our surprise and delight when we saw that they had the exact chair that yukari had been coveting for so much time! here it is in the shop:

the eames design company worked with herman miller to design the RAR rocker in 1948, and the chair has since become an iconic mid-century furniture classic. ours is the slightly reworked design from the 1960s. the chair itself is moulded from plastic and is sculpted to cradle the body- and trust us, it is so comfortable we have trouble standing up! we have maple runners on our chair, as we think it compliments the lemon yellow that the chair comes in. here are some more pictures, and a picture of the iconic herman miller logo that is on the bottom of our chair.

we all really admire the company's design ethic. charles and ray eames are quoted to have once said, 'Take your pleasures seriously'- and we can understand this completely, not only in the delight that we take from having this wonderful chair, but also in our own company- we love to make beautiful designs, and we are always working hard to make sure that they are a good as they possibly can be. we can wish that one day someone will covet our designs as much as we do with the eames furniture!

and we'd like to send a HUGE thank you to the ever generous russell and jan from firefly house. if you're interested in this kind of mid-century furniture and design, we'd really recommend looking at their wonderful website or visiting them in their shop! their website and online display of their furniture can be found here. thanks, guys!

as always, if you have any comments or questions we'd love to hear them- you can join our facebook page, look at our website or send me an e-mail at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com. we really love hearing what you think!

absolute abode and lolas

2011-02-11T06:08:00.000-08:00

hello everyone,

just a quick update today, letting you all know that the lovely sophie over at Absolute Abode has written a feature about our little company on her blog page. it spotlights the exclusive lola the sausage dog draft excluder that we make for absolute abode, and which are only available through her.

aren't they cute? we don't make lolas for anyone else as she knows exactly how to handle her. lola is a frisky dog!

we really would love it if you paid her interior design site and blog a visit. there are lots of nice things to look at and read about!
we'd like to give a huge thanks again to sophie for featuring us in her blog and continuing to love our lola dogs enough to order them again and again! visit her site for more information about them.
see you all soon!

good news!

2011-02-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

hi all,

we have some good news for you- the cream ernest race rocking chair that we designed seat pad and back cushions for has already been sold! this is such exciting news.
we have been given the o.k. from Firefly House to show you the chair in question. we are so proud and very happy about the news!

the chair in cream. isn't it nice! we hope the client is happy with it and can use it for many years.

it is lovely isn't it!
we'd like to thank the lovely people at Firefly House once again for letting us collaborate with them and allowing us to show you the photos!

firefly house and yukari sweeney design

2011-01-31T03:46:00.000-08:00

hello everyone, we hope you are well!

this week we have some really exciting news. our great friends at Firefly House proposed a collaboration between their beautiful vintage furniture and our artwork being used as new upholstery. we were so excited to be entrusted with such a big project! the chairs that we were asked to design seat pads for were a pair of Ernest Race rocker chairs from the 1950s.

it is great timing for us to collaborate with Firefly House with Ernest Race rocking chairs, as the 60th anniversary of the chair's creation is coming up- the chairs were created for the festival of britain exhibition at the southbank, and for us to have a pair of original chairs upholstered with our design is such a huge honour. we love the vintage yet timeless design of the chairs, and the colours really suit our design- our partnership with Firefly House has really given us some great opportunities; we'd like to give a huge thank you to them for the chance they gave us to work with them on such iconic pieces of furniture!

ernest race rockers in (left) french grey; (right) cream

the chairs themselves are the original 1951 festival of britain models; the vintage cold bent steel frame has been shot blasted and powder coated, one in French Grey and the other Cream, both in an eggshell finish. on both rockers, the arms are oak and cut from templates made from original chair plans. our design was inspired by our coordinated wallpaper panel oh boy! central park, but we made the original artwork to be printed on custom seat pads this time. the colour schemes work really well we think, with the dark french grey chair highlighting the subtle design on the pale green upholstery, and the paler frame of the cream has the bold design on it that so suits the beautiful oak of the arms.

we will soon update this post with more photos of the chair in Cream, but for now we hope you enjoy these photos of the French Green!

we are so happy with how these came out. right now, on firefly house's website, they are showcasing the chair in french grey. you can find out more information about the chairs, including cost and hire details, at the Firefly House furniture page.
as ever, do not hesitate to get in contact with me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign.com for any questions you want to ask, or features you'd like to see. don't forget to visit our facebook page and website! see you soon.

happy new year!

2011-01-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

hello all! happy new year, we hope you've all made the transition smoothly.

it's been a little while since our last update, but we are pleased to report that we are moving forward with the new years by having a new german stockists, the nice people at tapetenagentur wallpaper. we really recommend looking at their website; they showcase really interesting, inspiring wall coverings- so many look more like pieces of art than something you would paste on a wall! but this itself is a concept that we really appreciate at yukari sweeney design- we feel that wall coverings should blend into the elements of the room, enhancing rather than overpowering the space that you have chosen. we love to see a striking wallpaper add a little spice to something that already works so well.

as well as more established names in surface design such as cole and son and osborne & little, they concentrate on showcasing the up and coming, new designers whom often get overlooked in such an international market. they supply both contemporary and traditional wall coverings from europe and we really love their outlook on both their wallpaper and their room settings in their gallery. it's very clean and everything is well matched to make a really relaxed yet elegant environment to look at- we hope that our panels will fit in nicely!

we are really happy that our company is being supported by such an innovative supplier of wall coverings. tapetenagentur are really up to date and on trend with their interior aesthetic, so we feel very honoured that they like our work! we will continue to work hard on our designs and products so that we can keep up a good standard. the company will stock both our newer coordinated wall panels as well as our traditional range of wallpapers.

we would love to visit their shop in cologne, germany. it looks like an absolutely stunning place to visit!

if you happen to live, or know someone, in their area of germany, we really encourage you to pop by and have a look at our wallpaper samples. if you are elsewhere, then do take a look at their website!

remember, if you have any suggestions, ideas or your own photos of our products that you would like to see in our blog, please do not hesitate to e-mail me at kimika@yukarisweeneydesign, visit our facebook page, or of course leave comments on this post. thank you for reading! normal updating will resume as of today, we promise.

happy holidays, sammy!

2010-12-08T10:20:00.000-08:00

hello everyone! did you survive the snow last week? it's so icy now, so be careful!

this week we have more pictures that our clients have sent us. our sammy the sausage dogs are all cosying up ready for the winter celebrations! i wonder how many people will get their own sammies this christmas? he would fit perfectly in a stocking, with his shape!

first of all we have a cute dog who lives in japan. her name is coco, and she belongs to a friend of ours. we love dogs, they always look so happy! isn't she a pretty girl.

maybe she can be sammy's girlfriend! i am sure he would be very happy.

now we have a very cute picture of lola the sausage dog (yes, she is the inspiration behind our lola dogs!) sent by a family member of ours. isn't that halloween outfit amazing! perhaps we should buy one for our teddy...

she is a very mischievous girl. we hope we can visit her again soon!

and now it is sammy's turn. one more sammy has found a home this year, and we have been sent some pictures of him! he belongs to our client gemma, who says he has settled in very comfortably on her bed.

he looks very warm and comfortable. i hope he is being a good boy, or father christmas may not be giving him any doggy biscuits this year!

if you have any photos of sammy the sausage dog, your own pets (we love all animals!) or any of our products in your home, please feel free to send them to us! we'll be sure to showcase your photos on our blog.

a percentage of our sammy the sausage dog profits go to both local and national animal charities. we want everyone to remember that pets are for life, just like sammies are!

we have plenty more sammies waiting for new homes, so do not hesitate to let us know if you are interested!

make sure to wrap up warm, and we will see you soon for another update. in the meantime, take a look at our facebook page and be sure to check out our website for any christmas gift ideas!

a frosty november

2010-11-19T03:17:00.000-08:00

hello all, winter is really in full swing now isn't it! just as everyone here at yukari sweeney design was wrapping up to battle the cold outside we get a heart-warming e-mail from one of our clients, showing us how she used our wallpaper to redecorate her daughter's bedroom.

being a family business, we think it's really great when mothers and daughters agree over something! and they both made a great choice here, we think. they decided to cover the two opposite walls with our tulip tulip design in 'frost'. we think it's a great choice, as the colours used in her new study are very calming and will hopefully help her work!

it looks nice, doesn't it! we like that the colours aren't necessarily 'girly' but they go well together and make the room look very sophisticated; perfect for a hard working student! the muted colour scheme reminds us of crisp winter mornings, it's really calming and a great mood is set in the whole room.

i really like that desk, the drawers are so organized and cute, we really hope she can enjoy studying and being in this room.

if you have any photos of our wallpaper, lampshades or accessories in your house, please let us know and we will feature them here and on our facebook page. you can e-mail us or comment here or on the facebook page, and we'll make sure we get back to you so you can send us photos!

take care, and keep warm!

some more furoshiki

2010-11-18T09:25:00.000-08:00

hello everyone! we hope you are getting through winter o.k., it's so dark and cold these days. hopefully these new furoshiki ties will brighten up your evenings!

today we have three more ties for you focusing on carrying things around to your friends and family during the winter holidays. we've been employing these to deliver lots of sammy the sausage dogs to our clients recently!

if you have new ways of folding furoshiki, please get in contact with us either here, on our facebook page or by e-mail.

our furoshiki will be going up for sale very soon on our website. we'll let you know as soon as the full range goes up!

firefly house

2010-11-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

hi everybody! how was your halloween weekend? did you do anything fun?

this monday we went up to north london to see the lovely russel and jan at firefly house. they are our new london stockists and we brought up five sammy the sausage dogs for them to sell in their beautiful shop.
when we were there we also got to meet their cute dog, ruby. this is a picture of her; isn't she lovely?

we got to see some really amazing furniture, including a big collection of Eames chairs that firefly house are restoring. we were very lucky that two of our sammies were placed in the very front of the shop on a restored sofa- lucky them!

we hope that all five find good homes over christmas. we are also going to be stocking our wallpaper and fabric books there, as well as a range of our cushions. soon you will be able to order our wallpaper and panels from their website and shop. we would really recommend visiting their store- they are such friendly people and know so much about furniture, it was really fun talking to them!

inside their store they had all kinds of interesting things. we will have to visit again to check everything out! and of course see how our little sammy dogs are doing.
contact them online at fireflyhouse.co.uk.

if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below or, as usual, contact us by e-mail or join our facebook group.

next week we will have more furoshiki folding! we hope to see you then.

our wild west chair

2010-10-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

hello everyone! how are you? we hope you're coping well with the change of season!

in the blog today we'll be showing you the 'before' and 'after' of the chair that we had on show at 100% Design, made with our wild west toile fabric.

we did not upholster the chair by ourselves, though! we were most lucky to be put into contact with Bartosz Stasiuk who offered to restore a vintage chair that we found online. the chair itself was covered with an orange woolen fabric. it looks similar to the overman pod chairs that came from sweden in the late 60s-70s, though we have no idea if it is or not...either way, it's very cute!

we had the idea to re upholster this chair as we wanted to showcase the versatility of our fabrics at the show. we've recently started to expand our collection to include various fabrics other than the ones we use for our standard cushions and lampshades, like out furoshiki, and so we thought what better time to show some of our other fabrics than at the show!

we used our a cotton furnishing fabric, suitable for a surface wipe clean. moonlight(dark blue), sun (yellow) and blue jay blue (light blue) were the three colourways used above, but in the future it would be nice to have all kinds of different combinations! the chair looks good, don't you think? we planned out the colour combination by laying them out on a different chair first. then we sent the fabric and chair away, and it returned- looking wonderful!

we are so happy with how it came out. if you'd like more information on our fabric, or even to ask us more questions, we will be happy to answer you. just give us an e-mail, leave a comment here or join our facebook group.

until next time!

furoshiki!

2010-10-16T05:52:00.001-07:00

hello everyone!

we're updating this blog as a new way to fold furoshiki. here are three more cute ways you can fold your fabric.

what do you think? we wanted to show you how to giftwrap some things, so we chose these three ways. we will have some pictures of the folded ways up very soon, so keep alert!

if you have new ways of folding furoshiki, please get in contact with us either here, on our facebook page or by e-mail.

our furoshiki will be going up for sale very soon on our website. we'll let you know as soon as the full range goes up!

our stockists!

2010-10-07T03:42:00.000-07:00

hello everyone!

we hope you're not to soggy after this october rain...

we just thought we'd take the time to introduce to you our retailers, in ireland and most recently in london. after the show at 100% design we got a new stockist, firefly house, but first we're going to tell you about our irish retailers, garrenderry lane!

the wonderful lorna sixsmith has been stocking our wallpapers, lampshades and cushions at Garrendenny Lane Interiors since early last year, and has been a huge help towards our little company. she has always been a big supporter of whatever we do and we are so happy that our products are available on her website along big name designers! her blog, which you can read here, is always so insightful and fun to look at and read. she is constantly updating it with all kinds of fascinating finds.
we really recommend you take a look at her blog and her website if you haven't already. not only does she stock our products online, she also sells beautiful period furniture and her advice towards interior design is very insightful and accurate! we feel like we can really trust her decisions.

our new stockists, who approached us at 100% design this year, are called Firefly House- a company based in north london who, as well as having a very charming website design (we love dogs!), sell all kinds of beautiful modernist furniture and lighting. we are very happy that they are distributing our wallpapers and home accessories, as even before we met them at the show we had them saved in our bookmarks!
we really love their furniture, especially their chairs- they are clean and beautiful pieces and we can tell they are very well looked after and chosen for the clarity of their design so we are honoured that they will now be stocking us. please do check them out! we especially love that their dog is the logo for their company too. having a stockists in london is especially exciting, as it is where we are based! we can't wait to go and visit them soon. stay tuned for that report in our blog!

for our little surface design company to be featured on these two websites alongside huge established names in the interior world like Eames, Sanderson and Knoll is a huge boost to us. we are so proud to be producing for these two companies, and we'd like to extend our thanks to them both! we hope that our relationships with Garrendenny Lane will continue for a long time, and we really look forward to working with Firefly House.

very soon we will be posting the next installment of our furoshiki folding project. we hope you are looking forward to this as much as we are- we will be selling our fabrics and furoshiki on the website in the future, but if you would like to know more about buying them, please do not hesitate to e-mail us!

what a show!

2010-09-28T13:37:00.001-07:00

hi everyone!

we've just returned from our show at 100% design, and we wanted to let you all know that it was a real success! we are so amazed and honoured to have gotten such a great response from everyone, and we'd like to thank everyone who came along to visit us, order our products or to say hello. it was really great to see all of our hard work pay off in the end when we got such nice comments about our stand and wishes of good luck from everybody.

here is our stand! on the wall you can see, from left to right: wish you were here central park, field trip, paris, english rose, gone fishing, ribbons in the sky and japanese garden. the two panels on the table are merci, in 'ai' (blue) and 'cream' respectively. all wallpaper panels are in the 'ai' colour, except for ribbons in the sky, displayed in 'aka' (red).

here are some more pictures from the show. we brought along our sammy dogs, furoshiki and a lampshade to showcase our home accessories. what do you think?

sammy was very popular. he is a handsome boy!

the chair that our wish you were here pillow is resting on was beautifully created by a great upholsterer who is a friend of ours. we would like to thank him so much for helping us out, we love the chair so much! it was very comfortable to sit on, too, as kei (our very hard working helper!) displays here:

the chair shows three different colourways of the wild west toile design. we love the three colours used. they really work well together. we especially love the ways that the cowboys and horses are spread along the whole chair.

to see more photos from the show, and to get in contact with us if you remember our stand at 100% design, please visit facebook and our website! don't be afraid to get in touch with us, we love hearing from you.

take care!
yukari sweeney design

100 furoshiki!

2010-09-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

hello all! we hope you are well and wrapping up warm in preparation for autumn!

we have decided to start helping you fold your furoshiki that you may have bought from us at our website! we will include an instruction leaflet with all of our furoshiki, but we are going to try and get 100 different ways of tying it!

so far we are focusing on the three most elegant and simple ways. here is the first three of one hundred! we hope to update this each week with more and more.

click on the image for a bigger look!

we'd also like to take the last chance to encourage you to come and visit us at 100% Design this week. our stand is C110, and we will be showing from the 23-26th of september.

if you're visiting our blog because you heard of us after seeing our exhibit at the show, we'd like to say a big thank you for taking the time to look at what we do.
for further information, feel free to visit our Facebook or our website!

we'll update you as soon as we're back from the show with lots of photos!
yukari sweeney design

we wish you were here!

2010-09-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

hello everyone!

we hope you are well. we thought we'd let you know what's going on with our company- the end of summer is almost here and we are so busy, where did all the time go!

we will focus on expanding our 'wish you were here' collection this season. we have been inspired by the japanese traditional dying processes, most especially the elegance with which colours age and develop depth as they mature. an indigo colour, ‘ai-iro’, is a dye established over two centuries ago. knotweed, a natural plant, is used to create an almost mystical colour that becomes paler with time, shifting from a deep blue to pale sky. here is an example of the colour both dark and light:

we have decided to focus on a bold colour as a staple theme to enhance our designs- by making colour and space minimalist we hope to maximise the impact they have in the house.

this is part of or new coordinated wallpaper theme showing the ai-iro influence. we hope you like it!

inspired again by our recent trip to japan, we want to embrace the concept of ‘furoshiki’. furoshiki is a type of traditional japanese wrapping cloth, often used to transport ‘bento’ (lunch boxes) to and from the home. it can also double up as a tablecloth for lunch, or even as a cover for delicate things. there are three main ways of folding the fabric:

the furoshiki can be used like the eco bags that people are increasingly using. the handiness of the furoshiki is utilised within its square shape- we will be printing all of our designs onto the sturdy material and it can be used as re-usable wrapping paper, a cute cover for a wine bottle, even a shopping bag or a more balanced way to carry books around. we hope you will use them once they become available!

we also have a new pillow design in our wish you were here collection. again focusing on the theme of traveling and journeys, we have put our popular design onto a pillowcase that you can use to lounge with or put on your favorite sofas or chairs.

we feel the design really evokes the fun of discovering new places on holiday, whether it be famous landmarks, pretty beaches and roads or boutiques, cafés and shops. it is easy to make a visited place have memories that will last a lifetime, and with this pillow we hope to remind you of those fun filled holidays with loved ones.

we also want to remind you that we will be displaying all of our collection at 100% Design this year- we'd love for you to come and say hello on the 23-26th of september. wish us luck!

as ever, leave any comments below, we always enjoy hearing from you.

100% design

2010-08-12T05:45:00.000-07:00

hello again!

after the success of Interior Lifestyle Tokyo, we are currently preparing for another show. we will be exhibiting at 100% Design from the 23-26 of September. this is our first show in london and we are really looking forward to it!

we will be introducing new products within our ongoing 'wish you were here' collection. our range now includes 'coordinated wallpaper' which enables clients to choose between differing designs that can be used singularly or combined.

here are the different coordinated designs we have been working on recently. note that all three can be used separately or together, as pictured below.

this approach to wall covering is inspired by the micro homes that are often found in japan. architects are constantly reviewing ways of creating space in the urban home, and the ‘coordinated wallpaper’ is the same reaction from a design perspective.

in a limited space, having even one wall of wallpaper can cramp a room and make it feel claustrophobic- some of these micro houses can be as small as 300 square feet- so with our 'coordinated wallpaper' we aim, like the architects of the micro houses, to create a sense of lightness and space yet still be beautiful within our design; we do not want to compromise style with limitations. one drop of wallpaper can be used as a statement piece to highlight one part of the room, or all of the designs can be combined for a bolder effect. we are really excited with this new product and are eager to display it at the show.

if you are attending 100% Design please don't hesitate to say hello, we'd be really pleased to talk with you!

yukari sweeney design

tokyo!

2010-07-04T05:25:00.001-07:00

hello everybody!

sorry that it has been such a long time since we last updated. it's been very busy for us this month; we have just returned from a wonderful trip to japan, where yukari sweeney design was lucky enough to be one out of seven design groups to be part of the british and european design group exhibiting at interior lifestyle tokyo. it was BEDG's first time participating at the show so it was hugely exciting for all of us! we all had a wonderful time and the show was a huge success.

in our space, we exhibited our new mural: english rose town and country.

we have had great feedback at the show and we are busily working with all the new contacts that were made. this is an exiting time for us as we have a new client base to cater for with different requirements; it is always a great opportunity to learn about another culture's tastes and it has been refreshing to approach design from a different perspective. it was also fantastic to speak to the other designers, we were surrounded by some really talented people, so thanks everyone. we have made many new friends and memories that we will keep forever!

interior lifestyle show's organizer threw a party which we really enjoyed with other brilliant designers, including Tracy Kendall (left) and Morag MacPherson.

we are now back in england and enjoying the beautiful weather, and looking towards future shows as well as creating new designs to compliment the english sunshine and the new, wonderful things we've seen in japan. as ever if you have any pictures, questions or comments you'd like to send us, post here, become a fan of ours on facebook or send us an e-mail on our website. we'd love to hear from you and hope that you get in touch with us!

yukari sweeney design

a little spring for you

2010-04-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

hello all,
we hope you had a lovely easter holiday. it should be spring but the weather seems to be thinking otherwise! so we have decided to deliver our own little taste of spring to you.

here is our client's baby bird lampshade. it is a bespoke version of our very popular design; she chose our swedish blue, edo-red and sunlight yellow. we are really lucky that she had such a nice colour scheme to work with. we are secretly fond of Sanderson's 'dandelion clocks' print. we think our baby bird print goes really well with it! it is refreshing to see that our colours, which don't completely match the blinds from Sanderson, still blend very well. the little kicks of red and yellow with the blue give off a nice spring feel. we hope you feel the same!

keep your umbrellas handy and enjoy what's left of the british springtime!
yukari sweeney

red for boys

2010-02-16T03:00:00.000-08:00

here is another set of photos from one of our clients. he has chosen one of our bespoke lampshades to put in his living room. his requirements for the shade were for it to be a little bit more masculine and to be a statement piece. we suggested a red silk outside with a manor house damask print inside, in order for it to be more sleek and contemporary to fit his needs. the silk was chosen to fit out signature red, called 'edo'; we suggested this because it was a strong yet versatile colour, giving him the option to play around with other interiors in his room.

he is happy and we are happy too!

sleeping beauty

2010-01-06T08:58:00.000-08:00

this time we have received some photos from a client that show our cushions in her bedroom. our very popular tulip tulip design was used, but this time our client gave us a specific colour scheme to work with. now we can see why she asked for this, after seeing her pictures.

by specifying the colour scheme, we have chosen from our palette the colour that we thought would best tie in with the whole room. we were very happy to work with someone who has such a good sense of style and a clear idea of what she wanted.

thanks for reading, and we hope you'll leave your thoughts and comments on the products here!

yukari sweeney

we love it, we hope you do too

2010-01-06T08:25:00.000-08:00

hello again!

we've received some new photos from one of our clients, this time with two tulip tulip lampshades in her hallway, and one hide and seek lampshade in her living room. she has a lot of beautiful neutral tones in her house but wanted to introduce some strong colours as accents. we suggested that she have a larger lampshade at the bottom of the stairs, as it was slightly wider there, and at the front door a narrower one. this way the lampshades were suited according to space, without overcrowding.

the client chose the dark chocolate tulips on mustard yellow silk. we think it works well without being overpowering.

here is the other lampshade she has chosen. we think hide and seek's pattern looks quirky in her sophisticated living area, adding a little bit of sweetness to the room's calm.

if you have any pictures, questions or comments you'd like to send us, post here, become a fan of ours on facebook or send us an e-mail on our website. we'd love to hear from you and hope that you get in touch with us!

yukari sweeney

let's start from here

2009-11-30T05:33:00.000-08:00

hi all,

this week we've been sent some pictures from a client- this is one of our bespoke range, using the manor house damask design (inside of the shade) and our 'nasu kon' colour on silk. her kitchen was very clean and airy with a neutral palette and so we were very happy to make a statement lampshade in her beautiful, elegant kitchen. here are some pictures of the finished result!

if you want more information about our bespoke range, visit our website and feel free to e-mail us any questions or even leave us a comment telling us what you think of the photos and our lampshades. we'd love to hear from you!

yukari sweeney

welcome to our blog

2009-11-20T08:17:00.000-08:00

hello and welcome to our new blog!

we'll be using this space to show you our products in our happy clients' houses, hoping it will inspire you with your own ideas for displaying them around your own homes. it'll also be showing you our interests and any nice things we find whilst we are looking for new ideas, as well as giving you a look at what goes on behind the scenes with us here at yukari sweeney design.

please follow our blog and visit the website for more information; we also have a facebook page and we'd love to chat with you any time!

yukari sweeney