All Things Considered

Geraniums and Carnations
Posted by Angie Lewin

'Geraniums and Carnations', a watercolour painted by Eric Ravilious in the 1930's, evokes the unique smell of geraniums, always with those inimitable fluorescent salmon pink flowers and biscuit-brown crispy dead leaves and stems, on dusty shelves in porches on childhood visits to elderly relatives.

My opinion of these plants as rather dowdy was transformed by a visit, many years ago now, to Wootten's of Wenhaston. The owner, Michael Loftus, has amassed a huge collection of pelargoniums (as geraniums are known) some with scented leaves, others with fat heads of frilly petals or delicate sprays of flowers - with colours from white through to black purple. Here I rediscovered Pelargonium x 'Ardens'. Last seen years ago at an RHS show in Victoria, at Woottens I saw its flowers glowing like embers in the far recesses of the poly tunnel. Another favourite spotted here is P. sidoides. with its tiny magenta purple flowers suspended on fine wiry stems above delicate grey-green leaves.

But pelargoniums are just some of the plants on sale at Woottens. They specialise in perennials,  displayed according to growing conditions. You'll also find a huge range of irises, auriculas and hemerocallis (day lilies). The nursery is a treat to visit, tucked away in the Suffolk countryside not far from Blythburgh. Get there if you can.

Wootten's have a comprehensive handbook illustrated with lots of photographs and written with informative and individual entries . Available from the website. Mail order available too.

Posted by Angie Lewin on March 12th, 2007

Old Town
Posted by Simon Lewin

On any given day, there's an almost 100% chance that I'll be wearing something made by our friends at Old Town.

One of the problems of this addiction is that other clothes just don't cut the mustard. If you're fed up of spying something interesting across a characterless shop floor only to discover a whopping great logo embroidered on the back, I'd recommend a visit.

About a year ago the new Tin House range was developed alongside the Old Town brand. Whilst some of the designs are shared, the Tin House range concentrates on fabrics with a workwear pedigree - cotton drills, canvas and denim.

We're lucky to have them just a few miles down the road from our gallery/showroom - perhaps a perfect day out in North Norfolk?

Posted by Simon Lewin on March 10th, 2007

Photo Pairing
Posted by Kate Sullivan

I thought I'd follow up with something inspiring. Since  coming across this site in January, 3191  has become a daily breath of fresh air.

The concept is simple; two photographs are taken in the morning by two different artists, Mav and Stephanie. They live 3191 miles apart in North America and get up early.

Without knowing the subject matter of each others photographs, they post them side by side to reveal a similarity of style and complimentary balance.

Posted by Kate Sullivan on March 10th, 2007

Well, it’s a start…
Posted by Simon Lewin

So, here it is - the first entry on All Things Considered.

Not entirely sure why it’s taken so long - I guess the problem was exactly how do you start a blog - just leap in with the first entry or try and mark the occasion somehow? The result is that I’ve spent far to long thinking about it.

Some of the content here will cover the activities at St. Jude’s - both our fabric design business and gallery specialising in British printmaking. We’ll also keep you up to date with news about Angie Lewin’s work.

Beyond that, it will really act as a journal of everything that informs, inspire and entertains. Art, craft, design, culture, food, music & travel.

Right - that’s the first entry done. Wasn’t that hard, was it?

Posted by Simon Lewin on March 9th, 2007