Travelling light, and stylishly so too...

On my visit to the London Graphic Centre in Covent Garden before Christmas I spotted some unusual looking bags, made from recycled tarpaulins, displayed in the shape of a Christmas Tree. My interest was piqued and I decided to look into them further and discovered a fascinating story of how two brothers were looking for a robust and waterproof bag to hold their creative work and hit on the idea to reuse tarpaulins from trucks. 

There are now over forty different models, with each bag unique and incredibly strong. With an overnight trip to Kufstein on the horizon and Christmas ahead of me, my own idea started to form and so during our Christmas shopping we ended up back at the London Graphic Centre. In my mind I thought I'd leave with a yellow or green bag, but it turned out I was wrong. 

We left with this red and blue F251 Kowalski. 

Not yellow. Or green. At all.

In the shop, this was the one that spoke to me.

My biggest concern was if it was practical for a short break.

And having travelled light on my recent trip to Kufstein and Munich, it was. 

It was also much admired, and drew comments on just how light I was travelling. But with careful outfit planning, I had plenty of options.

I packed a pair of trousers, pyjamas, two long sleeved T-shirts, a vest top and cardigan, toiletries, my bag of liquids to get through airport security and a big wooly scarf to help combat the expected negative temperatures. I didn't pack a pair of shoes, because I didn't think I'd need them for two nights away, especially if it was that cold and with the information that heels weren't permitted in the fortress at Kufstein where we were dining.

I didn't realise it but packing our panniers back in the summer was good practice!

It's quite a clever design, apart from the tarpaulin I mean. Pushing the shoulder straps to the side frees the top opening, and then it does look a lot more like a (stylish) cycling pannier. On the Freitag website they say the bag is "automatically weatherproof and closed when on your back" and they're not wrong.

Inside there's a couple of smaller side pockets which came in handy for my passport and smaller items. It's a bit dark in there, but you get the gist.

And it's strong. I pushed it to the limits, adding more papers and paraphernalia for the return journey, like always seems to be the way. But it's tarpaulin, from trucks, it's made for hard work. 

But I bet no one expected them to be recycled into something so stylish in their next life. There's plenty more colourways on the Freitag site, and a short video showing how the design works.

I think this has to be one of my most stylish Christmas presents ever, and over the coming year (and beyond) I'm hoping to put it to good use. 

Gorgeous isn't it?

Statement lights by lampcommerce

When Lampcommerce got in touch I was immediately struck by the stunning designs featured on their site.  This one in particular from the Wireflow collection by Vibia caught my eye:

VIBIA WIREFLOW Photo credit: LampCommerce

It has a simple, classic but somehow futuristic feel to it. It's a tall light though with a drop of two metres and would need the right space to show it off to its best. Just imagine it in the perfect stairwell, it'd certainly create a stunning entry to any property. I'm not the only one that thinks that as it won the award for best hanging lamp of 2014 from Interior Design Magazine.

When I thought more about statement lights, the one at the V&A immediately sprung to mind. Their 'Rotunda Chandelier' sculpture hangs in a fantastic space, above the Information Desk as you enter the museum. And while it's a sculpture rather than a light, it's effect is similar.

For me  - the attraction to the wireflow light - is about the lines it creates. Just look at the ceiling in the image above - I know that if I were to be sitting in the hallway with that light, I'd be able to sit and lose hours just tracing and following the lines with my eyes. I guess that's a whole new way of being more mindful.

It does remind me of the lights I saw in the Gap House at the Ideal Home Show last April, and that proves to me that if you have a small space - the whole house was just three metres wide - then you can still be adventurous with lighting.

But finally having ruled it out for this house - we have a spiral staircase, so it wouldn't work for us I soon browsed the site further and discovered the Artemide Tolomeo range. 

ARTEMIDE TOLOMEO MEGA FLOOR LAMP Photo credit: LampCommerce

The possibilities for this range are endless - from floor lamps like the one above through to the mini desk lamps below, with sizes in between too.  They are, for me a design classic and I was surprised to learn that it was designed as recently as 1986, winning the Compasso d'Oro design prize in 1989.  I know that that's thirty years ago now, but well the eighties still seems relatively recent to me, it was the decade I started work, so that I think brings an extra touch of reality!

ARTEMIDE TOLOMEO MINI TABLE LAMP Photo credit: LampCommerce

If you're looking for something that's stylish and colourful, then the Tolomeo micro table lamps come in a range of fun colours - including metallics, such as bronze and rainbow colours - which would brighten any space, whatever the look you were after.

I think most homes in the eighties and beyond have owned a light similar to this - I know when we moved in here MOH moved in with a large black table lamp, which at the time we didn't have the space for. Now though, it's one of the things that would fit right into our current decor, so perhaps we should have hung onto it after all.  

...Or perhaps it's time to treat ourselves to a replacement!

This is a collaborative post but all opinions are my own