New address!

We've moved and now have a new address http://www.daisyloves.com/ - please come and visit us there! x

daisy loves...miss minogue!

Love her or hate her (and daisy loves...her!) Kylie Minogue certainly knows how to do glamorous and gorgeous. For those who don't live in the UK or who don't read You magazine we thought you'd like to see these exclusive behind-the-scenes photos (as featured in You magazine) from the Paris Hotel that is the set of Kylie's new ad campaign for jewellery brand Tous. This is one party we would love to have been at!

daisy loves...funky fairtrade

We came across this very funky fairtrade furniture in this week's issue of Design Week. The Prince Mo sofa (top) the Barrel chair (left) and Mariam swivel seats (right), are created from recycled pieces which are upholstered with vintage and contemporary fabrics, designed in Lebanon by the Bokja design partnership of Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri. Just gorgeous!

daisy loves... to help her friends

Wow! Neither of us seem to have drawn breath in the last couple of weeks whilst getting daisy loves... off the ground. I have been writing interviews (and setting up more for the future) plus keeping my design business The Scarlet Paw Print running and setting up a new arm called The Scarlet Wonderland and all the time Lesley-Ann continues to take more stunning photography. If you're getting married in the UK then check out her wedding photography at The Scarlet Studio!

But back to the project closest to our hearts right now and that is all the things that daisy loves! Lesley-Anne and I have both been putting in the hours researching fabric wholesalers and agreeing on what our first collection is going to be (still under wraps but coming together nicely!) plus the usual 'who is going to do what' business discussions now we are in full swing.

We've set up our EtsyShop and a Folksy Shop (although they are both currently empty) and have found lots of lovely people to connect with on Twitter and got a marketing plan in place! All feels very grown up but not at all like work as we are both loving what we are doing so much.

We actually have something very special coming up next week as we have decided to do a pre-launch collection called The Rescue Range. As the real Daisy (pictured above) is a German Wirehaired Pointer we are going to have a permanent, but ever-changing, range of bandanas on sale in both our shops which will raise money for GWP Rescue Inc - an amazing charity run by Mary Murray in Kansas rescuing GWP's. More to follow on these but the bandanas will look gorgeous on all dogs and of course will help save a beautiful, funny and unique breed of dog.

Anyway enough for this post, but we are both very excited about what lies ahead and hope you continue to stay with us for our journey!

daisy loves...to love obsess + inspire!

We have been following a new blog called love.obsess.inspire ever since it started and we are certainly loving it, obsessed with it and inspired by it!

One of the latest entries is a gorgeous showcase of products available from Harlequin Showroom. As it's in the UK a visit is definitely on the cards! Thanks so much for sharing this Alexi!

daisy loves...pink bunnies

A couple more of Lesley-Anne's beautiful images on this Thursday evening. Oh to have a bed like that - makes you think nothing bad could ever happen to you as long as you just stayed in that bed! Enjoy x

daisy loves... The Camouflage Company

Following our recent discovery of The Camouflage Company – an online shop selling beautiful garden and home accessories – we were delighted when owners Louise Unger and Corinne Laurie agreed to chat to us.

Louise, you and Corinne are sisters who run your business together. What are your backgrounds and did you always want to work together?

We had a company together called Table Matters selling wholesale antique and modern products for all types of tables. We sold pretty much anything that was stylish, quirky and fun and that went on tables! In 1991, we were approached by a Japanese businessman to take the whole range and do a fair in Tokyo. It was hugely successful and when we came back to London he asked us to open a Table Matters shop just off Sloane Street. At the time, it was all very new and exciting and Corinne designed a fantastic range of porcelain which sold in Harrods and Thomas Goode.

For various health and personal reasons we stopped working in the shop and Corinne went onto design jewellery while I did a foundation psychotherapy course, and went on to do hands-on volunteer work.

I normally like my camouflage on soldiers (!) but the designs for The Camouflage Company are just divine – pretty and yet very practical. Where did the initial inspiration come from for the products?

In 2004, Corinne was staying in the country and saw a gorgeous garden blotted by nasty green furniture covers. It made her wonder if there were any alternatives available which would blend in to gardens and pretty them up. There was nothing around so she set about designing some that did!

What is The Camouflage Company’s philosophy?

The look of all our products is fresh, new and very 'now’. They are practical, pretty, eco friendly, kindly priced and incredibly useful! The entire range is aimed at brightening up mundane chores with smart, stylish accessories that can be adapted for a zillion household uses. Basically a very different range of bags for life! Our philosophy is really Glamour up your Clutter – make mess look less!!

The designs of your products are incredibly clever and some are totally unique. Where do you get your ideas from and who comes up with the designs?

Corinne is the creative genius and the ideas just come to her naturally. I have to hold her back as she has a brilliant new idea every five seconds! When we started out the Evergreen design made sense as it was the most obvious form of camouflage. However, the Long Grass design was a little more summery. As other product ranges evolved we decided we also needed patterns that were a little more vibrant, which is why we came up with the English Rose and Indie Chic patterns.

It looks like we’re going to be in for a fab summer – what does every glamorous girl need for her garden this season?

Every girl worth her glamour needs to have the Tool Belt, the Panier for working in the garden and the Leaf Bag to make sweeping up leaves a breeze! And of course our fab covers provide beautiful art in the garden as well as protecting your furniture from those pesky summer showers. If it’s a gorgeous day you are going to want to be outside and our boxes and trays are also great for keeping all the bits and pieces you need with you neat and tidy!

Are you both avid gardeners and if so what are you growing in your gardens this year?

We both like natural, pretty gardens, nothing too structured and definitely no ugly green covers! Although we are both townies, when it comes to gardens and the outdoors, we are both country girls at heart. We love all sorts of gorgeous flowers and we both find gardening a great way to relax.

Your products are so versatile - I use my English Rose tool belt when I’m walking the dogs as it’s perfect for biscuits, blackberry, keys etc. What else can you use some of your products for?

The thing about all our products is that everything is multi-purpose!

The Duffel carrier can be used as a car boot sheet – ideal for avoiding the mess when you visit the garden centre. It can also be used for picnics, or for throwing all your clothes into for a weekend away. If you’re a Mum, it’s perfect for babies to play on then simply duffel up their toys for a quick getaway!

My favourite products at the moment are our fantastic Shop Boxes which have a multitude of uses. But the best way to use them is for your grocery shopping! Just put two boxes inside one of our chic shoppers and when you get to the supermarket put the boxes and the bag in the trolley and shop to your heart’s content. But you do have to leave a little extra time as I can guarantee everyone at the till will ask you where they came from! Then just lift the boxes straight out of the trolley and into your car - we call it your box for life!

The Panier is a very stylish alternative for shopping at your local baker, flower market, butcher etc. You can also use it for activities like fruit picking. One friend of ours is an artist and she uses it to carry all her gear around. The uses of all our products are really just limited to your imagination and we are always delighted to hear how people use theirs!

You currently sell your products online at The Camouflage Company. Do you have any plans to open a shop front or expand into different sectors?

The online shop currently keeps us very busy and we are also stocked in John Lewis and Dobbies as well as smaller chains and independents and other websites. We also have distributors in the USA and France as well as Japan, Croatia, Norway, Spain and Belgium so there are no plans for a shop!!

We are also really excited to be working with the National Gallery and bringing out products at Spring Fair – so no rest for either of us for the foreseeable future!

Thank you both so much and we are both looking forward to a very glamorous summer in the garden!

daisy loves...cupcakes!

daisy loves....cupcakes very much! In fact they are one of our very favourite things. And even though these are so pretty to look at they are definitely look good enough to eat as well! These are more of Lesley-Anne's work.

daisy loves...Lesley-Anne's photos

Lesley-Anne has been very busy recently taking lots of stunning photos of beautiful things and places - we just love that caravan! We'll be posting lots more images here over the next couple of days so keep your eyes open and we would love to hear your comments!

daisy loves... Dujour magazine

Possibly the most beautiful magazine cover we have ever come across! Dujour magazine is America’s first independent, internationally distributed, eco-friendly fashion publication dedicated exclusively to emerging designers. Check out their fabulous blog (click the title) for a regular dose of dreaminess!

daisy loves...Laura Baillie Designs

We love the stunning jewellery made by Laura Baillie for her Etsy shop Laura Baillie Designs. They are a crafted mixture of vintage collected pearls with semi precious stones and interesting beads, to create an eclectic mix of delicate glamour and funky retro designs. Laura is having a Fantastic Friday today (5th June) and is selling all of her stunning necklaces for $17 (£10.50)

daisy loves... village dog show poster

Wearing my design hat (take a look at The Scarlet Wonderland) I have just finished the poster for our local village dog show in August. It is also our first daisy loves...show so it will be a busy day!

daisy loves...Dear Daisy Cottage

We've just been reading the most amazing blog - Dear Daisy Cottage. Beautiful, beautiful things and a yummy dog and a truly gorgeous blog. Owner Kimberley is even featured in a new book called Blogging Bliss by Tara Frey - which we have just ordered! It's one to three weeks delivery time on Amazon so will have to be patient but can't wait to read it.

http://deardaisycottage.typepad.com/

introducing...daisy

We thought you might like to meet Daisy Boo - the inspiration behined daisy loves... Daisy Boo is a German Wirehaired Pointer who has lived with Nicola for 18 months. She arrived with her 'husband' (and father to her litter of 15 pups!) Mr Sonny and since then has settled into country life in our thatched cottage with miles of field of them to run in with their labrador and spaniel friends. You will see plenty of her in the future being a 'model' for the various daisy loves... ranges along with her chums. The photo of Daisy Boo was taken by Lesley-Anne.

daisy loves...The Thrift Book by India Knight

We are loving India Knight's book 'The Thrift Book - Live Well and Spend Less'. It has completely inspired both of us to live more thriftily and more importantly enjoy the experience! The chapter on Crafts has proved particularly useful right now...

Definitely recommend it as an inspiring and also very amusing read!

daisy loves...the sunshine

It looks like summer might finally have arrived in England - and just in time for the weekend for a change! Walking the dogs does so much for inspiring creativity and even more so when the weather is so warm and there are so many beautiful things to look at. We both live in a tiny village in thatched cottages and it really is postcard pretty - just a wee village shop, a pub and a church! We are very lucky to live only a few hundred yards from each other and we spend a lot of time together mapping out the great life plan. Right not that plan is mainly dog collars, leads and treats! Nicola is also doing posters and leaflets for the upcoming dog show which will be the launch of the first daisy loves...range.

We are desperately trying to find beautiful quality fabric we love at prices we can pay for our first collection and we just can't wait to try out the first prototypes on our furry friends! They will definitely be the talk of the village! x

daisy loves...to sew

The new sewing machine has been bought and put to it's first test - a beautiful floral cushion for the dog's bed in the office! We are madly sourcing fabrics, rings and buckles that are beautiful as well as functional and putting together our thoughts for the first range.

We're also working on the other important things like marketing, packaging and places to sell. Etsy is the obvious choice, as well as our local markets and car boots but we are also going to have an online shop on our website when that is up and running. Lots to do and all while running our other businesses of design and photography as well! However we are both really excited by the possibilities ahead and we are both really enjoying the journey.

daisy loves...our first show

We now have a deadline of Sunday 9th August for our first collection to be ready! We are showcasing a range of beautiful dog leads and collars at our village dog show (which we are also organising) as well as baking some delicious doggy treats. Nicola has two German Wirehaired Pointers called Daisy Boo and Mr Sonny and Lesley-Anne has four English Springers called Beanie, Pants, Brooke and Charlie Parker and a Munsterlander called Sydney. So we have plenty of willing dogs to try out the leads and collars to make sure they are durable and comfortable - and of course some very willing volunteers for the doggy treat tastings!

daisy loves... Lesley-Anne's latest magazine cover

Lesley-Anne is a very talented photographer and she has done numerous covers for our local glossy magazine Nene Valley Living. This stunning cover shot is her latest!

daisy loves...to Twitter

You can now follow us on Twitter! Just click on the Twitter ad or click here

the daisy loves...logo is born!

Very exciting day as we've finished designing (and agreed on!) our new logo. We both really love it and think it conveys what we're trying to do with daisy loves...

Next step is the website and our first collection!

introducing daisy loves...

Hi and welcome to the brand new daisy loves... blog! daisy loves... is currently a dream shared by two friends, Nicola and Lesley-Anne, to create a range of beautiful, unique handmade items. This blog is a chance for us to share our journey from conception, to launch, to our first sale and onwards.

Nicola is a designer who used to be in PR and Lesley-Anne is a photographer and we both have a love of all things beautiful and an eye for the unusual, so between us we believe we have all the skills we need to make daisy loves... a success.

We are currently working on our logo (which is why our blog is so plain right now!) and website and also on our first collection which will be a range of dog leads and collars and delicious doggy treats, for our first off-line sales pitch at our local dog show in August!

We are registered with Etsy so will be selling our collections there, as well as on our own website, as soon as we are in production.

We hope you enjoy following our journey!

daisy loves... x

about us

daisy loves...is a collaberation between two friends Nicola + Lesley-Anne to indulge our love of all things unique and beautiful - either handmade by us or created by our friends.

Nicola is a designer who used to work in PR and Lesley-Anne is a professional photographer. We live in the same picture postcard village in England and have a combined total of seven dogs!

We are currently in the process of setting up daisy loves... and this blog follows our journey from conception to first collection and beyond.

We hope you'll join us for our journey! x

Etsy Shop

Our online shop at www.etsy.com is coming soon and will be announced on our blog!

Contact

We are always interested in hearing from aspiring artists or other blog owners! If you would like to talk to us about being interviewed for daisy loves... or to have your products reviewed or about advertising then please get in touch with us at daisyloves(@)thescarletpawprint.com

daisy loves...bloglovin

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