Latest Posts

Studio Joanna Laajisto

Published by Lisa Wallace

My home needs work. I’ve been living in it for six years and it needs work. Houses and apartments take maintenance and at the moment I’m embarrassed by how run-down and sad it is. In light of this, I’ve imagined a lump-sum lotto win and an opportunity to renovate the parts of my home that yearn for a spruce up – i.e everything.

Inspired by this ‘ultimate renovation’, I’ve naturally turned to the Scands. Studio Joanna Laajisto, headed up by the eponymous lass herself, is a Helsinki-based boutique design agency with a focus on functionality, quality and infinitely beautiful aesthetic. Founded in 2010, and scoping commercial, retail, hospitality and office design, each project is a masterpiece.

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Urban feminine style with Self-Portrait

Published by Lisa Wallace

I think I may be getting into fashion. I don’t know what it means to be ‘in’ or ‘out’ of fashion and I’ve never considered myself particularly stylish, but I’ve always loved clothes. And nothing makes me feel more confident than a new dress. Dusty pinks, florals and lots of lace – the more feminine the better.

London-based contemporary label Self-Portrait, founded by born and raised Malaysian designer Han Chong, creates beautiful feminine pieces with a rugged, urban-inspired edge – think leather and lace together in one gorgeous frock. Read More

Eden Locke Hotel

Published by Lisa Wallace

Although well over 250 years old, Edinburgh’s New Town – a UNESCO Heritage Site – is a beautiful, if austere, collection of sturdy and uniform ranks of Georgian buildings. Rows of terraces and mansions clad in local grey sandstone are a physical embodiment of the Scottish Reformation.

Refurbished by NYC-based architecture firm Grzywinski+Pons, Eden Locke is a new 72-room hotel with a café and bar that’s received a complete renovation and comprehensive fit-out. Celebrating its heritage details, the 18th-century Georgian mansion and its 20th-century extension was whittled down to its respective bones – and the chic new hotel created from there. Read More

Hirst Bar by Ken Fulk

Published by Lisa Wallace

Working out of The Magic Factory, a 15 000-square-foot think tank in San Francisco, Ken Fulk specialises in interior design, special events, and architecture. His reputation is a fantastic one: He is a fantasy; an inventor and creator who pulls off simply the most imaginative sets. Whether he is creating staggering homes, throwing the opening party of a museum show, or planning large-scale events, Fulk’s work is always remarkable and stylish and over the top and I just love it.

At Hirst Bar in San Francisco, a space designed by Fulk, the drinks are free – you’ve just got to be invited. Read More

Cartier & Sofia

Published by Lisa Wallace

I’m a little in love with Sofia Coppola. Her films, her attention to detail, her soft yet assured style, her storytelling – but most of all her love for women, and the power of the female presence in a leading role.

Cartier, a Maison synonymous with style and femininity, gave Sofia carte blanche to direct the film for the relaunch of the Panthère de Cartier collection. Both icons of taste and elegance – Sofia, an artist whose work transcends trends, gives sensitive expression to what femininity is today – and together, the campaign’s outcome was perfection. Read More

The American Dream: pop to the present

Published by Lisa Wallace

The past six decades have been among the most dynamic and turbulent in US history, from JFK’s assassination, Apollo 11 and Vietnam to the AIDS crisis, racism and gender politics. Responding to the changing times, American artists have produced prints unprecedented in their scale and ambition.

Now showing at the British Museum until 18 June 2017, American Dream traces 60 years of art, design and history in one major exhibition. Read More