24 Carat Gold Lamps

London-based Elizabeth Smallman loves gold so much that she launched a brand Mountain & Molehill dedicated to quirky products covered in gold leaf. The products including lampshades, prints, paperweight feature animal prints in monochrome with touch of gold added as a crown, hat or heart. Victorian style illustrations are printed on fine art paper and hand-gilded with 24 carat gold leaf which makes every piece unique. Her products have been featured in many publications including: The Sunday Times, Easy Living, The Guardian and Stylist.

The lampshades can be bought separately or with sleek conical lamp base, available in two sizes,  hand turned in South Wales from homegrown English Oak. If you like to order any of her products, you can learn more on shipping on this page on her website.

Animal Tree of Stacking Cups

Do you remember this quirky teapot? James Ward's creates whimsical illustrations usually depicting animals centered around eating or asking politely for your food. His anthropomorphic characters are presented in a way so we humans can identify with them focusing on the idea as "if they’re communicating and taking part in our lives. For example, sitting on the couch, eating cake in your pants may be something I do, but it would be nice to think that all animals could do that."

He puts these illustrations on ceramic stacking cups (among other things) creating irresistibly cool products. The stacking cups come in set of two and sometimes more forming a complete animal on being stacked together or to make an animal tree with multiple animals. Available here and here.

Enchanting Characters by Klaus Haapaniemi

The Owl and Jay

The owl hat was made with starched laces to given it victorian feel.

The Guinea fowl 

The Woodpecker

The Squirrel

The Fox and the Vixen

Finnish designer Klaus Haapaniemi made his opera set design debut by creating a colorful world of animals for The Cunning Little Vixen originally written by Leoš Janáček. The story of a female fox captured by a human and obliged to live among humans until it manages to escape to her freedom. It's a sad yet a beautiful story depicting a relationship between animals and humans that comes alive by Haapaniemi’s rich designs in form of detailed set and costumes.

The costumes were made using natural materials like wool and silk "for it to stay light and be flexible and dynamic for moving on the stage but also be visually impactful and detailed with strong graphic silhouettes." 

"My aim was to give each costume a recognisable character and it was strongly based on the hand sewn geometric patterns and the focal point of each outfit are the hats that give each costume their distinctive look. The hats are one of the most important parts of the whole visual concept of the Cunning Little Vixen. The hat like head pieces that are functional in the fast choreography are successful only because the incredible skill of their makers." -  The artist shares his idea behind the costumes on his website. 

You can learn more about each of the characters and their costumes on this page.  

New "Little Owl" by Orla Kiely

Orla Kiely's brand new bags from their collection "Little Owl" features their signature owl motif. The stem quilted backpack, messenger and tote bags from the range are reversible with block color on the reverse side so you can change it to match your mood! There is also wallet and pencil case offered by the range in moss & grey, and candy & red.

Oh, and there is a "Big Owl" collection as well which I will be sharing with you soon. Stay tuned!

Stunning Vintage Owl Umbrella Stand

Look, what did I stumble across. A gorgeous mid century owl umbrella stand! The umbrella stand comes with a rare matching lid with an owl handle. It's made of ceramic featuring yellow eyed owl with tree details on both the sides. The blue provides with an ideal backdrop for the brown colored owl perched on a stump with a stern look on its face. It will be a perfect one-of-a-kind piece to guard the grand entry of your house.

Tinware and More by Wrendale

The Country Set by Wrendale Designs are designed and hand painted by award winning artist Hannah Dale. Inspired by the glorious Lincolnshire countryside and outdoor the range offers fabulous tinware, ceramics, stationery and more featuring beautiful animal illustrations that pop on a white background. The products come in many animal friendly designs including owl, hare and duck.