when in Rome...

do your research before you go so that when you visit the spanish steps, the trevi fountain or the piazza navona you know there's a very cool spot close by where you can enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail and feel right at home in the eternal city...

i've been very lax-a-daisy since i've returned what with one thing or another...

but starting tomorrow will be a few posts of some of the hot spots i squeezed into my weekend in Rome...

la dolce vita...i certainly felt it in some of these places...

falling behind...

well folks...apologies in my lack of posts these past 2 weeks...

i've have loads i want to talk about especially my visit to rome amongst interesting articles in the papers here but i've a few other things on the agenda as well so i'm finding it hard to squeeze in 10/15 minute sinto my day to blogg...

hopefully next week i'll beb ack to a more regular attack on my blogg...

image courtesy of www.cartoonstock.com

styling...

a new chinese restaurant is opening across the road from my work next week, and yesterday the owner came into the store to ask my advice and help on dressing and styling the interior for her...

that made my day...it felt great that someone wanted to draw on my skills and it's also good to feel like i'm networking with other businesses in the area...

more pics to come on this when the fit-out is completed and the restaurant is open...

mydeco your space competition - shortlist revealed...

Vote for your favourite community space...!!!

you may recall my previous post about this very exciting competition...mydeco.com, the UK’s leading interior design and homewares website, is offering one lucky community a design makeover by British design icons Sir Terence Conran and Tara Bernerd...

over the past month, the YourSpace competition has received nearly 200 nominations, ranging from Scout huts to park pavilions, hospital waiting rooms and even the odd police station...at the same time, the public has been voting for the most deserving space...here are the top ten nominations that have made the shortlist...(images below respectively...)

Urban Academy, Kids Company, London
Reynalds Cross Special School, Solihull
Factroy4workshop, Leeds
Powis Hall, Oswestry, Shropshire
Tring Parish Church Hall, Hertfordshire
Masbro Community Centre, Shepherd's Bush
Rushworth Street Shelter, London
Pavilion in Victoria Park, Liverpool
Scartho Adult Learning Centre, Grimsby
Warndon Community Centre, Cheshire

Sir Terence Conran said, “Intelligent design has a tremendously positive effect on all our lives. If a space isn’t working for the people that use it then it is failing the community it serves. Good design can improve the quality of all our lives through spaces and products that work well are affordable and look beautiful”...

“We’re seeing a switch back to people thinking more about the community, which is why we’re asking them to vote for the most deserving space,” says Brent Hoberman, founder of mydeco.com, “So this competition is very much in the zeitgeist.” ...

to vote for your favourite from the shortlist, visit www.mydeco.com/yourspace by June 19...the winning nomination will be announced next month...

for more information please contact Natalie Kitcher at Headstream...

natalie.kitcher@headstreampr.com

http://custardbydesign.blogspot.com/2009/05/your-space-community-make-over.html

the installation and i...

just back from rome - which i will post more on - and waiting for me in the post was my signed spencer tunick print from his installation in dublin last year which i took part in...

it was a fantastic experience and i'm looking forward to the release of the artists first published book containing his works later this year...

click on the link below for more images from spencer tunick in ireland...

http://www.tunickireland.com/

la buona vita...

it's june, summer is here, the weather in dublin has been fantastic this past weekend...

my thoughts of sunny climates, a visit from a californian, and our prayers brought to us a glorious weekend...

i'm taking a little break from the blogg for a week or so...i'm going to rome on thursday for a friends wedding, and i'm looking forward to seeing some old friends, checking out the ancient parts of the eternal city, and indeed the newest hotspots in the hotel and bar circuits...

if anybody reading has any hints or tips for amazing boutique hotels, bars, cafes or design museums that are must see please leave a comment or drop an email and let me know...

i will be back next week hopefully with some cool and interesting posts from my trip to rome...

ciao...