A GEM OF A FIND

Sometimes in life the best things come through recommendation, and a little bird told us about this beauty, Battlesbridge. This tiny rural village is just shop after shop of antiques.

Starting at the huge Old Mill Antique and Craft Centre at the heart of the village we meandered our way through the floors of antiques.

There is something for everyone with a love of old and vintage finds - from outdoorsy garden stuff to beautiful walnut wardrobes and all the little bits and pieces in between. If only Clementine & Bloom had a bigger car to transport it all home in!

The absolute highlight of the day was the discovery of a room full of antique amusement arcade games, our favourites were the old fortune teller and this beautiful carousel.

Battlesbridge is a beautiful old village with a long history of antiques, and even though we went on a miserable old February day it still captured our imagination. And after all that hard work rummaging through Aladin's cave in the search of treasure we welcomed a hearty lunch in the local pub.

And incase you were wondering we didn't come away empty handed...we couldn't resist buying this ornate oval mirror for a bargainacious £28!

All in all, a much recommended gem!

WONDER HILL MARKET

Stuck for ideas on how to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon? We spent last Saturday browsing around the Wonder Hill market, featuring designers and makers and vintage finds. For lunch we popped into Borough Market and then along to Neal's Yard Dairy for a ton of cheese!

FISH SUPPER

This weekend Clementine & Bloom decided to venture to Hammersmith for a fish and chip supper on the advice of the Financial Times How to Spend It magazine.

Our destination was Kerbisher & Malt, a cool location for some classic comfort food. We opted for a simple haddock and chips combo with their much recommended homemade tartar sauce on the side.

Not only was the food great but the interior was cool and utilitarian. We loved the industrial light fittings and now Clementine & Bloom want a wall of these fabulous tiles that we can write on, just like this one!

THE QUEEN OF TARTS

Recently I have been mastering the art of making pastry and I was so impressed with the result that I couldn't resist photographing them!

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

With love, hearts and all things red occupying Clementine and Bloom's mind we decided to share some of our other 'loves' with you...

KEEP WARM & CARRY ON

In the words of the great William Morris 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.'

With that in mind Clementine & Bloom bring you useful and beautiful hot water bottle covers to keep you and your loved ones warm through these chilly winter nights.

FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY

Clementine & Bloom have produced their first cushion collection!

Having felt loved up for weeks about the prospect of Valentine's Day we released the Heart Cushion in our etsy shop ahead of finishing the collection. And now, having been happily snowed in all week, we can unveil the Union Jack Cushion, the Stars and Stripes Cushion, the Crown Cushion and the Heart Cushion.

In a truly Great British year of the Diamond Jubilee and Olympics what better way to show your love for your country than with our fabulously patriotic designs (and we even added the American flag for our friends across the pond).

As always, you can find all of these and many more delightful designs in our shop.

HEART'S CONTENT

With Valentine's Day just around the corner we thought now was the perfect time to make the Heart Quilt.

The plan was only hatched a few weeks ago during our escape to France meaning the clock was ticking to have it made before 14th February. As this was our first foray into quilted icons it was an exciting opportunity to draft our own pattern and with two heads being better than one, the design was created. We set to work with both sewing machines going at full speed and can now reveal the finished quilt.

Available now in our shop; the perfect gift for the one you love.

FANCY FOOTWORK

In the studio today...

With these essential materials (and the pattern from the Quilt Yourself Gorgeous book) we have made a fabulous new pair of slippers.

To see the finished pair and our other items visit us in our shop!

LOVE, SEW, TRAVEL

Here at Clementine & Bloom we love to sew. Sometimes, however, when there is a big project or a deadline the only view you see every day is this

Recently, when some brave member of the family has had to drag me kicking and screaming away from the sewing machine or I have to admit that the light is really just too poor to continue, there has been another pastime to consume my restless mind. I have rediscovered my love of books.

Although my body has been restricted to the confines of my table in the studio, in my head I have been grappling with icy storms at the South Pole, unraveling mysteries and corruption in Sweden and have just begun an adventure which takes me from Tokyo across the beautiful cities of Europe.

Don't you just love to read?

OPEN ALL HOURS

Clementine & Bloom has opened the doors (metaphorically speaking) to our first shop. Come and browse our delightful designs at CLEMENTINEandBLOOM on etsy!

Here's a sneak peak at the first listing, but keep popping back because exciting Valentine's gifts our still to come...