#25Project Transformation 3: Athens, Greece!

The finished #25Project transformations are coming in thick and fast, and a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to visit one of the selected spaces in Athens, Greece. This was the first project that I've actually been to visit, and seeing first hand just how vital the space is to people and the impact that my paint could make was quite overwhelming.

I was a little daunted as to what to expect, and truth be told, I was a little unprepared for my visit. What I found there and what I came with after the experience was nothing short of incredible.

The location was in an old theatre-turned-community-centre is situated in the heart of Athens. It receives around 400 visitors a month, mainly people who have been affected by the recent economic crisis. With a focus on art therapy, the day centre allows people to participate in art, drama and music, and gain general life skills.

What was needed was a quiet, serene place where the people who use the centre could come and relax. First, the basement was selected as a suitable location and my distributor in Greece, the incredibly dynamic and wonderful Elsa, along with an army of volunteers, began clearing the space.

They then, with amazing determination and organisation, designed a perfectly calm space full of soothing colours and a simple design perfect for the members of this day centre. They chose a light colour palette of Duck Egg Blue, Antoinette, Versailles, Olive and Old Violet which you can see in their designs laid out in the moodboard at the start of this post.

I love the way that my stencils were used around the venue, as borders and to create interesting detail to the edge of shelves. Take a look at these gorgeous details below.

With my paint and products – and the incredible work of local stockists and volunteers – the dark, cluttered space became a tranquil escape, just what the community needed. I hope that my photos and words do this place justice!

I'll be revealing more transformations from the #25Project soon. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date!

Yours, 

Annie 

The Annie Sloan Fragrance Collection

I am unrepentant about the festive focus this blog has taken in the past few weeks! I love, love, love this season, and all its associated indulgence and frippery. My 12 Crafts of Christmas Campaign is – I hope! – inspiring you to make and create some wonderful adornments for your home, or even some really personal Christmas gifts.

And, on the subject of gifts, I thought this would be a good week - with 8 days to go until The Big Day - to talk about my Home Fragrance Collection: six delicious scents for your home, inspired by some of my very favourite places in France. Do forgive the plug, but they make such beautiful gifts for anyone, whether they are familiar with my products or not. Or use them to fill your own homes with fragrance - from the subtle aroma gently dispensed by my Reed Diffusers, to gorgeous scented candlelight flickering as guests arrive - always so welcoming!

My Fragrance collection was launched back in 2014 and I see it very much as a complement to my other products – accessories, even! I’ve spoken before about the inspiration behind each scent in the range: the lush green grassy notes in Antibes; timeless, leather-bound, woody Aubusson; rich, dry, slightly citrusy yet vanilla-sweet Burgundy; Provence – synonymous with sun-soaked lavender fields and balanced here with the spicy tones of amber and ginger; elegant Versailles with its soft, sophisticated heart of honeysuckle and jasmine; and, of course, Paris itself – translated by me into a luscious Damask rose-heavy bouquet, tempered with soft, powdery iris and a hint of sharp geranium. Each transports me to a different mood, a time, a place. Of course, each can be matched to a colour in the Chalk Paint® range but when you use them in your home, you’ll see they’re so much more than that – scent is so evocative, it is the silent scene setter and the finishing touch to any home!

I also want to say that it was really, really important to me when I created the range that the ingredients used should be organic - that was a no-brainer. The whole range was produced in England, and all materials used traceable to source. I make no claims to being a parfumeur – a venerable profession – but I really have worked on every aspect of this Collection – even down to my own personal take on toile de jouy, the print used to decorate the boxes.

Yours, Annie

Jelena Pticek's Scalloped Cabinet

The first project from my Canadian Painter in Residence Jelena Pticek is this fun, contemporary cabinet painted in my paint, Chalk Paint®.

The cabinet came from a friend of Jelena's, who asked her to give the tired piece of furniture a make-over – the cabinet was scratched and beaten, and didn't suit the style of her house. Jelena was given free-reign to work with any technique or style she wanted, but her friend wanted the cabinet to use green as a base colour.

Jelena chose to work with a traditional and sophisticated palette of Olive, Versailles and Country Grey. She created a gradient colour effect by applying the darkest colour – Olive –  to the top section of the cabinet, working down to Versailles, and then Country Grey. To add a modern touch she used scallop shaped masking tape to create an interesting border where two colours met.

Inside the cabinet Jelena used Graphite, which is both neutral, and dramatic. She then finished the piece with my Clear Soft Wax.

Yours, Annie

Follow Jelena on Instagram, Facebook, and their website:http://www.poppyseedcreativeliving.com/

And remember to follow #PaintersInResidence on Instagram and Facebook, as well as my Painters in Residence board on Pinterest.

Scents & Sensibility

Scents make the invisible, visible. They evoke an extra dimension to your mood or personality, and echo and amplify your room surroundings just as strongly as colours and textures impact on your visual sense of space. 

So let me tell you straightaway that my new range of scented candles and reed diffusers smell delicious! The theme for my 6 different fragrances*  is, naturellement, la belle France!

The French have style, n’est-ce pas? I love their fabrics, their brocantes, their bars and their plats de jour. (Did you know in 2011 UNESCO granted world heritage status to French food?)

My new fragrance Collection* has been inspired by the places in France that evoke for me a special atmosphere of their own. And, very neatly, they also linked in with colours in the Chalk Paint® range. 

This well-rounded collection takes you from the floral and feminine to the robust and refreshing, and I’m delighted with the results.

I hope they conjure up for you, as they do for me, the essence of France: from the rural idyll of the rolling French countryside, to the terracotta rooftops and hazy heat of the Côte d’Azur; the rain splashing on ancient cobbled streets, and clear moonlit nights over neon-lit cafés and bistros. . .

Aroma + ambience in the home

An aroma can be a potent memory stirrer: it’s amazing how a particular scent can trigger some reminiscence long-forgotten and take one back to a place – and a time – as if it was just yesterday.

Below is my ‘taster’ of the ambience and atmosphere that influenced each of my French-themed fragrances. . . I’ve added some of images that I feel evoke the essence of my collection.

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Antibes – At the end of a long, hot day, gentle, warm herb-scented breezes through the pine trees refresh the senses; a feeling of nostalgia is evoked by the scent of flora and freshly cut grass.

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Aubusson – Lost in France where delicate tapesties are woven with traditional deep, cool blue colours… hints of rich leather, thyme, and cedar wood, with a faint vanilla note.

   

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Burgundy – As deep and satisfying as a glass of full-bodied red wine, underscored with amber, vanilla and top notes of bergamot, mandarin and lemon.

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Paris – neon lights reflected on grey, rain-washed cobbles – a gentle, sophisticated scent reminiscent of the city’s casual elegance. . . a full floral bouquet of Damask rose with hints of iris and geranium.

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Provence – endless fields of soothing lavender with the added picante of geranium, ginger and amber undertones.

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Versailles – the sophistication and elegance of La Notre’s formal gardens. Fresh floral scents of honeysuckle and jasmine released after rainfall give balm to the senses as dusk draws in. 

 

‘Toile de jouy’ designs with a twist
The fragrances come in their own specially designed packaging, which gives a nod to traditional French ‘toile de Jouy’ fabric. Typically depicting quaint pastoral scenes, I've even got a few 'toile de Jouy' fabrics in my own Fabric Collection. 

For my Fragrance Collection, we've taken this centuries-old textile tradition and given it a modern twist – I absolutely love it.

Do go out and sample the scents – and don’t forget, an elegant or flowery fragrance says as much about your home-making as the colours and finishes of your Chalk Paint® furniture and walls.

*The Annie Sloan Fragrance Collection is available via my stockists across Europe now and coming to North America in the Spring.

Yours, Annie

The Naturalness of a Swedish Christmas

Swedish Christmasses are absolutely inspiring and beautiful, and quite different to any others. They are not particularly ‘yo-ho-ho’, or tinselly, they are natural, earthy, and somewhat pagan – which appeals to my Presbyterian background and desire for simplicity.

St Lucia Day
Swedish Christmas holidays start with celebrations at home and in church of St Lucia Day (mid-December). For many of Nordic origins, Lucia is the bearer of light in their cold, dark winters. She comes with candles in her hair, pure white dress (with a red sash), bringing hot beverages and pastries. 

I first came across this charming ceremony after seeing St Lucia Day – Christmas in Sweden (1908) by Carl Larrson. His use of light, and depictions of domestic life played out in folksy room interiors – all painted furniture, painted everything pretty much  – made him a HUGE influence on me. 

Carl Larsson’s Country Look

It was Larsson who re-introduced Swedish painted furniture to everybody. It had been big in the 18th century in the countryside, and in grand houses, because they had ample amounts of wood to paint. Like William Morris he romanticized going back to one’s roots, to making handmade things. Larsson used the traditional colours of Sweden – the wonderful pinky and browny reds that are native to the country in the natural pigments. Just take a look at these two interiors below of Christmas and family life.

 Girl and Rocking Chair (1907)

Christmas Morning 1894

Gustavian

Together with his wife Karin, Larsson revived a kind of provincial 'Gustavian' style in their timber cottage Lilla Hyttnäs. Named after Gustav III, the original Gustavian style was grand, all white painted rooms with pale furniture on lime-washed floorboards (copying the French court of Versailles). The Larssons’ twist was more bohemian, using earthy red sienna colours and ochres. Larsson hand painted all his furniture and some of the details depicted here are exquisite. I have always been influenced by Larsson’s colour choice and of course we have our own Scandinavian Pink.

Getting Ready for a Game 1901

I also have a personal love for the Swedish way of doing things (be it celebrations or room interiors) as my granddaughter is part Swedish! A

Happy Christmas!

Yours, Annie

PS I will be going to Sweden next year in connection with a new book!