http://www.featherandblack.com/blogFeather and Black offer professional advice on bedroom styling and quality bedroom furnitureen-gbFri, 24 May 2013 05:32:55Fri, 24 May 2013 05:32:55http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/may-2013/shopping-at-$4-other-storiesIt’s not often I write about shopping, although it is something I love to do! But I just had to let you all know and encourage you all to take yourselves to the new & Other Stories clothing store which has opened very recently on Regent Street, if you are not in the capital thankfully you can also shop online . According to Grazia, “ & Other Stories throws out the high street rule book. Ignoring fast fashion trends the brand's collections are instead anchored around four perennial style tribes – or ‘stories’ - which evolve season to season." I can’t help but agree, the pieces are timeless and can be reworked from season to season, year to year. The clothes are chic, on trend and well priced. Whether you are looking for a bright blouse to liven up work wear, soft knitwear or accessories & Other Stories is my new destination store. I particularly loved the accessories from headbands to chunky necklaces to the most incredible clutch bags. I currently have my eye on a big envelop clutch and at £12 I think that it is a steal – I might have to buy all the colours. I haven’t even started on how amazing the shoes are yet… Don’t take my word for it, pop in and shop till you drop… Love Holly xTue, 21 May 2013 11:00:00http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/may-2013/shopping-at-$4-other-storieshttp://www.featherandblack.com/blog/may-2013/a-note-from-our-farmerAfter visiting our wonderful farm in the heart of Yorkshire I love hearing about what is going on up there so Gary the farmer has been sending me updates... Here is a little note from him all about our black sheep Barry. "Barrington is a proud thorough bred tup with a reputation made up of self importance and stamina. Two qualities which the ladies find rather fetching. Not to mention his other two qualities. Barrington is a Zwartble, a Dutch pedigree flock known to be a marvellously productive scandivanian dairy breed. The name Zwarble translates directly as ‘white blaze’ which can be seen emblazened down his beautifully chiselled nose. During the last week in October Barrington was introduced to his hareem of 40 ladies and there followed his first real stamina test. All the females are 1st time shearlings and as the initial courtship had not been properly explained there ensued an exhausting game of chase. After 4 laps of the field the girls had had enough and sucumbed to Barringtons powers of seduction. Well done Barrington. Proof of his prowess is in the birth of his first lambs and first herd of Barrington Black Sheep…with a white blaze down their noses. Gary the Farmer " Pop to our Facebook page to keep updated on Barry and the new lambs and read our poem here . Love Holly xFri, 17 May 2013 03:00:00http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/may-2013/a-note-from-our-farmerhttp://www.featherandblack.com/blog/may-2013/a-weekend-in-the-countryLast weekend I hope you all enjoyed a glorious bank holiday. I was lucky enough to return to my family home for some time back in the countryside. Here is my weekend summed in a few instagram pictures! My favourite part of walking Dennis (the naughtiest dog) was that it felt like summer had finally arrived and the white and pink blossom on the trees was a welcome burst of colour. It seems that the countryside is also really popular in magazines too – Country Homes & Interiors borrowed our Oliver bed in bronze to create this vintage country inspired look. It’s really easy to achieve, a simple iron bed forms the basis of the look, then style with Weekender bedlinen in soft grey stripes and a simple soft colour palette of light greys. Get The Look: Oliver Bed Bronze , Weekender Bedlinen , Scalloped Kntted Cushion , Organdie Grey Cushion I love coming back to work after being in the outdoors; it always makes me feel so inspired and this weekend I am off camping! Love Holly xFri, 10 May 2013 08:00:00http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/may-2013/a-weekend-in-the-countryhttp://www.featherandblack.com/blog/may-2013/books-in-bed-'dear-entrepreneur'This ‘Books in Bed’ is a little bit special… This month I have been reading a book put together by our very own Ecommerce Executive Danny (he's in charge of all things website, SEO and digital.) Outside of work he is a budding entrepreneur and alongside his brother-in-law Andrew Blackman has published ‘Dear Entrepreneur ’ a book created to inspire and advise anyone who is interested in creating their own business adventure from those who have done it themselves. 'Dear Entrepreneur' is a collection of inspiring letters from business founders who have started up and gone it alone to build successful businesses. It offers advice, tips and inspiration in abundance with true life stories written by those who understand what it’s like to take the plunge and what you need to succeed. I took the opportunity and asked Danny a few questions HC: Why did you decide to write the book? DB: We didn’t, we decided to ask hundreds of business owners to write it for us. We knew we wanted to put a book together and as we are both interested in the business world we decided this would be our topic. Seeing as we hadn’t started a business ourselves we realised we probably wouldn’t be able to sell the book with our names behind it alone, also due to our lack of business experience we couldn’t provide content that would be of worth to the reader. We didn’t let this stop us so we started contacting businesses, after an amazingly positive response Dear Entrepreneur was born. Within 6 months we had a complete book, a publishing deal and hundreds of new contacts. HC:Do you have any tips for aspiring authors? DB:Just go for it. Initially we didn’t entertain the possibility of being published, we were going to self-publish as an eBook. There are so many writers out there that don’t get publishing deals, publishers are sent hundreds of manuscripts every week. One day whilst calling around businesses to gain content for the book I spoke to Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation, unknown to me she is also part owner of Brightword publishing which is an imprint of Harriman House, she asked if I would like to meet to discuss them publishing it and the rest is history. The point of this is that we started out with the aim to create a book without relying on a publisher; anyone can be an author nowadays as long as they are willing put the work in and can use a computer. Using Amazon Kindle’s self-publishing tool you can upload and sell your book using a simple word doc format. HC: Do you consider yourselves a young Lord Sugar? DB:We certainly have the drive Lord Sugar had when he started out. I think being an entrepreneur is about having the right attitude towards putting the work in to succeed in whatever it is you want to do with your life. The Book Tour where Danny & Andrew who put together the book delivered copies to those who had written a letter for them they are here with Richard from Eyetease Media and the Love Da Popcorn guys. So if after a bad day at work you pick up a glass of wine and start dreaming about making it on your own have this book as your companion! I predict that after all the brilliant reviews on amazon, and this one, and being picked as Flybe’s book of the month that Dear Entrepreneur is set to be a huge hit, so read it before the crowds… Love Holly xThu, 09 May 2013 02:00:00http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/may-2013/books-in-bed-'dear-entrepreneur'http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/april-2013/bed-coutureCreating a bespoke bed in an unequivocally beautiful fabric is equivalent to buying fabulous fashion couture, it allows you to create something entirely unique. Our Designers Guild SS13 Fabric books have landed at a few of our specially picked stores, and it has inspired me to think about my favourite florals for this season. The May issue of Homes & Gardens features our wing backed Louis bed upholstered in the latest Seraphina Designers Guild fabric. I don't think I have been so in love with a bed before (ever!). The magazine styled the blowsy floral print with deep mulberry walls and weathered oak furniture. if you feel as inspired as I did I have put together a quick get the look for you. Get The Look: Louis Bed , Seraphina Fabric, Sienna Bedside Here are a few of our other favourite fabrics from the Designers Guild Collection. Team this vintage oil colour inspired floral with any of our upholstered beds, I think it would look fabulous on our low and contemporary Farringdon for an unexpected antithesis. Pop in to one of these lovely stores to see the fabric books and be inspired Beaconsfield , Chichester , Chiswick , East Sheen , Fulham, Henley , Kingston , Tottenham Court Road , Guildford , Wilmslow Create something beautiful! Love Holly x P.S Equally you can buy prêt-à-porter in our range of standard fabrics .Mon, 15 Apr 2013 02:00:00http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/april-2013/bed-couturehttp://www.featherandblack.com/blog/april-2013/nyc-industrial-inspirationOur very lovely Laura, Head of Marketing, was lucky enough to jet off to New York for a few days taking a well earned break, much to the envy of the whole office! I haven't been lucky enough to visit the Big Apple yet, although I have dreamed about it ever since I became obsessed with Carrie and the girls on Sex and The City. Inspired by her incredible photos of an industrial NYC I put together some trend inspiration. For the industrial look, keep the details simple - we paired our beautiful bronze Normandy design with soft sunshine shades of yellow for a subtle antithesis that lets the statement bed really stand out. For accessories, we paired henna detailing with tactile velvets. One of the best parts ( for the office) was the saltwater Taffy we all got to enjoy when Laura returned. Love Holly xFri, 12 Apr 2013 02:00:00http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/april-2013/nyc-industrial-inspirationhttp://www.featherandblack.com/blog/april-2013/books-in-bed-'the-great-gatsby'It’s been a while since I’ve managed to find the time to hunker down with a good book in bed but over the last few weeks I’ve been settled with ‘The Great Gatsby’ and surrendered to the frivolous, decadent, glamour and wealth of the jazz age and the roaring twenties. Having never read The Great Gatsby, I was enticed by the tinsel of the jazz age ( anything to avoid the grey skies and snow we’ve been having recently) I didn’t expect the love story to grab me so intently, but it did and I was pulled into a book filled with words of dreams and I loved it! Reading In Bed Essentials: Book The Great Gatsby, Faded Dahlia Bed Linen , Knitted Scalloped Throw , Tea for One , Velvet Blue Cushion The love story between Gatsby and Daisy felt like I was reading something really beautiful and after finishing it I find myself thinking about the green light at the end of Daisy’s Dock. Definitely a book to read, and especially before the film is released in May! I would love to hear your thoughts on the novel, let me know what you think on our Facebook page. Love Holly xFri, 05 Apr 2013 12:00:00http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/april-2013/books-in-bed-'the-great-gatsby'http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/march-2013/pastels-inspired-by-easterSweet shades inspired by the outer shells of our favourite sugary Easter treats have had a revival. Choose sugary pinks, powder greens and duck egg blues and mix with soft whites, florals and beautiful furniture for the perfect look for springtime. These are my Easter Cakes, the office all seemed to like them! Shop Shades of Pink I love the shades of light blue with dusky pink on our mosaic throw and cushion , it adds a soft, feminine look for any bedroom and reminds me of soft egg shell shades. While the delicate Organidie Accessories with their thin, almost transparent edging is beautifully simple to work with any look. Shop Pastel Accessories With pastels, moderation can be key with strong sugary shades. This eau de nil and duck egg scheme works really well when teamed with white bedlinen and neutral upholstery . Pastel accessories bring out the beautiful Cole & Sons Wallpaper print without it looking too kitsch. I hope you have been inspired to create a beautiful pastel inspired look for your home. Happy Easter! Love Holly XThu, 28 Mar 2013 03:00:00http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/march-2013/pastels-inspired-by-easterhttp://www.featherandblack.com/blog/march-2013/march-is-national-bed-monthMarch is National Bed Month, we have put together our tips on refreshing your bed and mattress for Spring... While a beautiful bedroom helps to promote sleep, the bed and mattress are critical to the quality of sleep that you get. Bed frames are all different, you can choose from classic wooden, beautiful upholstered or opulent metal designs. The most important piece of advice we would give is to think like goldilocks. Try everything to find you perfect mattress and bed, because by the time we are 50, we will have spent on average 16 years in bed - so it’s best to get it right. The Sleep Council advises that you change your bed and mattress every seven years. Their research suggests that nearly a quarter of people questioned prefer the beds they sleep in when they go away to the ones they have at home. If you get a better night sleep while you are away (and not just because the kids aren’t there to get into bed with you) this is a tell-tale sign that you need a new bed and mattress. Mattresses get lots of wear from bouncing kids, heavy usage and unequal pressure distribution and we advise that it is time for a new mattress if you and your partner roll into the middle; you wake up with any stiffness or pain, your mattress sags or if it is dirty. The survey also showed that co-habiting couples are the least likely to find their mattress very comfortable. With couples, often different weights, sizes and preferences mean that choosing a mattress together can often mean a compromise. We offer a tailored fitting service and are able to create a mattress with two sides of different tension levels to suit each individual. Our stores will guide you through the different tensions and support levels to find the perfect combination for you. If you sleep with a partner it’s important to try out the mattresses together as it is unusual for partners to have identical requirements. We love finding, designing and creating the perfect mattress in two halves - so you can both enjoy a perfect night sleep without compromise. Shop our Bed and Mattress Collections Love Holly xTue, 19 Mar 2013 09:00:00http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/march-2013/march-is-national-bed-monthhttp://www.featherandblack.com/blog/march-2013/homes-$4-gardens-designer-awardsLast night I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the Homes & Gardens Designer Awards 2013 with Katie (our wonderful PR Consultant). The awards were created and hosted by one of our favourite magazines Homes & Gatrdens, to celebrate talent in the design world.It was so inspirational to attend awards which celebrated the best in aesthetic, quality and innovation. The categories included best bathroom designer, best young designer and best surface designer. Held at the British Museum, the location was incredible, the canapés, champagne and good company made it a wonderful evening. Here are some photos I sneakily took to give you a behind the scenes look at the event… Love Holly x P.S You only have untill the 14th March to pick up your copy of the March edition and use the exclusive 20% discount code found inside...Thu, 07 Mar 2013 04:00:00http://www.featherandblack.com/blog/march-2013/homes-$4-gardens-designer-awards