Cotton Coated Marimekko Fabric

So when did we get to December already? Time has simply flown by these last few months. It has been head down, tail up at Kiitos since we returned from the Paris trade fairs. We have been so busy distributing our Acapulco Chairs and sourcing new product for the store. Yesterday someone told me "busy is the new black" - well if  that is so we are right in vogue!

One of the new items now in stock is our marimekko coated cotton. Perfect for Summer entertaining, its bright and colourful and can be easily wiped down with a damp cloth. Red wine stains are no longer a problem! I have had a few chuckles with customers who told me they would not dare contemplate having a lovely marimekko fabric table cloth as their friends and family are not to be trusted not to spill red wine on it.

Our Marimekko Coated Cotton Fabrics are available in the following gorgeous colours and patterns, and retails for $85.00/ meter. Click the images below for more information and to buy, or call us at the store 03 52541835 to place an order. 

Look for the Kiitos Living by Design Ad in the October/November 2011 issue of Inside Out Magazine (page 85).

We think that Nikole Furnari did a fabulous job with the photgraphy and Annaliese Zanoni styled up all our products so beautifully, while the graphic design team at Inside out pulled it all together. Many thanks to you all.

Marimekko Vattenblank Art fabric, designed by Astrid Sylwan, is the first release of this fabric sold out world wide. The good news is our next shippment is expected to leave Helsinki on 24/10/11. Shop online now to secure your piece, because we are certain that it will run out again.  

It has been a busy time for us of late. Planning this trip to Paris, organizing photo shoots for our upcoming advertising campaign, and we have been quietly talking to fabulous Australian brand Aesop about the possibility of Kiitos Living by Design becoming the Aesop Stockist on the Bellarine.

Happily for us, Aesop has entrusted Kiitos to become the stockist of the brand on the Bellarine. We are very excited and honoured at this development and know that we will represent Aesop to the high standards that the brand is renowned for.

Considering the turn of events, it would have been remiss of me not to visit the Aesop store at 20 rue Bonaparte, Saint Germaine Des Pres in Paris, during my trip to Paris. 

Getting to the store was quite an adventure. My first attempt was thwarted by torrential rain and me ending up looking like a drowned Parisian Rat, (well rue Bonaparte is close to the Seine River), so I had no option but to head back to the hotel and a hot shower! I had better luck on my second attempt and found the store easily. Unfortunately it was a Sunday and like most stores in Paris it was shut.

Travelling alone means that one has to smile  at a fellow tourist while holding put your camera  - the  picture of me was taken by a lovely Australian couple from Melbourne who are spending two years travelling around Europe. It is always so nice to bump into a fellow Aussie when travelling.

It is Design Week in Paris during 12th-18th Septemeber .In its shops, Aesop is showing the work of Studio Jo Meesters. The PULP2.0 installation is the fruit of lengthy research on the possible uses of used paper, when you make it water resistant.

Well it's been a very busy time for us in Paris. The Maison et Objet Trade fair was all that it was expected to be and more - so many lovely products and so much new interesting design. It was design heaven.

Just when I thought I'd seen it all, someone invents a new product that is so simple and yet so practical that I am left with the thought; well why didn't I just think of that. I have a belief that most humans are creative and inspired but often lack the courage of their convictions to go ahead and develop their ideas, unlike the "designers" of the world. 

To be honest before we started exploring and seeking new design products for Kiitos we made a beeline for the Marimekko stand. I admit, unashamedly, to having a soft spot for Marimekko. It is so iconic and bright and happy. It has withstood the test of time and continues to be current and forward looking. 

We are excited at the new products we saw at the Marimekko stand and can't wait for them to be available in Australia!

One of the highlights of my second day in Paris was visiting famed Paris department store Galeries Lafayette, in the Opera District. I chanced upon a wonderful exhibition by French Bag brand LANCEL as they relaunch the Daligram Bag Collection.

Dali showed his passion and love for graphics through the alphabet of love he created for Gala, his wife and muse. The Daligram consists of, G for Gradiva-Gala, D for Dali, S for Salvador, in eight stylised and encrypted characters, in Indian ink and gold. 

In 1970 LANCEL interpreted the Daligrams with the creation of a unique collector's bag dedicated to Gala, The Dali, the handle of which was a bicycle chain, the symbol of sincere devotion between two energies going in the same direction.

More than a bag, more than a mere monogram, created by Dali, the Daligram is a declaration of love.

This was the sense I had as I admired the bag, and watched the rare, never before seen, images of Dali and Gala.

I also met the lovely Alexandra who is Directrice Marketing and Communication for LANCEL, who spent some time explaining the whole Dali - Lancel history to me. Thank you, Alexandra it was pleasure meeting you.

Today's the day we pack our bags and head to Paris for two weeks.

We are going to attend the Maison & Objet trade fair, seeking wonderful new design products for Kiitos.

Kiitos will be closed on  Mon, Tues, & Wed during the two weeks we are away, and will trade as normal on all other days.

All email inquiries will be answered daily and internet orders will be processed as normal during our time in Paris.

We are very exited and hope to find lots of wonderful new products for the store.. 

Bon voyage to us !

Marimekko Vattenblank Art fabric designed by Astrid Sylwan.

Fabric measures 145 x 144 cm is 100 % cotton, and depicts the movement and power of flowing water.

Surging water draws you into a painterly world of yellow shimmers and variegated shadows.

Astrid Sylwan's Vattenblank Art fabric has been extremely well recieved world wide, and has sold out.

At Kiitos Living by Design our next shipment of  marimekko Vattenblank Art fabric is expected to arrive in Australia on 24/10/11.

We assure you the wait will be worth it... the piece is stunning. 

Purchase your Vattenblank Art piece online now and your fabric will be on backorder and shipped to you as soon as it arrives in store.

Duck and Duckling by Hans Bolling

During the Spring of 1959, having seen a duck family in the city, a policeman took it upon himself to stop the traffic for a moment to let them pass across the street undisturbed. 

It was from this event - which was captured in a famous photo that made international headlines - that Hans Bolling was inspired to create the Duck Family.

The Duck and Duckling capture this exact moment, with all its serenity and harmony and demonstrates the Danish attention to nature and detail, with the ability to appreciate the small every day miracles. 

Kiitos Living by Design is  looking forward welcoming Architectmade's Duck and Duckling by Hans Bolling, and is exited to be stocking other wonderful, well designed, collectable Architectmade Products in Australia, and will blog about those soon. 

Last night  marimekko Kevatjuhla fabric  was used as a back drop in one of the projects in Channel 10's "The Renovators" show.

At Kiitos Living by Design we adore this pattern. It is bold and fresh. 

As a city girl when I first looked at the design my thought was, ok calves and cows, but I was corrected by an old farmer who told me that the piece features 2 bull calves, 2 calves, 2 bulls and 2 cows! Who would have thought!

We know that Kevatjuhla will appeal to many, Australia being such a vast grazing and agricultural country.

When Cadel Evans becomes the first Australian to ever win Le Tour De France, and you own store, selling Marimekko in his home town,in Australia, you celebrate by hanging off a bridge wearing a Marimekko apron ! This photo appeared in Melbournes,The Age Newspaper, 27/7/11.

Congratulations Cadel we look forward to welcoming you back to Barwon Heads soon.

 

Today we are loving marimekko's BLUES.
In Good Company, Siirtolapuutarha fabric, plates and bowls. The colour is so fresh and crisp.
All china is oven, microwave, dishwasher and freezer safe - how handy!
Cook a meal, set your table and invite your friends.
Enjoy good company.