Christmas Collection

It's been a while since the last post! We've been super busy at LB HQ, doing shows, fulfilling orders and designing new products!

Here are our Christmas cushions.........

£25 each at www.lettiebelle.com

Food Glorious Food

We love food in our family, it's integral to everyday life and being together. Here is some of the delicious food we ate on our hols! If you ask Scarlett her favourites, I predict the answer will be 'mmmmm more squid, more ice cream mummy?!' She definitely fits in.....

Tate St Ives

For the second week of our holiday, we stayed just outside the beautiful coastal Cornish town of St Ives. To get there we hopped on the train for a 10 min meander along the coastline. It was a big change to Nick's usual commute!

I had been to the Tate St Ives about 15 years ago, when it first opened. It's a small but perfectly formed gallery, and just right for 2 year old Scarlett's first art gallery experience. I spent every Sunday of my childhood either in a London gallery, Museum or a country National Trust property. Only as an adult have I really realised how lucky we were to be exposed to so many interesting and beautiful places.

Scarlett is a particular fan of sculpture (see Henry Moore post!), and told me exactly what each one was. These enlightening nuggets ranged from a fish to a robot. We ignored some uptight, snooty people who seemed to think that children shouldn't be allowed in such places.

The real treat came when we reached a walkway/balcony which look out onto a huge sea-facing window and open gallery. the gallery contained hundreds and hundreds of white inflated balloons! This is a work called 'Half The Air in a Given Space' by Martin Creed. It is interactive, and Nick and Scarlett went in first. Her face when she entered the room was one of pure amazement and happiness! The balloons covered the heads of adults and walking through was a strange experience. We spent quite some time in there, and I'm sure it was the highlight of the 2 weeks for Scarlett!

Another work was a room covered in the names of visitors in black pen by staff at the height of the person. It's a fantastic room, and though Scarlett's name stood out, being very average heights, mine and Nick's were lost in the big black band made up of tons of names.

After a coffee on the windy roof, we left and went on to have a blissful lunch overlooking the sea...........all in all, a very good day!

We're Back!

We have had quite a break since the last post! I have just returned from 2 weeks in Devon and Cornwall with Scarlett and my husband. It was a wonderful break, and I have a couple of posts planned about it (don't worry, I'll try to keep the holiday snaps to a minimum!)

New designs are being drawn for a cushion collection, wall art and lampshades so Lettie Belle HQ is super busy!

Henry Moore at Hatfield House

We are lucky to live a 5 minute drive away from spectacular Hatfield House. With it's huge park land, beautiful gardens and newly added farm and adventure playground, it's the perfect place for a family day out. At the moment, until September 18, it also houses a collection of Henry Moore sculptures.


The sculptures are spread out around the gardens, it's a real pleasure to wander around, discovering each piece. The house is also open to visit and holds many paintings of Elizabeth I, well worth looking around. The surrounding gardens are beautiful, and the Holly Walk is perfect for a gentle stroll, or mad running, depending on who you came with!

On Sunday we took a picnic and spent the day exploring. The farm is full of old breed animals and opportunities for the children to feed them. A couple of sandpits with play diggers were also very popular. Though Scarlett thought she was walking in sugar?! The adventure playground has a zip side and a replica of the main house to play in, among other attractions.

We also indulged in a cake and tea from the lovely restaurant. A cluster of gorgeous shops distracted me slightly, filled with handmade designs.

I also returned yesterday with my mum and Scarlett, and we had another fabulous day in the sunshine!

Abigail Brown's Beautiful Creatures

I absolutely love these pieces, especially the flamingo and owls! Abigail Brown is a very talented illustrator and maker. Her birds seem to be illustrations which have come alive! Created using scraps of fabric which Abigail collects, each is finished with tiny hand stitches.
Abigail works from a studio at Cockpit Arts and her creations are much loved around the world.

Visit her website at www.abigail-brown.co.uk to be enchanted.....

New Play Felt Sets

Our new play felt sets are now available to purchase from the website! A new take on an old favourite, they come in 3 designs, Garden, Woodland and Ahoy There! Each set is made up of a two-tone felt board and a selection of felt shapes. They come in an organic cotton case, making them great for journeys or just putting in a day bag.

These sets encourage creative, imaginative play and are already proving popular!

Play Felt Sets at wwww.lettiebelle.com , £13.50 each

New Animal Fair Cushion Collection

Tadaaaah! Here is our new Animal Fair cushion collection. As ever, they are created using organic cotton, eco-fi felt, leather detail and hand stitching. Inspiration came from my daughter's favourite animals at Whipsnade zoo. These cushions get just as positive a reaction from grown ups as little ones!
Available now on the website, long cushions (30cm x 50cm) £45, small cushions £25

Happy, Happy Birthday!

My tiny baby is 2 today! It seems like just yesterday that she arrived into the world in a giant bath. I see what people mean, I can't remember my life before Scarlett........all a bit blurry, probably just the lack of sleep!
Happy Birthday Scarlett!
X

Ladybird, ladybird....

Here is Scarlett on her daily morning hunt for ladybirds in the garden.........success!

New Prints

We launched our new prints at Pulse trade show and they proved rather popular! They will be available on the website from next week. I was hoping to have them up sooner along with other new products, however lots of lovely orders have delayed that! They are high quality giclee prints, and taken from original pencil illustrations I created. There are more on the way later in the year representing the newer designs. I hope you like them! (please excuse images, a proper photo shoot is definitely in order).