Sibella Court Archives - The Curated House

Design Find | Armadillo Co Rugs | Australia

Today I thought I’d share a little eye candy with you in the form of some beautiful, flat-woven rugs hailing all the way from the warm shores of Australia. On first glance, you’ll see why the classic and modern patterns and highly saturated colours of Armadillo & Co‘s rugs caught my attention. But when you read their story, that’s when you’ll really fall in love.

I’m torn between the “Casablanca” burnt-red-on-cream {second from top}, the “Crosscut” red and orange and natural grey directly above and the goldenrod, grey and cream “Persia” below as my favourites.

Gorgeous, right? These pieces are all from their Designer Collection. Modern and graphic yet classic and timeless, these rugs could make just about any house feel like home.

But I promised you a good story today, didn’t I? Yes, yes. Theirs is a delightful one. Because this story {similar to that of Heavenly Organics} is a story of a business that cares for people. You see, their products are completely fair trade, and Armadillo & Co treats their artisans like extended family – with the kind of care, respect and love they would a father, mother, brother or sister. They select their artisans for both their hands and their heart, seeking out those who are both skilled and sensitive to their design aesthetic while carrying on an intricate tradition of weaving that has been passed down through many generations. Their wages are above average and integral to the health and well-being of their local community, and the lineage of handicraft they preserve in the work they do now.

They are working in meaningful ways to redeem an industry that has historically abused the people to create the product. As supporters and advocates for “Care & Fair,” they are working to ensure that child labour in the carpet production industry becomes a thing of the past by helping to finance local education and purchasing play equipment for the local school in the region of India where their rugs are woven.

{When purchasing any rug or carpet made in India, look for the ‘KALEEN’ label. Issued by the Carpet Export Promotion Council  of India, it guarantees that child labour was not used in manufacture.}

So happy to find a company that meets my “beautiful process, beautiful product” standards! So happy to be sharing them with you today.

Stay cozy and be kind to one another!

xo
s.

Chronicle Books | San Francisco

You know how sometimes you feel like you’ve just found “your people?” People who also care about beautiful photographs and gorgeous content, people who value the unusual and the unique, people who have a slightly quirky sense of humor, people for whom beautiful paper and flat-edge bindings are a love language? Well, I found just such people on my recent trip to San Francisco when I stumbled upon Chronicle Books, and I am delighted to share them with you today.

Image via Chronicle Books

An indie publisher with three retail locations in the city, Chronicle Books is truly “by creatives for creatives.” An hour spent perusing their shelves led to laughing out loud, smiling huge smiles, gasping with delight, a desire to create, and a really huge wish list of books! Thankfully they ship to Canada!

Here are a few of my favourites that I think you’ll want to check out:

This beautiful, cloth-bound, hardcover book is brimming with inspiration and detail. Taking well-traveled design to a whole new level, Sibella Court captures the essence of exotic locations in the details, colour palettes, textures and artisinal crafts featured within stunning interior spaces. Showing readers how to carefully curate a look that has been “collected over time,” NOMAD is the kind of book that can help you find your interior “voice” in a whole new way. Incidentally, Sibella Court is a celebrated designer who works with Anthropologie. She also owns her own shop in Australia called The Society Inc.

If you have a weakness for the vintage charm of Polaroid photography, then INSTANT LOVE will instantly be added to your wish list {as it has been to mine}.

This charming book trailer has me hunting for a Polaroid camera to add to my creative arsenal ASAP!

If, like me, you are addicted to paper products and love their possibilities, then you will love both the process and the product of this next book, BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON. First, watch the video that captures how the illustrations were created:

And here is the delightful cover:

Even as my son grows older, I will still collect beautiful children’s books when they are this inspiring!

Now, for a seriously good laugh, check out their National Bestseller, F IN EXAMS. Celebrating the creative side of failure, this book has some exam answers I wish I’d given in university! Hilarious!

Remember how I said I came away with a huge wish list of books? This is just the start. I promise to share more from Chronicle Books in upcoming posts {and I will dedicate an entire post JUST to their delicious array of cookbooks}.

Which books are on your wish list? Tell me how Chronicle Books has inspired you and which ones catch your eye!

xo
s.