I’ve been on a northern progress – many sights and beautiful things.  I drove up to Northumberland on Sunday – to a dreamy, romantic place, where we are being asked to design a new house to replace one long since lost, torn down in the 1950s. What a magical place, waiting for new breath to be breathed into old bones.  This was the glasshouse… This is the walled garden…. The dream.

Pentreath & Hall are delighted to welcome Marion Elliot to the Pop Up Shop next door on Rugby Street from Tuesday 19th October until Saturday 30th October. The Pop Up Shop is open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 6pm.   A designer and printmaker with a love of Folk and Vernacular/Popular art; Marion’s work has been exhibited in the UK, USA and Japan.   Marion loves shop fronts, fairgrounds, hand painted signage, advertising imagery and typography, tattoos, workers guild banners, mottos, religious iconography and paper ephemera. She is especially happy to have collaborated recently with the publisher Joe Pearson of Design For Today, on a book about the joy of the Circus.

Pentreath & Hall Ltd Shop Manager Hours: Monday – Friday, 9am – 6pm. Occasional Saturdays along with the odd late-night event. Job Description: We’re looking for a self-motivated and responsible person to take over the reins of our renowned homewares, decorative accessories and antiques shop. Our ideal candidate will be an experienced and hardworking salesperson, with focus and attention to detail. They will be required to manage the day-to-day running of the Pentreath & Hall shop and stock room. The role requires someone with great operational and sales skills and the energy, passion and innovation to maintain our ongoing reputation; both visually through the shop and through exceptional customer service. While managing a small friendly team, they must be confident in...

And so, softly, gently, summer slips into autumn. What an autumn it has been this year.  I suppose it is amazing how just when the world feels stranger than ever, Alice-through-the-looking-glass, nothing quite what it is, that nature – the great restorer, puts on such a quietly wonderful show.  I read a friend write recently that she was a November baby, and maybe that’s why she likes autumn so much. Perhaps I’m the same? Charlie’s dahlias made a brief appearance at his bank holiday flower stand.  The next day, I was off down to Cornwall, doing a site visit at this beautiful farmhouse where we have been working for some time now – all finished at last – carrying out...

Hello autumn, be golden and kind to us. . .  Another month has passed, summer is all but over and there wasn’t much of one to report of in London. I just saw the title of this note written somewhere and it sums up my sentiments perfectly; autumn, please be golden and kind to us. We certainly deserve it.Luckily for us, moving into autumn means spending more time indoors; my favourite pastime is sitting in a comfortable chair, staring at a wall. It’ll be a nice change from dutifully sitting outside in my small yard staring at the powdery mildew on the grape vine and worrying that the wisteria is going to bring my house down. I can happily look out...