Boutique and Unique - McQueens

In my previous life as a TV producer I was lucky enough to meet and film with Kally Ellis of McQueens. Their designs were trendsetting at the time and revisiting their website they clearly still are today. From early on they were feted and flown to LA to decorate the Vanity Fair Oscar bash. 

And of course part of the reason for blogging about them today is because it's Valentine's Day.  And McQueens have themed their bouquets with the names of romantic films including Love, Actually, An Affair to Remember, The Age of Innocence and From Here to Eternity.

When Kally Ellis set up McQueens in 1991,she had one aim in mind. “I wanted to sell simple, stylish flowers, beautifully presented, to the London market. And I knew people would love it.” Kally drew on her business experience working in the marketing team of a large international French merchant bank. With a strong sense of colour and design, and a genuine passion for flowers, it has proved to be a winning combination, establishing McQueens as the premier name in the UK flower market – and beyond.  “It never fails to surprise me when I receive calls about our flowers from Hollywood and Japan,” says Kally. “It’s amazing to think that from a small shop in Clerkenwell, we’ve built a reputation for quality and innovation that’s known the world over. Yes, I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved.”

I have always loved flowers and did nurture a dream that if I won the lottery I'd set up my own shop but I've settled for making the odd display including arrangements for my sister in law's reception and my own altar piece at my wedding. But nothing as impressive as this by McQueens.

I have always meant to treat myself to taking a course (I don't think the visiting florist to our guide company when I was about 12 was enough, although I did learn about the rule of using triangles which has probably long gone out the window!).   

So although I doubt I'll be able to make it to McQueens in London, I'm sure that there are some great courses available to me locally and to you where-ever you live in the UK. So get googling and find yourself a course now.

But of course I did make my own flowers of a fashion and can make up a bouquet of lilies, roses and tulips.  You can see them here and buy them from our website too.

www.cobwebknits.co.uk

Trivial Pursuits - Valentine's Day gift ideas

We’ve just celebrated St Dwynwen's Day* in Wales (the patron saint of Welsh Lovers) and with St Valentine’s Day just around the corner, thoughts have turned to some creative ideas you can make at home.

I've made a few of these as wedding gifts for friends in the past and although it takes a little time to line them up, they work rather well.  It's worth investing in a heart shaped paper punch to ensure the shape and size of each heart is identical and I've used good quality wedding wrapping paper to create most of the hearts.  
Interspersed I've added printed hearts celebrating the occasion and included names, date and place of the wedding together with other significant details or quotes.
There's a neat tutorial by someone else here.  I must do my own tutorial some day too.

Another really easy version could be something like this. Especially if you can find part of a map with particular significance.

For simple but effective garlands, check this tutorial out. Again, perfect for weddings and other romantic celebrations but cute and inexpensive if you want to make a bit of an effort over a romantic dinner at home.

And these are a great alternative and could easily be adapted for birthdays. I love the circular version with greetings on it. Check out the tutorial here.

www.cobwebknits.co.uk

*Here's St Dwynwen's story.

The story goes the Dwynwen was the prettiest of Welsh king Brychan Brycheiniog's twenty-four daughters. She fell in love with a man named Maelon Dafodrill, but her father had already  arranged for her to marry someone else. Distraught, Dwynwen prayed to God and asked for help in forgetting Maelon. An angel visited her in her sleep and gave her a potion to erase her memory of feelings for Maelon and turn him into a block of ice.  With each of her dreams coming true, Dwynwen devoted her life to God; she set up a convent on the island of Llanddwyn, off the coast of Anglesey. The remains of the church can still be seen on the island, along with Dwynwen's well.

It's believed the well is home to sacred fish who can predict whether couples relationships will succeed; if the fish are seen to be active when visiting the well, it was seen as a sign of a faithful husband.  God offered Dwynwen three wishes. Her first wish was that Maelon be thawed, the second that God should meet the needs of all lovers and the third that she should never marry.  The well has since become a place of pilgrimage for young Welsh lovers since Dwynwen's death in the 5th century.