Home Sweet Home: My Space - Huma Qureshi from Her Little Place

Huma Qureshi is a pretty prolific journalist who writes for The Guardian, The Times, The Metro and City AM. Her thing is home and lifestyle and my does she do it well with pieces on small space living, the demise of cupcakes and the trends in interior design. Her blog, Her Little Place also follows along the same lines of her freelance writing with the emphasis on creating beautiful things as well as a gorgeous environment. Huma started blogging last year after reading a article in the Financial Times by a fellow journalist and blogger, Caroline Taylor (from Patchwork Harmony) about the wonders of blogging. So Her Little Place was born where Huma can share her love of interiors and all other wonderful home life things. I caught up with her to discuss where she writes her blog.

Describe the concept of Her Little Place.
Her Little Place is all about inspiration and comfort, and a place for me to share my thoughts and ideas with readers, with recipes, photos and writing, as I love to let my readers know about my published pieces for papers and magazines. The boutique concept, selling mail-order cookies, is a lot newer, and is simply born out of my love for baking, and my friends' insistence that I make mycookies more available!

Where do you scribe?

I wish I could say I had some handsome vintage writing desk to write at; sadly, I don't. My apartment is small - so I either write sitting cross-legged on my bed (not the best for posture), or on the sofa, with my laptop poised on the arm rest. 

Why that place?

Well, I suppose I could write in a much more civilised manner by sitting at my dining table, but it gets too crowded with my papers and notebooks and besides, I can't plug in my laptop charger when I sit there!

What is on your sofa at the moment?

I have to say, my sofa is not in great shape at the moment - I bought it from Habitat only a year and a half ago and it seems to... sag. I bought it because I loved the indigo colour. I make it pop with bright coloured cushions - pink and purple when I'm feeling girly or I'll tone it down with olives. I've got a really lovely olive throw that I sometimes dress it up with too when I want to avoid it being too purple-pink.

What form of inspiration do you have on the wall ie photos, magazine cuttings or extracts?

Being a professional writer, I am always keeping my eye out for magazine or newspaper cuttings that might inspire a new piece - but I'd never stick these up on the wall. Instead, I keep my cuts in box files that I'll refresh every week. I like to keep the walls simple, keeping room for favourite framed artwork or prints instead.

Do you keep a tidy office or are you a messy worker?

I'm pretty tidy when it comes to work - I guess when you live in a small space you have to be. So even if I have my papers or magazines spread out when I write, I'll gather them together and file away when I'm done. I can't stand leaving the flat in a messy state; putting everything back in it's place signals the end of my working day.

You can read Huma's blog here.

You can follow her on Twitter here.

Home Sweet Home: The Selby is in Your Place

There are some people who just inspire you to reach out and harness your inner creativity and Todd Selby is one of them. For fashionistas out there, Selby is the equivalent to The Satorialist and The Face Hunter except that he deals with interiors. A respected photographer, Selby has worked for the likes of Vogue Paris and the New York Times Magazine for over a decade. He launched The Selby in June 2008 as a sideline project, which consisted of him snooping around the pads of friends, friends of friends and other like minded people. Most of them were creatives, had cool jobs and lived in cool areas or were just down right cool. Pretty soon the website became a huge hit and was mentioned in magazines and websites and hence Todd Selby had landed himself a book deal.

What I love about Selby is the way he embraces clutter and hoarding. Not for him the cold and harsh reality of minimalism, instead he seeks out home owners who put their stuff out there. The Selby is in Your Place consists of 40 homes which Todd considers to be his favourites from the website. There are even some famous folk such as Helena Christensen, Erin Wasson and Karl Lagerfeld. We get to see where they live as well as how they live and also get to have a look at the objects they collect. The introduction to the book is written by Lesley Arfin who is a columnist for Vice Magazine where she writes the Dear Diary section which is now a book. The Selby is quite a hefty book which contains some wonderful and vibrant pictures of homes that are truly lived in and loved. It demonstrated that with a bit of imagination you can make your home a space that is just right for you and your possessions. 

The picture above is of Todd Selby at the Collette store in Paris launching his book.

The Selby is in your Place is available to buy from amazon.

Home Sweet Home: Open Houses

A few years ago I came across an article in my favourite magazine, Living etc which featured the London home of designer, Morag Myerscough. Her house is unique because not only does it serve as her haven it also holds a gallery as well as a studio. Morag's kitchen is home to the gallery and she showcases work by other designers. I found the idea as using your home as an open space very intriging and planned to visit it. However while browsimg round Hastings over the last Bank Holiday we came across an Open House hosted by Sally Underwood where she uses her lounge to display the work of local artists; knitwear, paintings, drawings, cards, jewellery, ceramics and sculptures are all on display here. She also uses her kitchen as a mini cafe where she serves tea, coffee and cakes. Sally opened up her home as part of an event called Hastings Hot Houses where ten houses in the area are picked to showcase amazing works of art. This is a great event as not only does it bring local artists together it gives you the chance to snap up some fantastic artwork and moreover it is an excuse to have a snoop around a fabulous house.

The Open House movement has rapidly grown into quite a big scene, now there are events in places such as Hove, Brighton and Eastbourne. There is even an Open House website and they have a presence on Twitter and Flickr. The Brighton and Hove Open House Festival kicked off yesterday with homes all over key areas of the city being flung open for visitors to buy artwork directly from the owners. As I am a nosey bugger I just adore the idea of nosing around other people's homes while perusing over a fantastic bit of art. 

Artsts Open Houses Festival takes place over the first four weekends of May. The dates are 1st and 2nd May, 8th and 9th May, 15th and 16th May. 


MIddle picture taken from AOH Artists Open House Flickr page. 

Home Sweet Home: Swan Like

There are some gorgeous blogs out there that make you want to salivate over them and Lobster and Swan is one of them. The blog covers all things beautiful such as interiors, fashion, food, books and in particular her gorgeous home in Hastings. Lobster and Swan is run by Jeaka Hearne who started blogging in 2007 and since then has become one of the most popular blogs in blogsphere. With 1,545 followers, 681 on Twitter and being ranked no 18 in The Times in the poll for 50 of the world's best design blogs, it would be safe to say that Jeska is making quite a name for herself. She also runs another blog called Record of the Day which consists of pictures of the things she loves. When she is not browsing around the wonderful boutique shops in Hastings or blogging, Jeska is updating her flickr account and uploading stuff onto her Etsy shop. She took time out from her busy schedule to talk to me about blogging and life.

What made you start blogging?

When I discovered so many creative people online I just had to take the jump and start my own blog, really to connect with likeminded folk learn from others and express my creativity.

Describe the concept behind Lobster and Swan.

I guess its like an archive of all the things I find beautiful and want to share, I chose the name because of the romantic notion that these two creatures pair for life and I like the idea that the things we keep in our homes/wardrobes/lives should not be throw away but treasured forever.

The interiors blogging community has grown tremendously over the last year or so. Why do you think they are so popular?

I think they are accessible to a lot of people and if you want a more individual take on the design world this is where so much of it begins, I see the high street take trends that have started in the blogging community and really spread them a little thinly so the bloggers start new ones and have to keep one step ahead.

You come up with a lot of quirky ideas for your blog, how do you get your inspiration?

I am inspired by simple things that can make your day that little bit sweeter like baking, decorating or wrapping a gift beautifully. Also the other end of the scale by fantasy, huge extravagant fashion imagery and Tim Walker. John Galliano has been a hero of mine since I studied graphic design at college. 

What do you do when you are not working on your blog?

I have always been involved in retail, I ran a lighting store for years until the owner decided to close it, I am currently working in a bank just until I get on my feet and expand my blog further later this year. 

Describe a typical day in the life of Jeska Hearne.

Up early especially when the sun is around, make some sweet milky coffee then do some research for my blog posts, I love to bake, rearrange my inspiration wire and boards, often go out take as many photos as I can on bright days. Visiting small towns and boutiques for inspiration or looking for new artists and crafts people to promote. 

What are your favourite glossy magazines?

Selvedge, Australian Vogue Living, UK Country Living and Elle Decoration.

Name five blogs that you read religiously.

http://sunday-suppers.blogspot.com/        for Stunning recipes and photography.

http://teaforjoy.blogspot.com/                   for pretty living.

http://elseachelsea.typepad.com/frolic/     for everything. 

http://www.saladandsequins.com/            for Healthy living.

http://www.emmacassi.com/blog/            for the most delicate design ethic.

How do you see Lobster and Swan evolving over the next two years? 

I am expanding the blog at the moment and that should go live in the next few weeks with a portfolio, new online store, directory and other features. I hope this is the year I get away from the high street and make the leap to stand alone.

You can read Jeska's blog here.

You can follow her on Twitter here.