William + Kate = Love and Great English Design

With only a month to go until the big event, I thought it time to feature some of the fun, creative, whimsical, elegant, and kitschy things I’ve found in celebration of the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I follow many design and creative blogs and on Twitter, so it’s been entertaining to see what new and interesting things are being launched and are making people around the world pull out their wallets to spend that hard-earned cash.

I’m sure many buyers are thinking that today’s collectibles will become tomorrow’s keepsakes (or money in the bank). Hello, have you watched Antiques Roadshow, British version? There are occasionally collectible items that pop up from Queen Victoria times and they are worth quite a few pounds even today. It’s history. It’s fun. It’s a reminder of another period in time.

 

What I really like this time, though, are the more contemporary, often irreverent tea towels and plates. I like a sense of humor (or humour). Have you ever seen so many tea towels? It’s hard to imagine Americans creating special tea towels for any major event (I think we’re more likely to have goofy baseball caps). From Royal Worcester to Cath Kidston to contemporary poster designers like James Brown, designs range from very beautiful, traditional china to humorous plates with sayings like, "It should have been me." 

I suspect that all of the Royal Wedding memorabilia will start a huge trend of British-inspired designs for the next couple of years since 2012 will be the summer Olympic Games in London. Lots of interest in London, along with people traveling to England, televised events, magazine articles, and many of us wishing we were there will create a huge market for all things English.

 What will you order as your personal keepsake of this year’s royal wedding (because just as we all watched Prince Charles and Diana Spencer marry so many years ago, you know you’re going to watch)? What girl doesn’t dream of a happy ending.

Is it Spring yet?

There is nothing like a vase filled with fresh daffodils on a cold March day. Today is a beautiful sunny day, and the blue sky and chirping birds are hinting at Spring to come in less than three weeks, but the daffodils always remind me that we're almost there.

It's much too early for daffodils in my Maryland neighborhood, but Trader Joe's has of course come to my rescue. This week I found bunches of daffodils, imported from England, for $1.49 per bunch. Now, how can you beat that. Certainly cheaper than my Starbucks latte and the blooms, not to mention the good feeling they give me, last much longer.

The house I grew up in had a long sidewalk from the front steps that was lined with  hundreds of daffodils on both sides, along with a circular planting of daffodils where the sidewalk wrapped around to the side of the house. Every year we hoped that the daffodils would bloom to coincide with Easter. Of course, our parents loved taking pictures of my sister and me, sporting very proper, matching Easter dresses and bonnets (and often matching dusters) among the daffodils.  Always a favorite flower!