POSTERS @ AESTHETIC APPARATUS, USA

Aesthetic Apparatus in the US is one of my favourite sites for music posters and our latest purchase from there is this pair of Melvins posters. J likes the Melvins and I like the posters so it’s a happy compromise. They're not my usual taste, but I think if everything in our home was to my "usual taste" I'd soon get bored of my own taste! They'll go in our kitchen where the back door is painted bright pink.

NEED TO KNOW : Aesthetic Apparatus are a US company that ships worldwide. The posters shown above cost $45/€35 for the pair. Posters are generally $20 each.
PAYMENT : Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Paypal

DELIVERY : €11.78 to Europe

HOME SNOOP : ORLA KIELY FOR LUXE INTERIOR

Luxe Interior are a fancy schmancy British company who offer “design package” fit-outs to individuals, developers, investors and hoteliers in Dubai. What’s interesting about Luxe Interior is the portfolio of designers who have created design packages for them – Homebug favourites like Tom Dixon, Celia Birtwell and Orla Kiely. As blah as the whole idea of “design packages” strikes me, I’m nevertheless hugely enamoured with the two Orla Kiely-designed packages on offer!

[Check Homebug tomorrow for an exclusive home snoop and interview with an American flavour!]

CORSAGE @ HABITAT

I think my obsession with Habitat's "Corsage" pattern is growing with every new product they slap it onto. Welcome to the family, sodalime glasses! (€4.25 a pop)

NEED TO KNOW : Habitat has stores in Dublin, Galway and Belfast.

NEW CANVASES AT QORA & SHAI BOUTIQUE

If you're looking for retro-style artwork, take a gander at French website Qora & Shai Boutique. I always appreciate when websites show how pieces look hung in a home and Q & S's styling is very slick. I'm liking Eliad, their new canvas shown above (€140).

NEED TO KNOW : Qora & Shai is an online store that delivers worldwide.
PAYMENT : Paypal
DELIVERY : Delivery within Europe for the item shown here is €20.

A QUICK SHADY LACE PARASOL MONEY-SAVING TIP

Much like last summer, nearly all of the Irish and English magazines are once again urging readers to splash out on the must-have Shady Lace Parasol from The Conran Shop. But Homebug suggests that parasol-crazed magazine-readers hold their horses for just one minute. Droog Design's Shady Lace Parasol isn't exclusive to the Conran Shop and it's a darn sight cheaper to buy it online from somwhere like POAA. The Conran Shop is charging £270/€400 for the parasol & stand and Lord knows how much delivery to Ireland is (British overseas delivery charges are hefty), while POAA are charging €278 for parasol & stand plus a mere €23 delivery to Ireland! Buy the Shady Lace Parasol from POAA here...

Sheesh, I should be presenting Watchdog or something.

NEED TO KNOW : POAA is based in The Netherlands and deliver worldwide.
PAYMENT : Paypal (Visa, Delta, Electron, Mastercard, Eurocard, Discover, American Express, Switch, Maestro, Solo)

DELIVERY : Delivery for this item is €23.

"SUE" OUTDOOR CHAIRS @ SKKETCH

What kind of weather do you call this, eh? I've been storing up some posts about garden furniture and accessories for when the prospect of being outdoors starts seeming a little less terrifying but since I don't know when that'll be, sure I'll just crash on regardless. These cheerful fellows are stackable, polypropylene "Sue" chairs by Cantarutti & Petricich for Casamania. They're available from Cork-based mail order store Skketch in white, yellow, blue, green and orange for €120 each.

PAYMENT : Visa, Mastercard, Laser, cheque, bank draft

DELIVERY : Delivery charges within Ireland are included in the overall product price.

TAIKA BY IITTALA

Gah! I know I bandy words like "love" around a lot here on Homebug. But I really, really do love Finnish brand Iittala's new design "Taika". The folkloric patterns are the work of talented and versatile illustrator Klaus Haapaniemi who has previously worked with the likes of Marimekko, Top Shop, Play Station and more. Buy from Finnish Design Shop from €16.40 - €30.90 per piece or from Inreda in Dublin 2.

QUILT ART 20

With quilting at the helm of the crafts revival (still knitting? Oh keep up!) you might like to check out Quilt Art 20 which opened earlier this month in the National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny and runs until July 15. The exhibition celebrates a craft dear to my heart (my most treasured possesions are quilts my Gran made for her own home in the 60's) and also the 20th anniversary of the Quilt Art collective of 22 members from across America and Europe (including Ireland).

"THE BEST POSSIBLE TASTE" ON BBC2

I caught some of the pilot edition of "The Best Possible Taste" on BBC2 last night and it is awesome! In each episode, couples are invited to a studio where two replicas of their sitting rooms have been built. Each partner is allowed to decorate and furnish one replica room to show off their superior taste. A husband-and-wife team of interior design therapists, Danielle Proud (above, author of hip crafting book "House Proud" and all-round DIY and interiors Goddess) and Alex Proud (owner of "Proud Galleries", a trendy bar/gallery/music venue in London) lend their expertise to the decorating process. At the end of each programme, an independent team of jurors chooses the best design, which is promptly introduced into the couple's real home.

Danielle says "Differing taste is something all cohabiting couples come up against and a subject that Alex and I explore in In the Best Possible Taste. It's full of the design arguments we all encounter: men losing hair over the position of the flat-screen TV, while women focus on the soft furnishings. And it's full of 'that's you, that is' moments that anybody watching will be able to relate to."

Not only does the show have an entertaining format, but there's no blundering nonsense with MDF trellises, sappy colour schemes, favourite-holiday-inspired room themes, miserly makeover budgets or any of the devices that make other interior design shows totally crap. The Best Possible Taste simply relies on smart, vibrant design using gorgeous wallpapers, Noguchi coffee tables, Pols Potten light shades and lots of other swoon-worthy loveliness. Unfortunately I'm unable to find any info on whether or not the series has been picked up by the BBC and secured a regular slot. I think I might cry if it hasn't.

HOME SNOOP : A COLOURFUL VINTAGE MUSEUM IN THE NETHERLANDS

This week's Home Snoop shows how imagination, creativity and originality can transform a rented house into a "colouful vintage museum of contemporary ceramics". Nina lives in Den Bosch in the Netherlands in a unique little home with a patchwork wall of vintage wallpapers, her collections of vintage and self-made ceramics and lots of retro finds and homemade homeware. Not only do I love Nina's decorating style, I also love what she has to say about her home and interiors in general. Thanks so much to Nina for taking the time to share her space and her thoughts with Homebug.

What is your favourite part of your home?

The living room, cause that’s the tidiest place in the house. The rooms upstairs are kind of messy... I especially like my wallpaper-patchwork, it always cheers me up when I’m grumpy in the morning.

Where are your favourite places to source furnishings and home accessories?

I love to go thrift shopping. I frequently visit the local charity shops, go to flea markets and buy on Ebay and similar second-hand websites. I also like IKEA for basics, though the IKEA-look shouldn’t dominate your house. I also make my own accessories, like cushion covers from vintage fabrics and ceramics.

Where do you find inspiration?

The Internet (Flickr and all the wonderful craft and design blogs) is a huge source of inspiration. Some of my favorite blogs are Bloesem, Dear Ada, SFGirlByBay, Print Pattern and there are so many more. I think there is a really inspiring and exciting online ‘design community’. Also, I read a lot of interior decoration magazines, especially Elle Wonen (the Dutch version of Elle Decor).

How would you describe your decorating style?

A colourful vintage museum of contemporary ceramics! I think my style is creative, a little messy and sometimes over the top. I’m a big fan of less is more, I really adore those minimalist white interiors in Elle Decoration, but it doesn’t work for me. Empty white walls make me panic. I need a daily dose of colour, prints and patterns to keep myself happy.

Were there any limitations or constraints that affected your decorating choices?

Budget of course! I’m a student with a minimum income, so I can’t spend much on furniture and design. But that kind of limitation stimulates creativity (though I wouldn’t say no to a 6000 euro Hella Jongerius Poldersofa [Homebug's favourite sofa too!] if I had the money).

Another limitation is the fact that I live in an old, poorly renovated rented house. I hope to move in time, so I don’t want to invest too much.

What sort of interiors do you dislike?

Interiors that are boring, anonymous and show nothing of the inhabitant of the house. I prefer ugly above prefab, unpersonal and non-creative. Like those interiors that are all white, with all the accessories in just one colour, lime-green or aqua… yuk! So boring! Though I don’t like ugly dark brown interiors either. By the way, I blogged about this subject (A question of taste) here.

[Even if you don't know any Dutch, the images Nina uses illustrate her point nicely]

You've stamped your own individuality on your home thanks to your creativity. What would your advice be to anyone wanting a more individual, creative home?

Don’t let other people, trends or magazines dictate your style. Just choose what you like: you’re the one living in your house. Taste and style always develop, grow and change, you just have to start somewhere. Experiment: there’s hardly anything you can’t correct or change. Find creative budget solutions. Start crafting. Go thrift shopping!

ANNOUNCING EXCLUSIVE HOMEBUG HOME SNOOPS

I’ve been hoping to run a regular home snoops feature since Homebug began and I’m delighted to announce that the first exclusive home snoop will be up on the site later today!

Here’s the low-down : Once a week(ish) Homebug will feature photos of a cool home and an interview with the person living there. These will be real homes with personality from around the world.

If you’d like to have your place (or even just one room or a favourite corner) featured, please email me and I’ll let you know what to do! I’m really keen to have some Irish gaffs included so don’t be shy! And yep, there’ll be a home snoop of Homebug HQ before the end of the summer (a lot of decorating is on hiatus at the moment until we get some boring stuff like flooring and tiling taken care of).

PS : Buy the print shown above here.

HOME SNOOP : JONATHAN ADLER

American designer Jonathan Adler is something of a interiors icon across the water and his style typifies what I like to call Nouveau Americana - colourful and irreverant interiors with retro flourishes and a fabulous attention to detail (like a modern David Hicks - follow this link to see some of DH's 1970s interiors.) Jonathan Adler summarises his design philosophy as follows:

• We believe that your home should make you happy.
• We believe that when it comes to decorating, the wife is always right. Unless the husband is gay.
• We believe minimalism is a bummer.
• We believe colors can't clash.

I think these two Adler-designed private residences in New York embody this philosophy perfectly [top two photos from one apartment, bottom two from another]:

For more Jonathan Adler inspiration and tips, try his fantastic book "My Prescription For Anti-Depressive Living" - from £8.97/€13.30 at Amazon.

HANDMADE LIMITED EDITION FABRICS BY LARA CAMERON

More limited edition handmade fabrics from Melbourne, Australia! This time from Lara Cameron whose fabrics are just as gorgeous as Shannon Lamden's. [Top to bottom : Kari, Riverstones, Flowing Dots, Bonsai Forest - all US $11/€8.20 per half metre]

NEED TO KNOW : Be aware that if your order exceeds €22 you may have to pay duty when buying from outside of Europe.
PAYMENT : Paypal
DELIVERY : From $4/€3 to Europe.

LIMITED EDITION HANDMADE FABRICS BY SHANNON LAMDEN

Shannon Lamden is a freelance designer based in Melbourne, Australia who specialises in fabric design and illustration. Shannon designs and screenprints her own fabrics in limited batches available to buy from her Etsy shop. These fabrics are swoon-inducingly lovely! I especially love that these prints come in an olive/lime colourway - a colour I'm very into to at the moment. Both "Home Sweet Home" [above] and "Knitters" [below] cost US $12/€8.95 per half metre.

NEED TO KNOW: Be aware that if your order exceeds €22 you may have to pay duty when buying from outside of Europe.

PAYMENT : Paypal.

DELIVERY : From US $4/€3 to Europe.

JONATHAN ADLER @ AVALON HOME

How much do I love Jonathan Adler? About as much as an over-excitable blogger from Ireland possibly can love a camp interior decorator and potter from New Jersey (and that's quite a lot). Discovering that Monsieur Adler's wares are available from the fabulous-sounding Avalon Home & Design in Westmeath has made me a very happy lady indeed. Check out these playful pieces from Jonathan Adler's wonderful 'Menagerie' collection:


Jonathan designs all sorts of other charming homewares as well as working as an interiors stylist. Check back later today for more on Jonathan's design philosophy and a home snoop which embraces it.

MALENE HELBAK PORCELAIN @ MARIE'S BUTIK

I'm loving the simplicity of this hand-decorated porcelain by Danish designer Malene Helbak. Available over at Marie's Butik from €16.76.

NEED TO KNOW : Marie's Butik is a Danish online store that delivers worldwide.
PAYMENT : Visa, Mastercard
DELIVERY : €20 flat rate for European orders.

THE LATEST FROM HOMEBUG HQ

Hey folks, I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was very productive- cleared out some old furniture, painted some walls, won the above vintage Cathrineholm ad on Ebay (it should look good in our kitchen with our matching Cathrineholm kettle) and rather appropriately for the week in it also won an Eames dining chair to match the two we already have - just need to keep an eye out for one more and we're sorted! FYI: Seek out German Ebayers if you're in the market for vintage Eames chairs- the chair I just won was a steal and shipping from Germany is super reasonable.

I've also been organising some exclusive home snoops for Homebug, which I'm stoked about but more about that later in the week!

LAST CHANCE TO VOTE IN HOME IMPROVEMENT COMPETITION!

Get your votes in for artist Sarah Browne's 'Home Improvement' project before voting ends on Tuesday June 19! The 'Home Improvement' project was commissioned by the National Sculpture Factory in association with the des/IRE conference. Here's the skinny: Sarah is donating part of her materials budget to a member of the public for a 'home improvement' of their choosing and entries have been made in the form of video diaries. These have been shortlisted by an architect, an interior designer and a housing cooperative representative and the final three entries have been in a public exhibition in Cork. They can now be viewed online on YouTube. Following the public vote the winner will be announced and the renovation carried out. A document of the entire process will be presented later in 2007.

Check out the three finalists:

Jessica & Peter dream of turning a horse box into an eco-friendly apartment!

Kathleen is an eldery lady who after buying carpets in London 30 years ago is now experiencing some buyer's remorse.

Joanie & Rowan have a crap garden which is too huge and expensive a job to tackle without help (Zee & J can relate dudes!)

And don't forget to email homecompetition@yahoo.ie with your vote before Tuesday!

EAMES DAY PART 3 : EAMES FLICKR GROUP

The Eames Flickr Group has over 200 members who contribute photographs of Eames furniture in their own wonderfully inspiring homes. Check out these terrific spaces:

EAMES DAY PART 2

A few more of my favourite Eames designs. From top-bottom l-r:

Hang-It-All coat rack (1953); Desk Unit EDU (1949); Lounge chair and ottoman (1956); Wire top chair with bikini pad on rocker base (1950); Organic chair (co-designed with Eero Saarinen) (1940); Bent plywood dining chair (1940s).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. EAMES!

As this Sunday (17 June) marks the 100-year anniversary of the birth of iconic American architect and designer Charles Eames, today is Eames Day on Homebug! Yep, every post today will be devoted to the work of Charles Eames and his wife and design partner, Ray Eames.

As any regular Homebug reader will have probably noticed, I tend to prattle on about chairs more than a normal person ought to. Well, my absolute favourite chairs are the plastic arm chair and side chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames in the 1950s. Famous for being the first industrially mass-produced plastic chairs, the chairs and their interchangeable bases have been bestsellers for decades. Originally produced by Herman Miller, Vitra are now the officially licensed manufacturer of the designs.

WHERE TO BUY : Haus in Dublin are official Vitra retailers or buy online at Einrichten Design, Germany (cheap shipping!) For vintage Eames furniture Wild Child, 20th Century Furniture and Lost Weekend more often than not have a few pieces in stock and Ebay is overrun with vintage Eames chairs.

MY VERY OWN PICTURE LAUNCH AT HABITAT

My Very Own Picture is an Irish company run by husband and wife Adrienne and Mark who specialise in limited edition canvas prints for children. They'll be launching their new collection of prints this Saturday (June 16) in Habitat, College Green, Dublin 2 from 2pm - 5pm. Kids are especialy invited to come along and view the art and there's a promise of lots of treats in store. Prices start at €100 and you can also buy online from their website (€8.50 flat rate delivery within Republic of Ireland).

VINTAGE PRINTERS BLOCKS @ PEDLARS

I’m becoming quite fond of typography around the home, so I’m pleased to see that Pedlars in the UK have begun stocking vintage printer’s blocks. They've all been used to varying degrees are are slightly distressed and ink-stained. Letters cost £4.95/€7.33 each and you'll have to email Pedlars with your requests.

Aside from their vintage charm, one thing I like about printer’s blocks is the element of ‘found type’ and for more found type, a Belfast-based blog that I came across recently and am liking a lot is Ace Jet 170.

NEED TO KNOW : Pedlars is a UK-based company that delivers to Ireland.
PAYMENT : Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Visa Delta, cheque
DELIVERY : Contact Pedlars for delivery quote to Ireland.

MIRRORED BIRD HOOKS @ GRAHAM & GREEN

I'm loving these cute mirrored bird hooks from Graham & Green at just £8.75/€13 a pop.

NEED TO KNOW : Graham & Green is a UK-based company that deliver internationally.
DELIVERY : Outside of the UK, email or phone G&G to obtain delivery quote.

MILKIT LAMP @ BOUF

Milkit (£10/€14.80) is a kit designed by Alexandru Adam and Steven Koch at Play Design to assist you in turning a milk bottle into a unique table lamp. The kit contains everything you need to create your own lamp including a range of pretty graphics for individual personalisation. All you need to provide is a plastic milk bottle of any size. Yay for recycling!

NEED TO KNOW : Bouf is a UK-based online store that delivers across Europe.

PAYMENT : Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Switch, Solo, Delta, American Express, Paypal.

DELIVERY : Delivery for this item within Europe is £6/€8.90.

AMY BUTLER LOTUS FULL MOON POLKA DOT

I mentioned my slight obsession with big fat polka dots recently, so I reckoned I ought to share with you the catalyst for the obsession - Amy Butler's Full Moon Polka Dots from her Lotus fabric range. Fabric.com carry every colourway so I'm now agonising over which colours to buy and what to use them for. I'm fairly committed to the idea of making bedroom curtains using the olive-on-cream colourway above.

NEED TO KNOW : Fabric.com is a US website that delivers internationally. Amy Bulter Lotus Full Moon Polka Dot fabric is $8.95/€6.75 a yard.
PAYMENT : Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Paypal
DELIVERY : Whenever possible, Fabric.com ship international packages via Global Priority, for a flat rate of $15.95/€12. Large orders may incur additional shipping costs.

ETSY : HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS

Here are a few prints that share a common motif from some of my favourite Etsy artists...

Home Sweet Home print [above] by Ben Schlitter, USA - $20/€15 + $4/€3 shipping

Home print [above left] by Nottoopink,USA - $12/€9 + $3/€2.25 shipping
Spooked print [above right] by Catherine Campbell, Australia- $15/€11.25 + $4/€3 shipping

Welcome print [above left] by AshleyG, USA - $20/€15 + $5/€3.75 shipping
It's Raining Again print [above right] by Swallowfield, USA - $10/€7.50 + $3/€2.25 shipping

NYC print [above] by Matte Stephens, USA - $35/€26.25 + $10/€7.50 shipping

OUTDOOR SUPERARCHIMOON BY PHILIPPE STARCK FOR FLOS

It being summer, it's now reasonably safe to venture outdoors and reclaim the garden as an 'outdoor room'. I absolutely love the trend for bringing indoors outdoors and nothing embraces that trend quite like an outdoor floor lamp. Philippe Starck's Superarchimoon outdoor lamp for Flos is my hands-down favourite example. I love you, you oversized monster:

Buy online from Made In Design for (sorry about this) €7,650.

WHERE TO BUY ECHINO FABRICS BY ETSUKO FURUYA?

I recently received an email from Homebug reader Claire enquiring about where the best place to buy Echino fabrics online is. Echino is a beautiful range of fabrics by Japanese textile designer Etsuko Furuya. These heavyweight fabrics are perfect for making curtains, cushion covers and other soft furnishings.

I know from checking my website stats that heaps of people find Homebug when searching for info on buying Echino fabrics, so I can personally recommend Phat Fabrics to all of you. Phat Fabrics is a terrific little Ebay shop from which I buy my Echino fabrics. They have the best prices I've seen and are the only shop I know of that sell as little as half a yard. Shipping is cheap and quick (my last order took less than a week to arrive). While shipping prices recently increased in the States, Jamie from Phat Fabrics advised me that she "will ship up to 4 yards of Echino with no increase in shipping. Basically I will stuff as much fabric possible in a flat rate envelope!"

NEED TO KNOW : Phat Fabrics is a US Ebay shop which sells fabric by the half yard (can be bought in long, uncut lengths). It currently carries 13 Echino fabrics @ US $9.25 (€6.90) for a half yard.
PAYMENT : Paypal.
DELIVERY : Shipping to Ireland is US $12 (€9) for up to 4 yards of Echino fabric.

LIMITED EDITION PANTON CHAIRS FOR 2007

New from Vitra for 2007 are these limited edition blue and pink models of the classic Panton chair. Originally conceived by Danish designer Verner Panton in the 1960s, the award-winning chair was the very first fully plastic chair made from a single section. Buy the limited edition light blue and pink chairs online from Utility Design here for £163/€240 each. Haus in Dublin are official Vitra retailers.

NEED TO KNOW : Utility Design is a UK online store that delivers internationally.
PAYMENT : Delta, MasterCard, Visa
DELIVERY : £4.95 standard delivery within UK. Outisde UK, Utility will email you the cost before you make your final decision whether to go ahead with the purchase.

POLKA DOTS @ MONSOON

Our bright red dining table can be just a tad overbearing so I always have my eye out for pretty tablecloths. This one from Monsoon (£38/€56) is a hit with me as I'm obsessed with big, linear polka dot prints at the moment. And I always appreciate some appliquéd detailing. Check out the matching polka dot napkins too! (£10/€14.75)

NEED TO KNOW : Check Monsoon's store locator for your nearest branch or buy online.

PAYMENT : Visa, Mastercard and American Express

DELIVERY : Postage and Packing for all Republic of Ireland deliveries is at a standard charge of £7.95 (€11.75)

BLOGGEDY BLOG BLOG BLOGS

[Above : Susanne Schjerning via Print & Pattern]

I'm catching up with some of my favourite blogs at the moment after my week off and one which is kicking ass even more than usual is Print & Pattern. Bowie of Print & Pattern is hugely dedicated and she really knows her stuff. She's currently going through a bit of a Scandinavian phase and her blog is crammed with gazillions of gorgeous images to ooh and ahh over.

A few other great blogs I've been digging recently include Shelterrific, Another Shade of Grey, Emma's Blogg and Better Living Through Design.

HOME SNOOP : SARAH JESSICA PARKER'S HOUSE IN THE HAMPTONS

Irish interior design blog MTeriors recently had a nice piece on the Sex & The City apartment sets, which I liked of course as I'm a big nerd about set design. I saw mention in this month's American Elle Decor magazine of a previous issue featuring Sarah Jessica Parker's house in the Hamptons [above], so I hit up Elle Decor's US site to see how SJP's summer home compares to Carrie's pretty Manhattan studio apartment. Speaking to Elle Decor about the 19th century farmhouse in the Hamptons SJP said “It was important that the house not be too precious. We didn’t want anything stuffy or showy. We wanted colour and light, and comfort, comfort, comfort.” SJP achieved this relaxed, cheery style with the help of her friend Eric Hughes, who mixed antiques with thrift store finds and pieces from IKEA with custom-designed furniture. Click here for more.

Above : A collection of vintage chairs are painted in black matte, the table was designed by Eric Hughes, the Egyptian handblown-glass chandelier is antique.

Above : The 1940s mirrored desk is from an antiques store, the vintage armchair upholstered in Chinese silk is a flea-market find, curtains are from IKEA.

JAMES HARRISON ROCKER, HABITAT

Keep an eye out in Habitat for this cool new oak-framed rocker with leather cushion by James Harrison, on sale for £299 (approx. €440)

NEED TO KNOW : Habitat has stores in Dublin, Galway and Belfast. Habitat’s Irish online store is a bit limited but you could probably get in touch with them about specific items not shown on the website. For a better selection of Habitat products, check out the UK online store. Habitat.ie’s delivery charge is €50 / free for orders over €750.

UP WITH THIS SORT OF THING : TURTLEHEAD

The good people at Turtlehead got in touch with me to let me know about their great little online shop selling original hand-stencilled, sweatshop-free t-shirts. Turtlehead are a collective of Irish artists with ethics who donate 5% of their profits each month to a charity voted for by visitors to their website (see here). Each t-shirt has a limited run of 250 and costs €30, including shipping to anywhere in the world. Turtlehead invite anyone to contact them with a t-shirt design proposal and if they use your design you'll get some cold hard cash, a cut of the profits and a bundle of shirts.

Turtlehead are collaborating with some artists who Homebug rates very highly, so roll on July when t-shirts designed by David Shrigley, Chris Judge and Chris Comiskey [l-r below] will be available to buy.

I’m stoked that some Irish folks have taken the initiative to do something this fun, creative and worthwhile and I wish Turtlehead all the best!

KATE WESTERHOLT

Three things I have nothing but love for are domestic crafts, tongue-in-cheek retro kitsch and rap music. So it's no surprise that an artist who I have oodles of admiration for is Kate Westerholt.

American-born, London-based artist Kate Westerholt made her first embroidery sampler when she was just eight years old, and began creating them for the art market in the late Nineties. Kate painstakingly works on individual samplers for up to a month perfecting the design and finish of each piece.

"Kate Westerholt creates original samplers with a 21st Century twist... Westerholt playfully adds snippets of contemporary culture to the 18th Century colonial American embroidery motifs she’s inspired by... Whereas historically such embroideries have incorporated biblical references, it’s music and pop culture that crop up in Kate’s work... These provide a social commentary of sorts, on topics such as the appropriation of hip-hop culture into the mainstream."

Kate's works sell for around the £1000 mark, which is ever-so-slightly out of my price range, so I was overjoyed when I discovered that the Nelly Duff gallery and online shop has collaborated with Kate in producing a limited edition print of one of her works, which will be available shortly with a price tag of approx. £100-£150. Hoorah!

NEED TO KNOW : Nelly Duff is a London-based gallery and online shop.

PAYMENT : Paypal
DELIVERY : See here for international shipping info.

ARTEK STOOL 60

Well paint me pale blue and call me special edition, I can't help loving this Artek Stool 60, available exclusively from TwentyTwentyOne.

In the 1930's it was common for Artek tables, chairs and stools to have painted tops. However the colours were phased out in the 1940's. In the 50's and 60's, with the invention of melamine and laminates, colour was introduced as a finishing surface. To celebrate the exhibition 'Alvar Aalto, Through The Eyes of Shigeru Ban', TwentyTwentyOne this year commissioned Artek to reproduce a limited run of just 50 of the classic Stool 60 with a painted pale blue top. TwentyTwentyOne still have some of these left at £135 (€205) each - click here to buy.

NEED TO KNOW : TwentyTwentyOne is a London-based shop that delivers to Ireland.

PAYMENT : Visa, Maestro, Delta, Mastercard, Switch

DELIVERY : Expect to pay approx. £14.50 (€21.40) shipping for one of these stools to Ireland. To receive an exact delivery quote, email Twenty Twenty One with your delivery address and the number of items you wish to order.

DEIRDRE HAYDEN, THE STONE GALLERY

Sticking with today's theme, another Dublin exhibition that you should be taking yourselves along to is Deirdre Hayden at the Stone Gallery. Deirdre's dreamy night landscapes show open expanses as isolated and intimate spaces:

LOCATION : The Stone Gallery, 70 Pearse St., Dublin 2 - until 23 June.

ATSUSHI KAGA - BUNNY'S DARKNESS AND OTHER STORIES

I’ve mentioned before that Japanese-born, Dublin-based Atsushi Kaga is one of my favourite artists, so I’m stoked that his first ever Irish solo exhibition "Bunny's Darkness And Other Stories" opened last week in Mother’s Tankstation. Go see it and I promise you won't be disappointed.

The Mother's Tankstation website describes Atsushi's work better than I can:

"Kaga chose to leave his native Tokyo to be academically trained in Dublin [he studied in NCAD], where he now lives and works. And fascinatingly, Ireland has left an indelible culture footprint on Kaga and resulted in a unique approach to visual practice and language. The figures in many of Kaga's drawings speak Japanese, ruminate philosophically, whilst joking around, downing pints of Guinness, gossiping and generally enjoy the 'craic'. They are culturally conflicted.

Behind the playful and surreal façade of Kaga's misleadingly simple and faux crude works, there lurks much darker issues of cultural politics and personal identity. Kaga confronts the daily crises of facing the harsh and philosophical realities of the world, all filtered through the paranoia of the new world order. His razor-sharp humor and extraordinary imagination takes the viewer, willingly, on a journey of exploration through a dark, complex and often brutal - but very funny - world."

The show runs until June 30th and the gallery is open Thursdays through Sundays.

LOCATION : 41-43 Watling Street, Ushers Island, Dublin 8

BLAISE DRUMMOND, THINGS TO MAKE AND DO

Recently opened in the Rubicon Gallery is Blaise Drummond's first Irish exhibition of new work since 2003. "Things To Make And Do" presents new paintings in which nature and architecture meet, demonstrating how "objects and images can conspire to create tantalising and intriguing stories about our world." Jet lag permitting I'll be keen to check this show out over the weekend.

Blaise Drummond was born in Liverpool in 1967 and lives in County Longford, Ireland. He has studied at NCAD and Chelsea College of Art in London.

LOCATION : The Rubicon Gallery, 10 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2

HOMEBUG IS HOME!

So much for updates! There was just way too much to do in New York - sorry!

Highlights: Moma, The Met, boutiques on Mulberry, Mott & Elizabeth Streets, the bars in the Meat Packing district, everything about Park Slope in Brooklyn, beautiful home accessories and frocks in Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters being nothing like its Dublin counterpart, all the touristy stuff I was able to cram in and um, everything!

I’ll have some pieces up next week focusing on some of the aforementioned plus some home snoops with an American flavour courtesy of the stacks of American magazines I picked up. [Updated pics of BK are courtesy of my sister - thanks!]