Triptych wall art from Dear Sam

**Here’s a special discount code for our readers: Enter HFH35 at checkout to receive 35% off all posters (valid until 25^th October 2021)**

We’ve just received some lovely prints from Swedish online company, Dear Sam. We’d been looking for some wall art to decorate the space above the long, grey sofa in our sitting room area. They have such a vast range of topics and styles that they’re a great place to find the subject matter that your interested in – or simply to browse with an open mind, waiting for that moment of inspiration.

We were pretty sure that we wanted something quite calm colour-wise; and also nature-related to complement all the various found objects & specimens that we have dotted around the house – shells, stones, skulls, feathers and the like. After having a good peruse of the Dear Sam website, we eventually decided on a triptych of prints by the 19^th-early 20^th century German photographer, Karl Blossfeldt. They feature details of ferns as they unfurl and we think that they’re both beautiful and sculptural.

Once you’ve selected the image(s) that’s right for you, they offer excellent flexibility in terms of dimensions, mount, frame style and colour. The posters arrived promptly and securely packaged – and fitted perfectly into the frames without fuss. We liked the design of the clips at the back which made the job very easy – some can be very fiddly. Also, both sides of the acrylic glass come with a protective film, which once peeled away, leaves your finished posters pristine, scratch & smear free and ready for hanging. The finished result was just what we were looking for.

We’re really impressed with Dear Sam’s eco-credentials. All their posters are printed on high-quality, uncoated paper bearing the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and EU Ecolabel environmental labels for responsible forestry. Their printing facilities are 100% climate-neutral and their packaging materials consist of a mixture of recycled materials and/or materials from controlled sources. The company adheres to strict social, economic, environmental, functional and quality standards in their production.

Win a Swannies bundle from Swanwick

This month, we have a review and giveaway in one. Swanwick has provided us a pair of Swannies blue light blocking glasses to try out as well as a Day & Night bundle for one of our readers.

Swanwick was founded in 2015 by two sleep-deprived brothers over in Australia. They learned that the blue light emitted from electronic devices wreaks havoc on the body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that helps to regulate sleep patterns. That’s when they set about designing and producing a range of fashionable eyewear that blocks out the offending blue light.

I’ve long been an advocate of blue light blocking glasses, this time it was Justin’s turn to give them a go.

He’s been wearing off-the-shelf reading glasses for a few years now, so we requested a pair of 2.50+ daytime blue light blocking glasses to test drive.

When the package arrived and he ‘unboxed’ his new specs, he was very impressed by the initial look of them. They’re very well made and have a real quality feel – robust, without feeling heavy. He finds them very comfortable to wear, even after long periods of use.

If you spend a good deal of time working at a computer, playing computer games, reading e-books, scrolling on your phone or watching TV, you’re probably exposing yourself to excess blue light.

Even if you don’t need to wear vision-correcting glasses, you can benefit from wearing Swannies. They’re available with both magnification and non-magnification blue light filtering lenses. They’re also available in kids’ sizes too!

To be in with a chance to win a Swannies bundle of your choice, tell us in the comments section below how many hours per day you reckon you spend on or looking at electronic devices.

A Swannies bundle from Swanwick

A gift of eggs from Photowall at Easter

** Use the DISCOUNT CODE hisforhomeblog25 for 25% off any product on the Photowall website (valid for 2 months: 5 April – 7 June 2021). **

We’ve just received this lovely Song Birds eggs canvas print from Photowall. Eggs for Easter… perfect!! After offering us the chance to try out their service, we had a good browse through the huge range of prints on offer.

When we saw this one, we knew immediately that we could give it a good home. We have a small area in the cottage given over to ‘found’ objects and nature specimens – shells, pebbles, fossils, bones, feathers and the like. This canvas bird eggs poster was the perfect, complimentary artwork for the room.

Whilst we were happy to use this image from their own catalogue, Photowall canvas prints are actually highly customisable; you can choose the size you want – and even choose your own design – simply upload a photo or scanned image as a high resolution .jpeg, .gif, .png or .psd file and take it from there!

The package includes clear & simple instructions. It’s an ingenious design and it took less than 10 minutes to put together, ready to hang on the wall. Photowall has published a helpful YouTube video showing you how to construct your canvas – we’ve embedded it at the bottom of this post.

Our Photowall experience has been excellent. We’ve been very happy with the whole process – from ordering on the website to hanging on the wall.

_{[ Many thanks to Photowall for providing the canvas for review ]}

Bookmarks: Our Isles

One of life’s simple pleasures is taking a bit of quiet time with a cup of coffee, a few biscuits and a good book… and we’ve been enjoying this wonderful little tome over the last few days.

A few weeks ago, we featured printmaker, Lilly Hedley in our Designer Desire series. While researching her and her work, we discovered that she and her partner, Angus D. Birditt, recently collaborated on, amongst many other things, a book. Our Isles is a lovely project which interweaves Angus’ poetry with Lilly’s illustrations.

The heart of home is where they flee
Amongst their thoughts to unwind and see,
At one with self, content to be
In space to find and wander free.

Having both spent their entire lives in the countryside, the pair direct their attentions towards many of Britain’s rural occupations, pastimes and craftspeople.

There’s the butcher, the baker… alas, no candlestick-maker! I think ‘The Printmaker’ may be an autobiographical addition!

Our Isles is divided into sections according to types of occupations; for instance, ‘With Tool in Hand’ encompasses tradespeople such as the potter, the thatcher and the farrier.

‘Amid Tides & Water’ includes professions such sailor, fisherman and salt harvester.

All of Angus’ poems take the form of double couplet AABB rhyming quatrains. They’re absolutely charming – and very accessible to those not overly accustomed to reading poetry. They perfectly capture the traditions, inspirations, routines and skills of the people intrinsic to countryside life.

Lilly’s monochrome linocut prints are absolutely beautiful. Some have a very contemporary look, others, an almost medieval feel.

At the rear of the book is a short glossary; it explains terms particular to the different trades. For instance, a ‘yealm’ is a bundle of organised straw in the thatching industry. And, ‘Goddes Good’ or ‘God is Good’, is an archaic term for yeast that is added during the brewing process.

[ Many thanks to Pavilion Books for the review copy of Our Isles ]

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: review

Triptych wall art from Dear Sam

Win a Swannies bundle from Swanwick

A gift of eggs from Photowall at Easter

Bookmarks: Our Isles