Hannah Zakari… the best from independent designers across the world all in one place.

I was googling something the other day and in the list of images up popped this very sweet poster – ok almost sickly sweet – but I love it. Turns out it’s from the Hannah Zakari website which has lots of bits an bobs, artworks and cards, jewellery and accessories which are all guaranteed to make you – or a very lucky recipient – smile.

The company’s run by Rachel Lamb (there is no Hannah Zakari I’m afraid) with just three other team members, and everything on the website is made by independent designers who are often fair trade, socially conscious, eco-friendly and all that malarkey which is nice – it makes you feel slightly less guilty about spending and does small businesses, undiscovered creatives and the world a little good too.

Here are a few of my favourites…however I’m currently suffering slightly due to the motto displayed on this first card…

These posters and cards are by environmentally friendly Edinburgh based printing press, Take The Proverbial

My favourite pieces of jewellery from the site: Vintage Belt Bangle by We Dream In Colour socially conscious fashion, Twig Hair Pins (WANT) by Woodland Belle handmade jewellery, and this Skull Ring is by Michelle Chang who’s a jeweller and Etsy seller.

Amsterdam is b-a-e-utiful and I’m after one of these ‘Dam Jewellery Stands to remind myself of the place our Interrailing began last summer, made by Polli a socially conscious Australian company.

Next up some very cute, and informative, cards by Laura George who’s another Etsy seller.

…and finally Howard Dreams of Custard Creams and Shirley by Kate Wilson.

“Shirley lived by the motto ‘the bigger the better’”.

Hannah Zakari: cheery things to brighten up your walls, your days and your gift bags.. x

Berlin: Tacheles brings contemporary art to the derelict Kunst Haus! must-see!

Walking through one of the more ‘colourful’ districts of Berlin one evening, Scarlet and I discovered the old Kunsthaus and it doesn’t look as tame and oldy worldy as you’d expect. The artist group Tacheles have taken up and stamped (or rather, spray painted) their mark all over every inch of this six storey building and are now spilling onto the streets and any piece of waste land they can find.

There’s all sorts to be seen: amazing jewellery, illustration, painting, metal work, woodwork – you name it, you’ll find it! The artists are from all over Europe, I got chatting with the Dutch artist Tim Roeloffs and the Belarusian painter Alex Rodin; their work was completely different but both appealed to me in different ways – take a look!

Tacheles is a beautiful place, unconventional in every way but the warmth of the artists and the community they’ve built outshines the decrepit nature of the building. Yes it’s dingy and dark, yes the stench of urine is almost unbearable, yes it’s falling to pieces but as we worked our way up the treacherous spiral staircase to the top we grew to love it.

Alex Rodin’s work is in the top of the building and with my fear of heights it was looking like we weren’t going to get there but I’m so glad we did. He was the oldest of the artists we met and his space was a church-like gallery of huge canvases, lit from above through great sky lights. I wish I could have taken photos but on my teeny tiny budget I couldn’t even afford the one euro donation, the paintings are really out of this world though. Alex Rodin’s pieces actually impressed me far more than most of the work I’ve seen recently in London galleries, now that’s saying something!

On a very sad note…Tacheles is being forced out of its home. The council are demolishing the building as it is essentially a squat, a brilliant bohemian dream but a squat all the same.

We signed a petition to try to SAVE TACHELES and you can do the same here… http://super.tacheles.de/cms/

It’s one of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen, no exaggeration, just because it’s a collective of 80 people from across the world who want and have managed to fight for the same thing and that’s simply a space to do the things they love to do.

So help them keep fighting!

p.s. I must apologise for the standard of most of these photos, I was overexcited and experiencing the after effects of vertigo for most.