PRESS RELEASE – MATHMOS LAUNCH THE JELLY LIGHT
Introducing Natural History – The Origin of Style
We are very excited to finally introduce one of our newest clients – Natural History.
Launched just last month by Sarah Lidwell-Durnin, Rumour PR has been busy posting and emailing off press packs to all the homes mags, and are delighted to say we have had a positive response so far, with some great coverage coming up. Keep an eye out over the next few months – if you spot some coverage before we do, you win a prize!
Background info and some images below, but you can see it all on their beautifully designed website www.origin-of-style.com
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PRESS RELEASE AUGUST 2010
NATURAL HISTORY is a brand new online boutique, full of practical and luxurious treasures for the home.
Launched by Sarah Lidwell-Durnin, the first collection draws heavily on Sarah’s unusual pastime of collecting 18th century illustrations of insects and coral, and French encyclopediae of the natural world.
These images and words, whether carefully sourced from a 1776 scientific folio or a series of Victorian seaweed prints, now embellish Natural History’s designs, from wall-hangings to leather-bound journals.
The range is supplemented by unique artefacts: there is a series of cushions crafted from antique German grain sacks, which are printed with the name and device of the farmer who first used them.
Alongside the unique and unusual, there is a core range of luxury bedding, towelling and linen. The towels are some of the finest quality available in Europe, custom made to Natural History’s exact specifications and weighing in at a decadent 825 grams per square metre, and the bed linen ranges from simple, crisp Irish Linen to silky, luxurious Belgian Métis.
Sarah Lidwell-Durnin was born in Ireland with an islander’s thirst for travel, she has lived in a riad in Marrakech and an apartment in the 5th arrondissement; she has explored the markets of Jaipur, taken the Trans-Siberian Express across Russia, and got engaged in the hills of the Guangxi Province in China.
Sarah came back with a love for the natural world, and a suitcase full of treasures, each with their own traveller’s tale. Now based in Oxford, she is a writer, a designer, and a mother. Natural History is born out of her desire to live with wide horizons.
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Oh, and I asked Sarah why she decided on the name Natural History, and she gave me such a fabulous answer I have to share it:
“The reason I called it Natural History is because I was practically brought up in the fabulous Museum of Natural History in Dublin, a wonderfully quirky and shabby collection on Merrion Square. You are allowed to touch lots of the animals there and many of them have their fur completely worn away where generations of tiny hands have reached up to stroke them. It’s my favourite childhood memory and has coloured my taste in many ways ever since (hurrah for Victorian taxidermy!)”
Hurrah indeed – we are expecting great things for Natural History and already excited about Sarah’s ideas for new products.
posted by Ruth
Baby Announcement
Well, we got through the busiest July of our lives and amidst all the busy-ness, baby Tien Lee (pronounced T N) was born on 23rd July at 00.09 am weighing 8lbs 8oz. He was 2 weeks early and arrived safely and quickly at Lewisham Hospital in the fantastic new birth centre.
He’s spending his first day in the Rumour PR office today and is behaving very well so his Mummy can get on with her work. I’m sure this won’t last but it’s great while it does.
Here are some photos of the new addition to the Rumour PR family:
Also, while we’re making announcements, here are some great announcement cards from Block by Ruth Kaye Design (one of our newest clients) soon to be available online.
Posted by Mel
The busiest July of our lives!
And there we are, telling all our clients off for not blogging enough…shame on us.
Well there is a good reason for the radio silence – we have been ridiculously busy over at Rumour HQ recently. There is so much to talk about:
1. We have a new member of the team (Susan) who we will introduce properly another time
2. We have moved into offices – again, more about that another time!
3. I went to Amsterdam with ByGraziela – more about that here
4. We have not one, but 3 new clients we need to talk about: Mathmos, Ruth Kaye Design and Natural History- busy putting together press releases and gifts for editors for all of these. Will blog about each launch separately…
5. I went to Latitude festival at the weekend on an Anorak jolly- Anorak designed some special ‘kissing sheep’ picnic rugs especially for Latitude to give away as prizes. They looked amazing, and we hope this might be the start of a beautiful friendship.
6. We are busy today prepping for the launch of the summer! Ruth Kaye Design – established bespoke stationers are launching a range of ‘off the shelf’ stationery designs and luxury paper products. Launch party is tomorrow at RIBA, will feedback on this afterwards. Invite below.
And there is also the small matter of Mel having baby number two at any time! She is doing great – taking it all in her stride. More about THAT when it arrives!
So, we are really sorry – please forgive us for being useless 
I will get back to gassing on in my usual style once this mental July is over…
posted by Ruth
Pulse 2010
We had a fun day out last week at the Pulse 2010 summer trade event at Earls Court. We spotted lots of great new products and designs from some of the leading names in contemporary design, as well some exciting new designers showcasing their products for the first time.
We thought we’d share a few of our favourites here with you….
Of course, our friends, Anorak were there – we’re loving the seagull print from their ropes & boats collection at the moment and the stand looked lovely.
Anorak - seagull picnic blanket
Mini Moderns featured some cool new prints such as this Folk Rock inspired collection shown here as wallpaper. This print will also be available as grown up skirt kits and fabric by the metre from Clothkits.
Mini Moderns - Folk Rock wallpaper
We had our eye on these great mugs from the Big Tomato Company, we especially liked the bright new Dollybirds collection
Big Tomato - Dollybirds mug
and their popular ‘English Eccentrics’ collection like this ‘daddy cool’ mug which would make a perfect Father’s Day gift.
Big Tomato - English Eccentrics mug
Showpony had some lovely vintage style products with screen printed detailing, like this embellished canvas bag.
Showpony - Embellished canvas bag
We also loved these Alphabet cushions by new designer Elsie Dodds, the designs have been inspired as a fun way for children to learn through association by finding all that is hidden in the pattern beginning with the letter printed on the reverse. We liked “R” for Rumour!
Elsie Dodds - Letter 'R' cushion
Elsie Dodds - Letter 'R' cushion
Cool New Stuff for Kids
The sun is shining and we’re thinking summery thoughts here at Rumour PR this week. We love the bright new range of kids clothing from Clothkits, which features beautiful ready to wear shirts in Liberty prints. We especially like this bicycle print designed by Grayson Perry.
We also like the playful prints on these new cut and sew trousers for boys, available in retro apples and traffic jam cars. The Women’s skirt is a new design by People Will Always Need Plates and will be available to order soon from Clothkit’s new collection…
The girls will look pretty in pink wearing this gorgeous cut and sew dress, which can also be made up as a skirt by removing the straps and adding a waistband.
And Clothkits have re-launched this lovely vintage Angel top and shorts for babies and toddlers. The original design from 1973 has been given a modern twist and is bright and fun for summer.
If you want a great sewing project to do with the children, how about making these cute retro inspired cuddly toys from Clothkits designed by Jane Foster. The patterns are easy to cut and sew into a loveable giraffe….
Or sew your own smiley lion…
And finally, this cute bunting from ByGraziela will look great draped around the garden – perfect for kids birthday parties and teddy bear picnics!
Some of these new products are not available online just yet, but will be very soon… so keep checking back.
Father’s Day – 20th June
Father’s Day is just around the corner so we thought we’d see what we could find for design-savvy Dads amongst our clients’ collections and here’s what we found…
a very british summer
After a thoroughly wet & miserable bank holiday weekend in London, I am definitely in the mood for summer hols!
Thought I’d just share a few great websites we’ve come across during our hunt for the perfect British holiday – we have decided to stay local this year. Hopefully we’ll have made the right choice, as if the predictions come true we’re set for a scorcher!
First up is Baby Friendly Boltholes – Mel & I came across this website while we were at Cath Kidston and baby-free, and now we have both slotted right into their target market. It’s a fantastic collection of stylish self-catering properties and cool hotels in the UK and across Europe, all with extra thought given for the little people in your life – the properties have all those added extras you need with kids such as high chair, cot, stairgates, toys, baby baths etc so you don’t have to worry about stuffing them in the car. It’s definitely worth a look – we found a sleek barn conversion with indoor swimming pool which will be great for swimming lessons with Louis, plus there are cows, horses and chickens in the neighbouring fields for practising our farmyard noises.
the swimming pool in our 'baby friendly bolthole'
I’ve also booked a weekend here at Blackberry Wood in September for me & the family – trying to ease my husband gently into the idea of camping as a family holiday so I thought a weekend staying in the converted routemaster might help! They have a couple of caravans too but the real draw to this campsite are the private woodland glades that you can pitch up in with a group of friends. Campfires are allowed, so I’m hoping for a couple of clear starry skies to toast some marshmallows under.
One of the vintage airstreams at Vintage Vacations
Under the same theme, Vintage Vacations is a well known and much loved caravan park on the Isle of Wight. Now in their seventh season, they are best known for their old american caravans, but have since branched out and offer all sorts of off-beat holiday accomodation across the island – including a converted tabernacle and a beach shack. Every property & caravan is decorated and furnished to a very high standard, and is definitely the place to head if you fancy staying somewhere that looks like it’s stepped out of the pages of Living Etc. My fave is the Mission, the converted tin tabernacle from the 1800′s – beautifully done.
the mission
and I can’t forget the lovely Penny’s Cottage, which is the seaside holiday home for the guys at Van Den Berg. Pretty, pink, and with sea views, it’s also next door to the village pub – perfect!
Penny's Cottage
Let us know if you’re planning a great British hol this year, and where you are heading….
posted by Ruth
Apple Fever
We’ve got apple fever here at Rumour PR this week. The delicious apple bag from Ollie & Nic (a favourite of ours) was featured in Stylist magazine , make sure you order one before they run out!. They also have an apple shopper if that’s more your bag….
and Clothkits have also released a cool pair of apple trousers that sit nicely with their other quirky apple products such as the apple doorstop and apple cosie ….
And we can’t forget byGraziela with their iconic apple print being made into lovely home products later this year.
Why not join the trend and get your apple accessories – it might help keep the doctor away? Sorry for the cheese, couldn’t resist.
Planning a festival this summer?
posted by Ruth
