abigail*ryan Concession Shop at Atelier-Design - Belfast City Centre...

 

Just a stones throw from the iconic City Hall, Atelier-Design opened it's (newly revamped!) doors on the 6th of November and unveiled a unique vision for a new brand of destination shopping in Belfast city centre, one which we at abigail*ryan, are very excited to be a part of! 

No. 7 Wellington Place is a stunning three story Georgian town-house, which has housed the second-floor Interiors showroom of the lovely James Fairley and Victor Branco's Architecture and Interior Design practice for the last two years. You might remember our lovely exhibition here, back in April?

When the opportunity arose to take over the entire majestic building, the creative duo jumped at the chance, and have spent the last few months designing and working towards an incredible curation of high end Furniture and Design brands, many of which are not available anywhere else in Ireland. 

They began their sourcing in Portugal,Victor's home country, and are bringing over a sumptuous and inspiring collection of hand made furniture and lighting.

Speaking about this exciting undertaking Victor had this to say...
" We were inspired by some of our favourite destination shopping environments around the world such as Liberty of London and Merci in Paris! We felt passionately that we could create a small piece of magic for Belfast shoppers to revel in, right in the heart of the city. We are so proud of the luxurious and inviting space we have created here."

In addition to our full abigail*ryan range, Atelier-Design are also stocking exciting brands such as MUNNA and DELIGHTFUL. The store will also be the first stockist in Ireland for DESIGNERS GUILD FURNITURE and Atelier-Design have been appointed brand ambassadors for CHRISTIAN LACROIX. They continue to be the premium stockist for high-end mid-century furniture pieces in the city, and have a wonderful sourcing service if you are looking for something in particular.

Atelier-Design are well renowned for their UrbanLUXE signature style. Expect deep, opulent colours, vibrant and luxurious fabrics and finishes, layered with unique patterns and prints alongside pops of uncommon colour and high end materials such as hand spun brass, marble, velvet and smoked glass. It's a unique look, that is at once contemporary and edgy, welcoming and nostalgic. Always, exciting and engaging.

We are delighted to have such a vibrant, and luxurious backdrop for our first concession store. You will, for the first time, be able to browse and shop our full range in person, including blankets, cushions, fabric & wallpaper, napkins, tea-towels and gift sets. 
We will be shortly be launching our first line of scented candles (we're EXCITED!), and will be having a Christmas shopping evening to show them off, so if you would like to receive an invite (mince pies and mulled wine!) then do sign up to our Mailing List… we have several in-store exclusives already, and will always be adding to the range. 

Make sure to pop in to the shop and showroom and get a jump-start on your Christmas shopping! 

Atelier-Design / abigail*ryan
No. 7 Wellington Place (just along from City Hall)
Belfast, BT1 6GB

Opening Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 10.30am-5.30pm (7pm on Thursday)

French Vintage Vie is also housed inside No.7, so make sure to stop off here for all your authentic French-sourced goodies!

Chickens!

This past weekend, we went on a little drive with my parents and visited Dobbies garden centre in Lisburn... you know, for a look around, and for some succulent soil. No big deal.

Well, then I spotted three little chickens who were the very last of the flock, and a sign saying they were reduced. I thought they were the loveliest, healthiest looking chickens I had ever seen, and they were so tame, so I started to panic. What if someone who didn't really WANT chickens bought them... what if they didn't look after them properly (??), or what if they...horror... ate them for their dinner (eek!)??. We spoke to the lovely lady who had been looking after them, and she told us they were the very last ones, had been there for a while (they're about six months old) and that they wouldn't be getting any more after this. Left on the shelf, so to speak.

At that point, I knew we were biting the bullet and taking them home. We have had a chicken house sitting in our garden for three years, and it's never been the 'right time'. We're always working, are away from home a lot on business trips etc etc, so we've always had an excuse not to! Well, I said BOO! to excuses and brought them home in boot of the car and got them settled in on Saturday afternoon.

So far, they're very easy to look after, and are laying eggs like pro's already. And they're DELICIOUS. I've never had an egg this fresh (a warm egg lifted from the straw bed is a thing of beauty) and it's so good.

So... meet the newest additions to Bell Farm (it's getting that way, right?)... Henrietta (the brown one), Brigitte (the white one) and Helga (the black/grey one). Such good girls.

Hope your week is good so far!
Abigail x

p.s. I never got that succulent soil...

'Natural' colour...

Abstract Flamingo - Vergil Kanne

source unknown (please let me know if you know who this lovely image belongs to)

Kelly Wearstler

dejaentndu.tumblr

Paul Juno 

original source unknown (let me know if you know who this belongs to!)

It's so fascinating when people say they like 'natural' colours, and identify colours like "grey, beige, taupe, stone, cream, white" etc. 

Have you ever seen anything so incredible as the COLOUR actually found in nature?

Where do you think 'colours' come from? I guess most people think that someone in a paint manufacturer years and years ago, or someone at pantone 'invented' them somehow. Right?

It's easy to see from these few images that there are no new colours under the sun... they are all pre-existing, for us to draw from, and be inspired by.

I absolutely adore looking at photographs of nature, with these extreme, amazing, fresh, vibrant, bold and unique colours, and combinations. They have nothing (and everything) to do with us, but I am so excited to draw from them when we design.

Here are five images I recently pinned to our 'Palette' board on Pinterest... it's hard to imagine they're real and 'natural', isn't it? Maybe we need to re-evaluate our thoughts on what 'natural' colour means.

How amazing to live in a world with colour like this?! And how amazing we get to bring this colour in to homes for a living.

Abigail x

abigail*ryan Irish Linen Landscape Collection...

We're so excited to have launched this beautiful collection of Irish Linen plains at the weekend... we've been so inspired by the beautiful colour palette in Ireland for years now, and always incorporate amazing colour combinations we see in nature in to our patterned designs... 

So (!) we thought it was time to add some beautiful plains to our range of fabric yardage - many of which are designed to pair beautifully with our prints, and some of which are just awesome stand alone colours, and so inherently 'Irish', we just couldn't remove them from our plans.

At the heart of this collection is it's Heritage. Woven and dyed in Northern Ireland by a family firm who have milled linens for over 150 years, we're incredibly proud of and in love with these cloths. Brights, Neutrals and interesting, workable shades that will look incredible in the home, all with the most stunning texture, flow, slub and weight... this is fabric to live with, that will live with you and just give and give. Irish linen has a remarkable heritage, and, as a young Irish brand, with a studio in an old linen mill (Conway Mill), we're so excited to be full circle and presenting this gorgeous collection to the public and our clients... we've used Irish Linen to back our cushions and make our Heirloom Quilts since we first started abigail*ryan, so we're delighted to be able to extend it's footing in our collection.

We hope you love our presentation for this range as much as we do... we've paired some of our original photos and inspiration for the palette with the fabric swatches so you can be transported to Ireland with us!

... most of our colour names are quite self-explanatory (though we hope deliciously evocative!), but we thought you might like some translation for the three Gaelic words we included...

Anfa (AHN-FAH) - Irish for Tempest or Storm...

Caschoill (CASH-ILL) - Irish for Scrub or Bush...

Farraige (FAH-RI-GUH) - Irish for Sea...

Don't these gorgeous colours and words make you want to visit Ireland right now?! ;)

Come see us!

A&R

Suki Tea, Belfast - "Tea as it should be"...

 

 

On Friday we visited the office HQ of Belfast brand Suki Tea, who are actually just down the road from our studio in Conway Mill, situated in Twin Spires...

We met with the lovely Gill, who was kind enough to talk us through their beautiful selection of tea's and tell us a bit about the brand, process and ethos. The smell from the tea was absolutely incredible as we walked in, and we had fun making our selection. We were looking for some tea for our clients, and finally settled on Earl Grey Blue Flower, which, in addition to being absolutely beautiful to look at (those vibrant blue flowers, wow!), tastes beautiful. So smooth and much more delicate and rounded that your average Earl Grey, which Gill explained was because of the large size of the leaf they use... we also picked up some Indian Spiced Chai (for infusing in milk), Mango Tango (on Gill's personal recommendation) and Apple Loves Mint, too. Can't wait to try them all!

As a little bit of back-ground to Suki Tea...

"Belfast’s Boutique Blender, Suki Tea, first set up in 2005 by business partners Annie and Oscar, has become a strong contender in the UK’s Loose Leaf tea market. Launched with the aim to provide their customers with the finest loose leaf tea, herbal infusions and fruit blends from around the world; the pair made ethical sourcing their priority whilst delivering a quality and fresh product. Winners of over 21 Great Taste Awards and multiple industry awards Suki Tea truly is ‘Tea as it should be’.

We're sure our clients will love the Earl Grey Blue Flower, and we're just delighted to be able to work with a local brand who is as passionate about quality as we are!

A big thanks to Gill for showing us the range, and if you're new to Suki Tea, be sure to check out their website and treat yourself to some DELICIOUSLY good tea, or visit them at the weekly St. Georges Market where they keep a stall...

...I think I'll go now and put the kettle on. Suki Tea, of course! ;)

A&R

Dundrum...

 

We spent a lovely day on Sunday down in Dundrum (County Down) visiting some friends who have just set up home there... we went for a wee dander around Dundrum Castle, and it's ruins, and then down to the beach. Such a nice time!

We are just obsessed with the incredible colours found in nature, noticing the particular palette which is instantly recognisable as 'Ireland' and which contains such a rich variety of diverse and interesting natural neutrals, always contrasted with the brightest of brights... so, so beautiful. And so much for us to look at!

I took far too many pictures... hope you enjoy them!

A&R