What's New?
Charlene Mullen x Panzers
To celebrate their 75th anniversary, we were commissioned by Panzer’s to create a range of high quality porcelain. The design features the busy shop front of the St John Wood's based, deli in Charlene's iconic illustration style.
Available to buy instore and online
'A Day to Remember'
Earlier this year Charlene was approached by Case furniture along with 14 other designers to create fabric to reupholster the iconic 675 chair designed by Robin Day. The 15 unique chairs will be displayed in an exhibition at Heals on Tottenham Court Road from 31st July. An online auction will begin on 1st August with the proceeds of the auction going to the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation. Find out more about the foundation here. |
Charlene's design,Two Moons, is beautifully embroidered with colourfast tapestry wool on 100% natural linen and inspired by Ellsworth Kelly's bold and abstract art. The combination of simple block colours with the contours of hand embroidery fit perfectly with the classic design of the 675 chair. This piece is a one-off and is only available to buy through the online auction which begins 1st August.
For more information please visit Case's website.
Nepal
As mentioned in our previous blog, for our project with 70 St Mary Axe (AKA The Can of Ham) we flew to Kathmandu to visit our carpet manufacturers to check on the progress of the 15 rugs we have designed. Installation will be the end of January so keep checking to see the update of this project. In the meantime, here are a few shots from our time in the factory.
In the dye kitchen, a master of dying colour matches our chosen colours by eye and creates the recipe for the dye which is used to dye batches of plain wool(either New Zealand or Tibetan wool). Below are a selection of our chosen colours as hanks of wool and how they are used within the rugs.
The warping of the loom is the first part of the weaving process, single strands of plain wool are strung vertically on a loom to create the warp (the vertical threads of the weave). The amount of warp yarns and the distance between depends on the knots per inch of the design and the higher the knots per inch, the tighter and more hardwearing the weave will be.
A printed chart sits above the carpet and allows the weavers to follow design row by row. Every so often the loom master will check the progression to ensure the weaver is sticking to the plan. On average a weaver can create 10cm x 1m a day.
The main rug is the largest of the rugs measuring 4m x 10m, because this is a really large carpet a special scaffolding had to be built so that 10 weavers could sit across the 10 metre width.
The main rug is the largest of the rugs measuring 4m x 10m, because this is a really large carpet a special scaffolding had to be built so that 10 weavers could sit across the 10 metre width. 
A progress shot of one of the rugs, this is before finishing where the pile will be trimmed. The raised silk lines will be trimmed down but will still be higher than the background pile.
We are so excited about this project and we can't wait for the final rugs to be completed and installed in the reception area of 70 St Mary Axe. If you would like to commission your own rug please email studio@charlenemullen.com or call on 020 7739 6987 to discuss this further.
Online shop
Don't worry, we're still here! We've been working hard all summer on a large rug project for 70 St Mary Axe, a new skyscraper in London (nicknamed the Can of Ham). Which has involved designing 15 larges rugs for the ground floor entrance area. We are taking the opportunity to check on the progress of the rugs with a trip to Nepal and India, 12th-26th November. This means that we will be pausing our online shop tomorrow, Saturday 10th November and it will reopen on Tuesday 27th November.
If you have your eye on a cushion or you are starting to get prepared for Christmas then today is the day to place an order to guarantee delivery before the 27th of November.
If you feel like you're going to miss us too much make sure you follow us on Instagram to keep up to date with our travels to India.
We'll be back in the studio on Tuesday 27th November ready for the countdown to Christmas.
'Perfect English Townhouse' Book Launch
Last week we hosted the book launch of 'Perfect English Townhouse' by Ros Byam Shaw and Jan Baldwin at the shop. Charlene's midcentury townhouse was one of the homes featured in the book along with 13 other townhouses from towns and cities in England. The shop looked fantastic, styled by the lovely Mary Mathieson who created a welcoming and spring-like environment, perfect for a chilly February evening. Here are a few photos from the event:
Who knew we could fit so many people into our shop?
Charlene's Living room as featured in 'Perfect English Townhouse':
Photo by Jan Baldwin, Courtesy of Rylands, Peters and Smalls.
Who knew we could fit so many people into our shop?
Charlene's Living room as featured in 'Perfect English Townhouse':
Photo by Jan Baldwin, Courtesy of Rylands, Peters and Smalls.
Charlene will be taking part in Dulwich Festival's Artist Open House on the 12th & 13th of May. If you want to see the rooms with your own eyes, make sure you sign up to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
The book is available to buy here, perfect for fans of interior design.
Bauble/Ceramic workshop, Christmas 2017
Here are a just few of the wonderful and special pieces that were made at our Christmas ceramic workshops. A super easy and fun activity for all!
We will definitely be holding more workshops, so stay tuned to find out about more dates or get in touch with us to organise a private party for 4-6 people.
A/W Preview '17
For our preview for Autumn/Winter 2017 we presented our exciting new designs and samples. Highlights include our elegant lace lengths, stunning embroidered panels and charming bone china.
Our latest ceramics are decorated with beautiful floral illustrations on english bone china. Ferns and weeds seem to grow from inside the mugs and across the plates, they are the perfect presents for plant lovers. We also hold fun workshops where you can decorate your own china with Charlene's illustrations, find out more here.
Our large embroidered panels are perfect for curtains, sectioning rooms or simply as decoration. Each panel features large scale embroideries of Charlene's beautiful illustrations on dark grey linen.
If you can't wait to get your hands on our new botanical collection, our Botanical cards are now available to purchase online here.
If you would like to know any more about any of our products and services, please call by our showroom in Shoreditch or drop an email to studio@charlenemullen.com.
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India 2017
I'm really excited to get started on my new projects after returning from a two week visit to India, where I met some incredibly talented craftsmen and visited beautiful and inspiring sites. Here are a few pictures of my favourite places to visit in Jaipur and Delhi:
Anokhi Museum of hand printing
What an inspirational place! To see the building so beautifully restored to make the perfect space to show the most incredible textile collection. A very peaceful destination with not a tour party in sight; definitely one for the textiles aficionado.
Mantar Jantar Observatory, Jaipur
I had an amazing time at the Observatory, it is incredible that in the 18th Century they created such accurate and beautiful instruments to determine the time and the stars.
Amber Fort, Jaipur
So fascinating to see how the maharajas lived absolutely, no expense spared and no surface left unembellished! They made a complete world for themselves behind those impressive amber walls, it is almost like a fairy tale castle.
Jaipur Modern
This mid century bungalow is a really brilliant example of modern Indian architecture. The food was delicious and sourced straight from their organic farm.
We're hoping that it will be an annual pilgrimage as there is still so much to explore and discover.
Makers of Selfridges
Our ceramic range for Makers of Selfridges, launched late last year and features illustrated shoppers clutching the iconic yellow Selfridge bag.
Our ceramic range for Makers of Selfridges, launched late last year and features illustrated shoppers clutching the iconic yellow Selfridge bag.The starting point was Charlene's previous project with Selfridges; a cushion of Selfridge's building on Oxford street. Taking elements like the shoppers and the vehicles, Charlene developed the illustrations to fit a teacup and saucer, mug and teapot.
To find out more about the inspiration behind the range read an interview with Charlene for Friends & Co here.
Interview with That's Not My Age blog
Charlene spoke to Alyson from That's Not My Age about her style and inspiration, we're big fans of the blog so it's great to be featured! Read the interview here (and admire the gorgeous photos by Dvora @Fashionistable).
London Design Festival Autumn/Winter Press Preview 2016
This morning was our A/W 16 press preview ahead of London Design Week as part of Shoreditch Design Triangle.
We showed our latest and upcoming projects and products that we will have in the run up to Christmas. After the popularity of our bespoke bone china baubles last Christmas we will be bringing a new range of illustrated baubles based on Charlene's folk style drawings. Our latest bone china mugs of our 'Shoreditch gentlemen' are proving particularly popular with our local and loyal customers (maybe it's something to do with the beard or stripey t-shirt?)
More new products include our latest range of ceramics with Royal Doulton, based on our popular hand embroidered geometric cushion range. The collection was launched in Australia and will only be available from us in the UK.
The exterior of 7 Calvert Avenue, Shoreditch
Charlene standing outside 7 Calvert Avenue, Shoreditch
Daisy Chain tea plate, Charlene Mullen for Royal Doulton, Ralphie and Mouse bespoke bone china egg cup, Charlene Mullen and Bone Egg Spoon, Beggars Velvet
We're also excited that soon we will be stocking wonderful new products by Beggars' Velvet whose philosophy is that 'Good materials should not go to waste, nor should fine words be forgotten'. Beggars' Velvet are Sculptor & letter carver, Kate Owen and textiles design & author Ros Badger who are based in Peckham, South London.
Beggars' Velvet's products are playful but useful household curiosities that are hand decorated with interesting epigrams and words, pilfered from the finest writers.
Feeling dirty? Beggars' Velvet's new soap is emblazoned with 'Filth' or 'Smut', each soap is hand poured in Lancashire and scented with Eau-De-Cologne, the same scent since the 1920's. The masters for each soap design are carved by hand in welsh slate.
Although we are enjoying the summer weather we can't wait for Autumn and Winter after seeing our new products alongside Beggars' Velvets and we also have an exciting new project with Selfridges in the pipeline that is not to be missed...
Keep checking out our blog or sign up to our mailing list to find out about our latest products and projects.
Summer Sale
Our summer sale is now on online and instore! Use our discount code "summersale16" to get 20% off all our cushions online*.
Offer ends on Friday 22nd of July so make sure you don't miss out and feel free to share the code with friends and family. A great opportunity to be the perfect wedding guest with the best present at the wedding.
*Cannot be used on existing discounted cushions
Individual and Bespoke English Bone China Mugs
Using our folk art and scrimshaw designs we have been busy designing some new English Bone China mugs. You may remember our window from Easter last year and our hand decorated goose eggs. Using the same technique, they have inspired us to make these beautiful mugs for you. Each mug has been lovingly decorated by hand in our studio in Shoreditch, making them all unique and individual.
Our small mugs (8.5cm) are £15 each and we are in the process of creating a larger size, which will be coming soon to the shop. Perfect for that morning cup of tea or coffee! For more information pop by the store or email us at studio@charlenemullen.com.
Why not treat yourself to a set of our 4 bird mugs. Also great as a little seasonal gift. Soon to be available in our large and small mugs.
Spring/Summer 2016
Preparations are underway for our press preview tomorrow and our temporary shop dog, Plum, is making sure we're working hard. 
We have plenty of new products for Spring/Summer 2016; a new ceramic collection, a stationary range with French brand Claire Fontaine, a poster designed exclusively for the Tate and framed prints with King and McGaw.
The Geometric ceramics are launching in Australia and we will exclusively have stock of the range, pop by the store for more information or email us at studio@charlenemullen.com. See our previous blog for photos.
Behind the Scenes of our new range with Royal Doulton shoot
Take a look at our behind the scene images from the photoshoot for our new collection with Royal Doulton we did back in November. British Standard Cupboards kindly allowed us to use their showroom in Hoxton and their beautiful painted style in great colours really suits the new range. Nestled amidst the chaos are beautiful utilitarian products loaned by Labour and Wait, our neighbours on Redchurch street. The shoot was styled by Mary Mathieson who is an old friend from the Royal College of Art and knows me and my work so well and I completely trust her to show the china at its best.
A preview of our latest range with Royal Doulton
It's great to start the beginning of a new year by sharing our new collection for Royal Doulton with you. Inspired by our Geometric Cushion range, the new mugs, plates and bowls mix cheerful colours with adventurous patterns to compliment our existing London Calling and Foulard Star collections.
Dotty, Bobble, Raindrop and Daisy started life as simple, hand-embroidered textiles based on Japanese optical art, created in four colours which look lovely together. Just as the original textiles were designed to complement each other, so too the new Geometric ceramics have been designed to complement my Blackwork and London Calling designs. These can be mixed and matched to your heart’s content.
Here are a few images from the photoshoot we did back in November, have a look at our chaotic behind the scenes images in our previous blog.
The shoot was with British Standard Cupboards at their showroom at Hoxton square; their bold kitchen perfectly complement the new range. We're so pleased with the new range which is being launched in Australia and we will have stock exclusive to us very soon.
Gift ideas for Dad
To help ease the stress of Christmas shopping we have carefully selected a few of our favourite pieces by the makers trading at the Winter fayre. We will be sharing our gift ideas in the run up to the opening night on Friday the 11th of December. Check out our blog or facebook page to keep up to date.
Gift ideas for Mum
To help ease the stress of Christmas shopping we have carefully selected a few of our favourite pieces by the makers trading at the Winter fayre. We will be sharing our gift ideas in the run up to the opening night on Friday the 11th of December. Check out our blog or facebook page to keep up to date.
Gift Ideas for secret Santa
To help ease the stress of Christmas shopping we have carefully selected a few of our favourite pieces by the makers trading at the Winter fayre. We will be sharing our gift ideas in the run up to the opening night on Friday the 11th of December. Check out our blog or facebook page to keep up to date.
Gift Ideas for Mum and Dad
To help ease the stress of Christmas shopping we have carefully selected a few of our favourite pieces by the makers trading at the Winter fayre. We will be sharing our gift ideas in the run up to the opening night on Friday the 11th of December. Check out our blog or facebook page to keep up to date.
Gift Ideas for the Shoreditch Pug
To help ease the stress of Christmas shopping we have carefully selected a few of our favourite pieces by the makers trading at the Winter fayre. We will be sharing our gift ideas in the run up to the opening night on Friday the 11th of December. Check out our blog or facebook page to keep up to date.
Gift Ideas for the Shoreditch Gentleman
To help ease the stress of Christmas shopping we have carefully selected a few of our favourite pieces by the makers trading at the Winter fayre. We will be sharing our gift ideas in the run up to the opening night on Friday the 11th of December. Check out our blog or facebook page to keep up to date.
Rochelle Winter Fayre
We've curated a fantastic Winter Fayre with our favourite local craftspeople held at the Rochelle School on Arnold's circus. There will be a range of affordable presents to buy, pasta and letterpress demonstrations and be sure to catch Choir East singing on Sunday at 3pm. We've made sure that there is something for everyone!
To help ease the stress of Christmas shopping we have carefully selected a few of ourfavourite pieces by the makers trading at the Winter fayre. We will be sharing our gift ideas in the run up to the opening night on Friday the 11th of December. Keep checking our blog and facebook page to keep up to date.
Join us for our late night opening for Shoreditch Design Triangle
We'd love for you to join us on Tuesday the 22nd of September at our Studio/store on Calvert Avenue from 6-9pm for a drink or two. It's a great opportunity to see what we've been working on and the new products we will be bringing into the store for Autumn/Winter.
This year Shoreditch Design Triangle has been sponsored by Grolsch and we will be supplied with beers for the evening. To find out more visit SDT's website or pop by our shop to pick up a free guide.
