I must profoundly apologise for the utter lack of newsletter recently. I can’t believe the last one was way way back in March, I hang my head in shame. In my defence, it’s not like I’ve been sunning my big belly on some glorious beach somewhere, we have been very busy and much has happened so I shall get on with it, I have soooooooo much to tell you.

Oh, before I forget, I must thank all of you who ask me when my next newsletter is coming. I’m so happy to hear that people not only read them but also look forward to receiving them. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Here we go

‘So, what do you do now you don’t have your shop anymore’ is what I have been asked just one too many times now, so I feel it was necessary to get a new look and new purpose website. In all fairness, it’s been on the cards for quite a while and especially since I don’t have a proper brick and mortar (or plasterboard and polyfilla more like it) shop anymore the old one was a little confusing even to myself. So, my dear friend, the talented Jean-Michel has been working hard to get it all up and running and I am very VERY happy with the result.

Please have a good look around and any feedback will obviously be greatly appreciated. We will make more improvements bit by bit so keep coming back.

Next in line to get a re-vamp is the online shop. We’ll have that ready just in time for the festive season (yes you heard right….the festive season!) which is almost upon us again. I’ll obviously let you know when we’re up and running with that.

I have to admit that ever since I bought myself a new digital camera back in May I have turned into a right little David Baily / Attenborough / LaChapelle. I’m afraid nothing and nobody is safe from me when I have my camera with me. In my defence I actually think some of those pictures are quite good, so good in fact that I have used several on my new website (I’m not sure I’ve mentioned my new website already) and I am now also trying to integrate them into my newsletters.

The Design Circus that is 100% Design/The London Design Festival, with all that good, bad and seriously uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugly!!

And for that occasion I am happy (ok, I’m not actually sure I am that happy about it yet) to announce that we will set up a little temporary shop for a few days only in a splendid location on St John Street, Clerkenwell. Thanks to the marvellous Marvin at Foundry who has given me some space at his Pop-Up Shop.

Location: 187 – 211 St John Street, Clerkenwell, London EC1V 4SL View map
Date: Wednesday the 17th until Monday the 22nd of September
Time: 11am til 7pm.

This couldn’t possibly get any more exciting I hear you say? Oh yes it can! On Thursday the 18th between 6 and 9pm we have a late night shopping in collaboration with the Evening Standard where amongst other offers I am giving 20%, yes, 20% off all purchases that evening.

This year Christmas has come early!!!

Just like the No.73 bus, not one is coming for ages and then they all come at once, all our new products are nearly ready, just in time for the silly season. Coincidence? I think not!

‘Is that plastic’ by Yoyo Ceramics
The product itself isn’t really that new (it was originally launched in 2003) but I still love them as much today as when I first saw them back then. This year Helen Yoyo (that’s how her name is stored in my mobile phone) and I have decided that I should take on the range, in fact take it on and extend it, and we have just received the first batch of butter dishes and egg saucers into stock. We have made only very slight adjustments to the design and introduced a brand spanking new colour: yellow.

hemDing by Andreas Fabian
I saw this product first at the fantastic Mo-Billy show during the Milan Furniture Fair this year, in fact Ed Carpenter saw this and thought it would be perfect for us, and indeed I think it is. This large serving dish/fruit bowl is 46cm in diameter with a Traditional Spade Handle. These will be available with new and vintage handles.

Kippford by Jon Harrison
For quite some time now I’ve been looking for a product in Brass, so when I saw these at the Royal College Degree Show in July, I thought PERFECT, exactly what I wanted. So, a few months later and here they are, almost ready to fly off the shelves. As a set of five different hooks they are also available in brushed stainless steel.

Date Ruler by André Klauser
It’s a bit like a ruler with dates on it but it’s a calendar with 12 months/inches and 31 days/centimetres. It’s Made in Germany from stainless steel with two coloured magnetic rings.

All new products will be available on show at our temporary shop (see above) and will be available to buy from the end of October. Now please form an orderly queue.

Ok, I’ve been putting this off for far too long and it’s a bit cheeky really always asking someone else to do it, so due to popular demand...

In all fairness I quite often ask myself why I make even more stuff the world doesn’t really need, but then I go to trade fairs and see the vast, and I mean VAST halls of complete and utter rubbish that the world needs even less then my stuff. And then I say to myself, anyone who buys some of my stuff hopefully will buy a little less of the other stuff (the bad stuff that is) and that makes me feel a lot better.

I went to Paris just recently to the ‘Stuff’ Mecca that is Maison & Objet. A trade fair where you can get anything and everything for the home and I really mean anything, if your style is colonial, ethnic chic, Rococco, contemporary, minimal…you name it, they have it!! So it’s nice to find a few treasures amongst the sea of mediocrity (and that’s still a compliment). One of them standing out for me were the stunningly beautiful blankets by Dutch company Thomas Eyck designed by Stefan Scholten and Carole Baijings. It’s already on my list to Santa this year.

Well, I might as well squeeze in a couple of sentences about Paris since I have just been and had a few hours to wander about town and see some shops. It was Saturday morning and I thought (and about twelve thousand others) to pop into Collette. When I say some shops, I don’t actually think there are any other shops in Paris, are there?

Don’t get me wrong, this shop has well and truly changed retail and is almost single handedly responsible for creating the ‘lifestyle shop’ boom, but I personally feel a little uneasy in there. Maybe I’m just getting old don’t you just hate it when all the shop assistants are so much younger and so much prettier then you. I’ve decided that my new concept store will only have old and ugly shop assistants so every person coming into the shop will feel pretty and young! I think I’m onto a winner here!!

Before I start, have I already mentioned my new website? Ok ok, it’s not funny anymore.

As you may know, my products are actually quite important to me, and I hope they are to the people who now own them wherever in the world they may be now.

As we are always looking to improve our site, this is where you come in.

If you are the proud owner of a Pigeon Light, Antler, Plant Cup or any of the products we produce, please send us an image of it in your home and we might use it for our website. We’ll obviously put your name next to it. In case we use your picture we will also send you a little present to say thank you. So get snapping and send all images to info@thorstenvanelten.com.

I thank you in advance.

Well that’s it again for this time. Don’t worry, my head is still hanging in shame and it’s only going to come up again when I manage to get the next newsletter out which will be well in time for Christmas and it’s sell sell sell in that one.

Hopefully see you all between then 17- 21st!! You haven’t forgotten about it already have you?

Cheerio