Beautifully imperfect: the art of organic design

Talking of not needing to be watered, my favourite natural curiosity has just flowered again. I love the fact that this magnificent triffid of an organism looks after itself, requiring no maintenance whatsoever. It seems to flower almost every year and looks totally stunning too, don’t you think?





I try to keep my London ‘sky garden’ tidy, but the other day, I noticed there was a mess on my terrace. I’d rather stupidly left a lovely Moroccan wooden dish from ShopCurious outside (for a few years) forgetting that, even though it’s been very dry here lately, we don’t have quite the same climate as North Africa. Unfortunately, rain has rotted the plate and now it's disintegrating.






I thought about throwing it away, but then I realized that imperfect is the new perfect (just as well, judging by the layout of this post). In fact, my dish looks not unlike the one shown right, by French ceramicist, Therese Lebrun, whose artisanal pieces and organic shapes are very ‘of the moment.’








And, if the Chelsea Flower Show is an indicator of trends, artisan gardens will soon be all the rage too. Jihae Hwang’s award winning Haewooso garden just happens to be curiously organic as well. The wooden building is a traditional style Korean toilet, or Haewooso – considered to be a place for spiritual catharsis.Whilst you free your mind by emptying your body, the latrine ferments human waste to make fertilizer - and it’s surrounded by a pretty garden to refill the mind with beautiful thoughts.









These days, even gardens are becoming works of conceptual art…which reminds me -Clerkenwell Design Week also starts today. London’s obviously the place to be this week, though I’m hoping we won’t get stuck here forever due to organic particles of volcanic ash.

Are you?

Enchanted garden?

The other day I was fortunate enough to see a preview of the new Brideshead Revisited film. I don’t want to offend anyone, as I’ve neither read the book nor seen the TV serialization - but with fresh eyes and an optimistic outlook, I found it curiously insightful and brilliantly done.

Yes, the settings are beautiful, the actors rather cute, the 1920s and '30s style costumes and accessories are totally fabulous and having a glimpse into the quirky haute-boho life of lazy luxury of the British upper classes is somewhat amusing. But looking beyond the stylish fashion and glitzy surroundings, this production has much more to say:

Not only did the film fuel my own curiosity (I love deep and meaningful stuff that you can spend hours trying to get your brains around), but at the very core of this story is man’s innate curiosity and search for meaning. For instance, when the self-proclaimed atheist Charles is invited to a Catholic religious service he’s ‘curious enough to come along’. He seems equally curious in other areas – and unsure as to whether it’s Sebastian or Julia he wishes to bed.

Although his views are well formed in some fields ('photography captures the moment, but art reflects your feelings'), Charles still has a lot to learn about Catholicism and how sin can be offset by confession. He's told that the Italians are a lot better at accepting forgiveness for lapses in the human condition than the guilt ridden English Catholistocracy, whose resulting hang-ups provide plenty of material for this film.

Charles is totally fascinated with Brideshead, which becomes a symbol for the struggle with his own spirituality. He’s fallen hopelessly in love with the Brideshead lifestyle and has travelled a long and often baffling ego trip, until death strikes and the question of faith suddenly becomes all too relevant. Perhaps our own mortality, values and beliefs are worth a little more consideration?

Whatever your thoughts about the meaning of our existence, there’s one certainty in life and that’s why one of the curiosities featured on our website is an eco-friendly receptacle for human ashes. We’re not suggesting that you 'buy one now while stocks last', just asking that you appreciate the organic form, iconic design and practical purpose of the acorn urn – and remember that it’s available at ShopCurious.

Will you?