Blue Skies to Lift the Mood

It's been a while... I've been feeling BLUE...

CALLING ARTISTS...

The Distant Future Always Sounds Lovely and The Kingfisher Cafe present:

An exciting new collaboration is taking place at the much loved Kingfisher Cafe.

Anna Blightman, (The Distant Future Always Sounds Lovely) will be taking on an artist coordinator role for The Kingfisher, working as an independent to discover and introduce new local artists to the space and its potential.

The collaboration will open doors (and walls) at The Kingfisher to support local artists by offering them a chance to host an exhibition of their work, which will include an exclusive evening opening. The work will then remain on display for the entire month, before the show changes.

Arriving in Fishponds in the summer last year from Berlin, Anna works as an artist using the medium of Polaroid photography showcasing the originality and nostalgia of the classic Polaroid in prints and other gifts.

The new venture with the Kingfisher Cafe, beginning at the end of February, will give the opportunity to all to discover the diverse and accomplished range of artists living and working in Fishponds.

Alongside the main exhibition the project is hoping to include one piece of artwork from up to six artists on a two weekly rotation basis that will also be on display in the cafe and available for purchase. There will also be a stronger focus on products and crafts by local artists being available for purchase, with one area of the cafe dedicated to these items.

For a chance to be involved as an artist please contact Anna Blightman via email at anna@thedistantfuturealwayssoundslovely.com or for the chance to sell products and crafts contact the cafe directly.

http://thekingfisherbristol.co.uk/

0117 965 1001

http://thedistantfuturealwayssoundslovely.com
07867 521 262
Anna Blightman

LIVE LAGOM...New Years Resolution

As always with this time of year, I begin to think of clean sheets, fresh starts and new leaves. It is such a great time to rethink everything, sweep out the dead wood of the previous year (quite literally with the Christmas tree) and start as you mean to go on...

...and an even better time to start thinking about my LIVE LAGOM New Years Resolution and how, with the help of my products, I can create a more sustainable live for my girls and me in our new home.

Reducing waste is going to be my big resolution, allowing it to encompass all types of waste including:

- food waste
- wasted energy
- wasted time !

For the first time ever we have a garden, so when I was thinking about Living Lagom my thoughts instantly turned to utilising the underused outdoor space to create a sensory area with plants and herbs which can also be used in the kitchen and cooking.

Using my outdoor bench and shelf unit I am looking forward to planting some seeds and reducing the amount of herbs I buy to sit in a pot and die, or dry out and become flavourless, not to mention the benefit of looking pretty. I also hope to plant some vegetables in the spring. My main challenge with this is remembering to look after the plants, I am hoping by being able to see them outside my kitchen will encourage me !










To combat wasted energy I have several bits and pieces to help me. Including:

- sensor motion light for the landing and late night loo visits !
- LED light bulbs and night lights (our solar ones don't work in the winter !)
- blind for the kitchen window to stop the draught
- wireless charging pad so my phone isn't on charge ALL night
- and most excitingly a pressure cooker, ...I cannot wait to start creating recipes in this, lots of lovely stews, curries and other meals.

Which when all added together is hopefully going to make a big difference both in the amount of energy consumed and the amount of money spent paying for it !

And finally, the waste of time ! We currently have no recycling bins indoors and I spend so much time moving pieces of paper from one side of the room to the other, then having an unsightly stack of stuff that needs to go out to the front...this is crazy and has to stop ! 

Alongside this is the kids "stuff"... playdough, scrap paper, bits of string, ribbon etc etc. All of which I am loathe to throw away but ends up in a mess on the dining room table, and once again I feel I am constantly re-organising into slightly more pleasing piles of mess.  

Not to mention the kitchen food stuff I spend hours looking for in the backs of cupboards.

With my newly acquired storage boxes and jars I aim to eliminate all the above !

I cannot wait to unpack everything properly, and get started. I am looking forward to showing my children the joy of growing your own, and helping the planet to stay beautiful at the same time. To saving energy and ultimately money on heating and lighting my home, and to having a more functional, streamlined recycling system that makes it simple to achieve.

Neve turns two

Live Lagom with IKEA

With an absolute thrill I was invited to take part in the Ikea Live Lagom project to help my life and home more sustainable.

More sustainable ? I recycle, I reuse glass jars, I donate my unwanted clothes to the charity shop...honestly, what more can I do ? Move to the forest, eat berries and never wash. So in order to help my planet and educate my daughters we need to be cold, dirty and hungry...











...but Lagom isn't about sacrificing your creature comforts, Living Lagom is about having what you need but no more, so I can enjoy a hot shower as long as it isn't half an hour long, I can even have a guilt-free bath, just not every day (i'd be too wrinkly anyway).

And this is what the project is all about...educating, and understanding that we can all contribute more (or less) to the state of the planet whilst maintaining a comfortable lifestyle AND a tidy, stylish home.

Excitingly for me,  I am in the position of having recently moved into my new home. This is a great chance for me to put in place some simple ideas that will complement my lifestyle, whilst I can continue to look after the planet, and get my children involved so that for them being sustainable isn't a 'thing", it just is.

Armed with my Hidden Gems brochure I now have the opportunity to select £500 worth of products that can help implement this lifestyle....my brain is overloading with ideas.

Should I redo the kitchen, changing drawer space, work surface and recycling areas - tick, should I put up honeycomb blinds against each window - tick, should I switch all lightbulbs to LED - tick, should I create a garden to grow my own herbs and vegetables - tick, should I create a dedicated "scraps" place which the children to go to for playful inspiration - tick. I have the Lagom (hubbub and IKEA) team visiting my home on Tuesday and we will work together to make a plan !

For me, the idea of quietly helping the planet is the most important. Amazing that it might be able to save me money too but that isn't my focus.

I want to keep the world beautiful...

I know what I did last summer...

I'm back...the house is in chaos, but I'm enjoying it so much I realise I was stagnant, stuck still, with no where to expand to...now I feel endless, with possibilities round every corner. I'm excited...here's what we did over the summer. Enjoy...

 

 

 

 
 
 

This I Will Miss - Morgan

And finally, ohne worte, Morgan. Of course, because of it all, I will miss you !