Hi everyone! It’s time to chat up another Interior Idol in “Crush Lust Stalk”. If you remember last month I was living a boho beach life – which got me thinking, who is my boho idol, well that would be Jenny, founder & creative force behind Bohemia Designs. What I love about Jenny is that she’s obsessive about traditional crafting techniques and working with artisans in far flung corners of the world. It’s not a passing fad for Jenny, she’s been at this for over 20 years and its much more than design, for her it is about helping to sustain communities and teaching skills. You can read the touching stories about some of the crafters she’s worked with for decades here. Plus her pics of Morocco are just divine.
A little inspiration from some of our fave Instagrammers who all have Bohemia Design hand crafted gems in their homes … the pattern loving Lulu_Mimis_Home, super stylish Casschung, everyone’s favourite boho styling guru Dee_Campling, the ever so colourful Kasie_Barton, and now I’m being cheeky, me.
Source: Lulu_Mimis_Home
Source: Casschung
Source: Dee_Campling
Source: Kasie Barton
Source: Liznylon
My first encounter with Bohemia Design was quite funny. I was on the hunt for the perfect seagrass basket in just the right shade of grey. You know one of those insta-online worm holes where * BAM * hours pass with the blink of an eye. I eventually found my dreamy basket at Amara. I was shocked when it arrived the next day and I quickly realised it was shipped from just 1/2 mile away. Embarrassed, yes, just a tad. I marched myself over to Jenny’s dreamy boho shop to introduce myself and went on to snap up a few more baskets (as one does). Since then, Jenny’s moved Bohemia Design entirely online and her daughter now runs a jungalow haven called Dahlia packed full of luscious succulents & plants.
I think it’s easy to say that Bohemia Design has now become my “go to” for Scandi meets boho meets minimalist meets maximalist shop. There are just too many fab things from pom pom baskets in all sizes, to cool babouche slippers in every colour under the sun, to jewels that will make your heart sing, earthy bling bling rings, statement pouffs, geometric cushions, and pom pom throws. You can never have enough pom noms, can you?! Okay, here is my edit:
Market Pom Pom Basket
Moroccan Babouche Slipper
Long Hanging Basket
Maya Bead Necklace
Moroccan Leather Pouffe
Square Druzy Ring
Super Tassel Blanket
Geo Purple Cushion
Now on to the good stuff where Jenny reveals all …
Source: Angela Damman
Source: Angela Damman’s Heavenly Fringe
Source: Dahlia
CRUSH – Jenny is crushing on
Angela Damman and her work with Mayan villagers in Yucatan, Mexico. Jenny fell in love with Angela’s story and her eye for design. Jenny says “Angela collaborates with local artisans and taps into generations & generations of knowledge to create luxurious bags and home decor. Everything is done by hand – native plant fibres are spun, dyed, woven and stitched to create the most beautiful sustainable goods.” I say, does this sound familiar? It’s an ethos that Jenny also lives by.
LUST – Since discovering
Angela Damman‘s work, Jenny is particularly lusting after a lusciously fringed hammock which is 100% handmade from Sansevieria fibre. She says “I’m not quite sure where I’d put one though, I feel perhaps I would need to build the perfect house to hang it in!”
STALK – As she should, Jenny stalks her daughter Phoebe on Insta. I must say, I just love this! Phoebe just launched her first business in Edinburgh and Jenny loves to have a (sneaky) peek at what her daughter gets up to at
DAHLIA . I’ve been to Dahlia, and its quickly becoming a fave & my growing obsession with all things green. Jenny says “So even when I’m in far flung travels abroad I can see what’s going on – lots of plants and a few visiting dogs set in a colour palette of pink and green.”
The shop is a destination with bloggers and interior junkies with its Insta worthy glossy glazed tiles and over sized Moroccan basket lights and wooden fittings made by Scottish creative fabricators
Aliens & Daughters.
Jenny’s home is all about balancing the calm minimalism with a maximalist tendency for the colourful artisan textiles and objects. She collects most of these on her travels and they always end up in her effortlessly stylish living space. Jenny says “When not on the road I live in a small colony house overlooking the Water of Leith in Stockbridge. On sunny evenings after work I love to sit on my doorstep and watch the world pass by. Inside, my living room/kitchen is where I spend most time as it is a lovely light filled space with windows on 3 sides.”
Jenny goes on to describe her fave space – “The floor is natural wood made cosy with rugs I buy from Abdelghani, my favourite rug dealer in Marrakech. Always a nature lover I surround myself with plants as a home just doesn’t seem to feel alive without them, palms, cacti, succulents, ivies and herbs. They are the perfect way to fill baskets, pots and all manner of intriguing vessels I have gathered over the years.”
Jenny sums it up best “I guess you would call my home style contemporary bohemian, my retreat from the world but filled with objects and books I have picked up on my journeys across the world.”
Jenny recently had the pleasure of visiting
Berber Lodge when she was working and travelling in Morocco. So she says she’d happily take the keys to Berber Lodge for the weekend. It is a small hotel set in the countryside a 40 minute drive from the city of Marrakech.
Source: Berber Lodge
Source: Berber Lodge
Source: Berber Lodge outside dining
Source: Berber Lodge poolside
Built of earth in traditional beldi (country) style, it is a dreamy space to while away a weekend. In the midst of an olive grove with views of the distant Atlas mountains. Jenny recommends sitting in the gardens and listening to the sound of birdsong as well as taking a cooling dip in the pool, especially in the afternoon heat. During winter months, she says “find a cosy spot beside a log fire with a good book.”
So what’s next for Jenny and Bohemia Design? Jenny always has something on the go. Perhaps the most exciting is a new beaded jewellery collection launching at the NYC Now trade exhibition in August. She’s working with the Maasai & Samburu tribeswomen of the BeadWorks Kenya project. BeadWorks Kenya works with over 1,000 women beaders to provide employment that enables the women to send their children to school, access healthcare and generally provide for their families. The vision is to create contemporary designs using traditional beading skills – watch this space for this exciting launch.
Bohemia Design has also expanded their basket weaving partnership in Morocco to include handweaved cacti and animal heads. They’ve also just established their own workshop in Marrakech that includes accommodation for artisans who need it.
Go on have a good nosy on Bohemia Design’s site or Insta. I’m confident it will make you smile and you can thank me later.
That’s a wrap for this week’s Crush Lust Stalk. Hope you have a fab Monday all.
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Cheers,
Liz x
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