Ceramic Art London 2014

At The Amazing Blog, we appreciate beautiful designs and that’s why we are so excited for Ceramic Art London 2014. Ceramic Art London is a fair for contemporary ceramics, presented by the Craft Potters Association, which will be held at The Royal College of Art from 4^th – 6^th April. Whether you are a collector, gallery owner, or enthusiast you will enjoy stunning pieces from over 75 contemporary ceramic artists. It is also a great opportunity to buy directly from the maker, allowing you to meet the artist of your favourite pottery. With a wide range of prices there will be pieces to fit everyone’s budget. The fair will feature British and international artists as well as Royal College of Art students.

This year marks the 10^th anniversary of Ceramic Art London. To celebrate, a collection of unique cups made by exhibitors from the past nine years will be sold in support of the Tony Ainsworth memorial lecture programme. In addition to showcasing ceramic art, there will also be a series of talks, demonstrations and films on ceramic techniques and design throughout the weekend. Tickets are £12 for one day and include an exhibition guide and catalogue. 3-day tickets are also available for £25. Tickets are available at the event or by phone for advance orders here.

Friday Favourites - Mother's Day

Guess who? She often deprives herself, yet makes certain you have the best of everything.  That’s right, it’s Mum! Our mum’s really are the best and deserve more than one day during the year to be celebrated and appreciated.  All of us here at The Amazing Blog want to help make your mum’s special day perfect, so we have a few original ideas up our sleeves. Ranging from candles to cocktails, there’s something for every mum!

A burning candle is a great way to set the tone for a relaxing afternoon or evening.  Wick & Tallow candles offer the luxury of a home accessory with a touch of British individuality.  Constructed from scratch by product and interior designers, as well as a biology graduate with an interest in botany, Wick & Tallow Waxsmiths intrigue candle-lovers with their contemporary twist on both the candle's packaging and scent.  The original black matte colour of Wick & Tallow packaging (with a vibrant highlight colour) coordinates flawlessly with the unique scent of the candles, which last up to 50 hours!  The Patchouli & Grapefruit Candle, for example, is a calming yellow (perfect for mum!) which flawlessly matches the notes of garden floral and tart grapefruit in the burning candle.  Find the Patchouli & Grapefruit Candle here for £35.00. And as a Mother's Day treat, Wick & Tallow are offering a 20% discount on this candle when you use the code, MUMSTHEWORD. Make mum feel young and modern while relaxing to the scent and design of Wick & Tallow candles.  A variety of candle colours and scents can be found here.

On her special day, mum deserves to sit back, relax and pamper herself with a fun cocktail in hand!  To make her job a bit easier, Pontoon Cocktails have designed pre-mixed, frozen and unpasteurized cocktails which guarantee the same freshness as the day they were made!  Offer your mum the fun and frilly Angelica mixed drink from Pontoon Cocktails!  With a mix of contemporary and traditional ingredients like Ketel One Vodka, Cocchi Americano and Regan’s No.6 orange bitters, Angelica is a hand-crafted pink plunge of citrus and flowers.  Perfectly packaged with a ribbon tied around its top, the Angelica mixed drink from Pontoon Cocktails is a perfect gift for mum!  A 500ml of Angelica is £34.99 and can be found here.

If drinks aren't your mum's style, maybe she'd prefer a chocolate treat. Like most women, mum certainly loves clothing and shoes, but gifting clothing or shoes to mum can be a challenge.  Why not combine her love for shoes with the sweet temptation of chocolate with a La Signorina Chocolate Stiletto! La Signorina specialise in fair-trade, hand-made chocolate delicacies in the shape of shoes, bouquets and chess sets.  These Italian style dark chocolates give personality to each piece with their fair-trade chocolate beans, and La Signorina kindly sent The Amazing Blog the Fortuna Chocolate Stiletto!  Fortuna was the Roman goddess of fortune, promising mum good luck in the months to follow. Not only is the shoe the size of a wearable stiletto (UK size 3), but the inside of the slipper is detailed with the La Signorina insignia and is finished with a chocolate flower on the toe.  Specializing in chocolate gifts, La Signorina lets mum have her shoes and eat them too!  Select the perfect chocolate stiletto for mum for only £40 here.

If your mum grew up during the 60s or 70s she is probably familiar with Aqua Manda, after smelling the perfume on her own mother!  This nostalgic perfume is the ultimate memory jogger, taking mum back to her flower power days. Aqua Manda uses the psychedelic colour orange to reflect the era in both colour and scent!

Made with essential oils of mandarin, ginger, lavender, patchouli, cinnamon, and other aromatic herbs, Aqua Manda consists of an abundance of fruity scents.   The refreshing and light smell is a great pick me up and works perfectly as a summer fragrance. The oriental and spicy base notes give a kick to the perfume which can help in the mornings if you get up early and need something to wake you up. Once applied, the perfume sits on your skin all day and only fades slightly. Take mum back to childhood with this happy, fruity and fun scent!  A bottle of Aqua Manda is £39.99 and can be purchased  here.

The Edible Garden Show

Like me, I’m sure many of you have noticed friends, co-workers and family members jumping on the healthy lifestyle band-wagon.  What started as a diet has transformed into a way of life for many, even for some of us here at The Amazing Blog!  If you too have fallen into this new trend, why not venture to The Edible Garden Show next weekend 28-30 March!  In response to the rapidly rising ‘grow-your-own’ trend, The Edible Garden Show was introduced to the United Kingdom four years ago.  This award-winning event is ‘putting down roots’ at Alexandria Palace for its fourth year in order to attract more than those who are already committed to green eating and healthy living.

Arrive hungry and prepare to indulge, as The Edible Garden Show promises the opportunity to sample naturally made food and beverages like cheeses and beer.  These along with home-grown produce and livestock are only a few of the food exhibitors who will inspire a change to your typical method of purchasing and preparing food.  But healthier living has to do with more than just food!  To emphasize ‘going green’ in all areas of life, The Edible Garden Show will also feature information and demonstrations on alternative forms of energy for the home. A show like this leaves no room for want!  Tickets to the show are only £12 when purchased in advance and £16 at the door.  Directions and additional information on the show can be found here.

Friday Favourites - Valentine's Day

To quote Robert Smith (lead singer of the Cure) “It’s Friday and [we’re] in love!” Yes, today is the day when lovers all over the world will be showering their loved ones with heart-felt messages and gifts. Don't worry if you don’t have a partner, why not just treat yourself! But for those of you that will be spreading the love, we here at The Amazing Blog have compiled a few of our Valentine’s Day favourites to help get you on your way.

Let’s start by setting the mood or the ‘ambiance’ for this special date night. Ancienne Ambiance is a British luxury brand that produces luxury goods and utilises fragrances that are inspired by ingredients and techniques from ancient times. They offer an array of beautifully candles, soaps, bath salts and oils. Their products are hand-poured and delivered in elegant purple (our favourite colour!) hand-crafted gift boxes. The brand has recently introduced the Lavendula Collection, which features top quality, pesticide-free lavender which is produced in both France and UK. From the Lavendula Collection, we particularly love the soaps and bath salts which immediately fill the office with an aroma of calming lavender (much needed to calm our hectic days...). The Lavendula Beauty Gift Set in full of lots of gorgeous goodies that  include a pillar candle, three soaps, bath & body oil and salts. The set is a perfect way of giving your loved one a relaxing evening and can be found here.

Given that Ancienne Ambiance specialises in the art of luxury candle making, we must mention their limited edition Valentine’s Day, Red Eros Rose Scented Candle. This premium three wick candle is scented with the most delicious Damascan Roses. It uses slow burning beeswax and best of all has no wax dripping issues. The Damascan Roses are used in particular to make a variety of rose-scented products due to their rich, floral scent therefore this candle is sure to fill the room with a sweet and irresistible fragrance. The candle is available here for £34.

If you want something a bit more unusual, why not give your loved one a unique one-of-a-kind vase filled with allegedly a 'thousand rose petals’. Ashleigh & Burwood creates home fragrances that are meant to beautify and enhance your home’s ambience through fragrance. Ashleigh & Burwood offers the Decadent Diffuser Gift Set which includes the scent of a ‘thousand rose petals’ in an artisan-made vase with mosaic detailing, guaranteeing no two vases are ever the same. This diffuser gives off a velvety, red rose scent that is enhanced with warm subtle spices and a twist of exotic ylang ylang. Ylang ylang is found in Southeast Asia and is used to relieve stress, induce happiness and act as an aphrodisiac. The diffuser gift set is available for £22.50 and can be found here.

Next we have a sweet treat for your date night courtesy of Charbonnel et Walker. They are the  purveyors of fine chocolates and have been crafting chocolates since 1875. For Valentine’s Day they offer various gift sets for that special someone. We were lucky enough to try the Truffle Kisses box which includes the signature Pink Marc de Champagne and the new Raspberry Marc de Champagne Truffles. We were excited to try these and they didn't disappoint with their decadent champagne kisses! The truffles have a hard pink chocolate shell that unveiled a delicate, chocolate filling, which was infused with hints of raspberry and champagne perfect for a romantic night in. The chocolates are hand-made and follow a traditional recipe which is couverture (which means the chocolate has a higher cocoa butter content) giving the chocolate a unique richer and silkier taste. The boxes come with complimentary gift wrapping thus making the presentation beautiful and hassle free!  The boxes are available in store or online here for £20.And if that dose of sweetness was not enough, pick up a box of Macarons by Babette. Babette is relatively new (launching in March 2013) and they supply to various cafes around London including Le Pain Quotidien  restaurants. Le Pain Quotidien offers macarons in boxes of two or six, but Macarons Babette takes on much larger orders depending on the occasion and event. If you really want to go over the top and ‘wow’ your partner, Macarons by Babette even offers a whole tower of macarons! Whatever your needs this Valentine’s Day, Macarons by Babette are sure to have a flavour for you. You can order yours online or find a supplier here.

Lastly, we have something that incorporates everything  for Valentine’s Day. It is an all-inclusive hotel that showers you and your lover in chocolaty delights. The Chocolate Boutique Hotel is located in Bournemouth, Dorset. It  houses 15 chocolate-themed rooms. They are offering three packages for Valentine’s Day but recommended the double room package as it includes a one nights’ accommodation, breakfast, a bottle of their Exclusive Spanish Cava, their Belgian Chocolate fountain with strawberries and marshmallows to dip and a slab of chocolate with your very own personalised message.  There is also a chocolate workshop allowing you and your partner to learn about the origins and art of chocolate-making To book your night and see which package is right for you, go here.

 Whatever you and your partner decide to do tonight, we hope our suggestions inspire you!  We here at the Amazing Blog wish you a fun, passionate and decadently sweet evening!

Friday Favourites - Chinese New Year Celebration

Kung Hei Fat Choi (Happy New Year) from all of us here at The Amazing Blog! This celebration marks the commencement of the year of the Horse.  Whether you celebrate the date or just want to partake in the festivities, here at The Amazing Blog, we have found all you need to get your New Year’s celebration underway. First off let’s address the superstitions surrounding the entry of a new year to the Chinese and what one should and should not do. Starting with the home, families clean the home as a way of saying out with the old and in with the new, as well as eliminating bad energy. Also remember to avoid any unpleasant situations or crying on this day since the first day of the year is said to be a precursor of the year to come. For you fashion conscious folks, be mindful not to wear black since the colour relates to death and instead opt for red as it represents luck and fortune. Also if you want to have some fun with ghosts and spirits, pop some firecrackers to scare the bad ones off. Your neighbour may not appreciate it but it’s a sure way of starting the year off with a bang!

Regardless of your plans, let us suggest a themed recipe because clearly we here at the blog love anything in regards to food! We have found a Chinese New Year Cake Recipe Kit by Sous Chef.  Sous Chef is an online store dedicated to supplying hard-to-find ingredients and equipment to ‘adventurous cooks’ interested in exotic cuisines.  The cake mix kit includes the ingredients needed to make traditional New Year ‘sticky cakes’ known as Nian Gao, which consist of Chinese brown sugar, glutinous rice flour, coconut milk and the recipe card with instructions. These cakes have the consistency of Japanese mochi balls but can also be pan-fried and transform into tasty, eggy ‘bread’. The kit is available online here for only £5.00. Thanks to our friends at Sous Chef who have given us the recipe to share with you!

Ingredients:

225g Chinese brown sugar in pieces (half packet), 200ml water, 200ml coconut milk (half can), 225g glutinous rice flour (half a bag), optional gold leaf to garnish

This recipe makes 3x10 cm cakes, to serve 6 people.

Recipe:

1. Break down the brown sugar into small pieces, and place in pan with the water. Heat, stirring until dissolved and simmer for 5-10 minutes. 2. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the coconut milk. 3. Measure out the glutinous rice flour into a large mixing bowl, and pour over the coconut milk and sugar mixture. Whisk well, until there are no lumps. The texture should be similar to a runny pancake batter. 4. With a little cooking oil, grease 3-5 small ramekins, remembering that 4 is an unlucky number! Pour in the batter, dividing equally between dishes. 5. Sit the ramekins in a large saucepan with a lid, and add water until it comes to half way up the sides of the dishes. Cover with lid, and simmer for 30 minutes on a low heat. 6. Remove from pan and leave to cool (they are also tasty at this stage!). Refrigerate. They will keep well wrapped in the fridge.  7. Optional: If you’re giving the cakes as presents, run a knife around the side of the cake, and lever it out. Place upside down on a circle of grease-proof paper, tie with string, and top with a little gold leaf.

Next we have the Wing Yip Five Beer Gift Pack, because what is a celebration without a little alcohol!  Perfect for any occasion and festivity, the pack contains beers from all over Asia in areas like Kirin Ichiban, Tiger, Sapporo, Tsing Tao and Singha. The supplier of the beer pack, Wing Yip, is the UK’s leading retailer of Oriental products with four locations in Birmingham, Manchester, Cricklewood and Croydon. The beer gift pack however, is only available online here for £7.98.

Food and drink are a must but not always enough to entertain your guests; we want your celebration to be everything but boring.  Amuse your guests and bring good fortune by flying a traditional Chinese dragon kite.  Airdynamics, a UK based company specializing in hand-made kites imported from China, suggests that under Chinese tradition flying a kite during the celebration brings growth and good fortune in the upcoming year.  If kite flying isn’t your speciality, no worries!  These carefully crafted kites dual as entertainment and home decorations in the form of dragons, snakes and other animals.  Prices very based on size and selection, but orders can be placed here.

Finally we have a gift from us to you; well, it’s actually a gifting idea. Traditionally in Chinese New Year culture, a charm is given to family members and friends to optimize good fortune in the upcoming seasons.  Seeking good fortune themselves, the Pandora bracelet company has designed the Chinese Zodiac Horse Pendant Charm.  Yes, it is unique to 2014 but we find the Zodiac Horse doubles as an everyday “good luck” charm.  Even better, the horse charm will fill another space on the bracelets of your family and friends!  Find the charm at a local Pandora store or on Pandora’s estore for £35.00 here.

If you’re not hosting or attending a Chinese New Year party, pop by Chinatown to experience ‘the largest Chinese New Year party outside of China.’  This Sunday, 2 February, Chinatown entertainment will include dancers, musicians, food and more!  Find more information on this celebration here.