The late night scrolling haul
Pretty things collected from midnight Instagram strolls
I read something recently, either the FT or the Times (aka you read it on your Instagram homepage at 11.49pm), about how late night scrolling is symptomatic of a total loss of control over your own time as a mother. It’s a futile (but highly enjoyable) attempt to claw it back. It really resonated.
Mainly because I read this while doom scrolling at 11.49pm, and momentarily mistook algorithms for serendipity/ affirmation, but also because, like it or not (aiming this at the smug early morning people), I often get the best inspiration and stumble upon the best discoveries in those deliciously silent, no-one-bothers-me minutes before I feel myself succumbing to sleep.
I’ve recently been going to bed earlier, (an activity I haven’t revisited since I was 8) from pure exhaustion having lugged two small children around 7 hotels in Sicily with my work hat on for a full month. I’ve woken up each morning a little startled, fresher, yes, but bemused at the grey nothingness of the night before. Supper drifts into a chat or the end of a documentary, a paragraph from the weekend paper before the electric toothbrush signals it’s all over.
‘How do you feel?’ My morning-person husband asks with hideous enthusiasm for 7am after my first 9 hours sleep in years. ‘Confused,’ is all I can muster. Truthfully, I miss the ‘me time,’ the tapping away long after all the houses’ lights flicked off, one by one along our street, the sense of accomplishment that props up a tired old face at 7am and the niche finds gathered into ‘saved’ on Instagram that make me feel vaguely cultured and plugged in amid the nursery runs, the pram pushing and the fishfingers.
The below are a few of these finds - many of which I hope have fallen through the algorithm net for you.
But just before this, to clarify following a few enquiries… House of Bashka has no age limit and is certainly not exclusive to families. It’s for anyone, ANYONE who loves boutique hotels with character, stories and a design edge, and ANYONE who enjoys style discoveries (jewellery, fashion, homeware). It’s great gifting guidance for those in need, and I hope to inspire many trips via the hotels and destinations I write about, in more candid fashion than any glossy magazine or travel section of a newspaper would permit.
Dar Leone London - designs inspired by vintage Sierra Leone textiles. They used to have a shop not far from our old place in Canonbury and I’m particularly obsessed with their trays.
Artist Eileen Cooper’s work, but mainly this pictures she posted on Mother’s Day (handprinted woodcut on Japanese printed paper).
Kelly Jessiman’s ceramics - I love her kooky plates.
This house in Vienna which I think about a lot. It’s an 1889 building in Vienna’s 6th district and is a clever conversation of new and old, playful and classic, minimalist and maximalist. I love the subtle use of colour and texture to warm the vast spaces.
Bear with me here as it’s not a brand I’d usually throw myself at (think chic Spanish Polo Ralph Lauren but more European pomp/ sassy Spanish royals than American preppy), but there are a few dresses and suits from the IQ Collection that would make a KNOCKOUT wedding guest look or a really flattering Ascot/ general summer season piece.
https://www.instagram.com/secon.di/
Their showroom is in Alexandria - so overall, not the most convenient discovery. BUT, I challenge you not to find at least 5 things you like with a few scrolls down their page. And I’m sure they can ship something precious that you can’t live without. The 1950’s Italian wall lamps have taken over my ‘saved ‘folder.
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