Editor's pick

I am sitting at my tattered vintage writing bureau with bowed drop-down top (a birthday gift from my parents last year) as I type this blog. So no wonder I feel perfectly placed to write about this month's pick!

Meticulous Ink is a charming printer and stationer based in Bath's famous Artisan quarter, Walcot Street. One glance at the traditional shop front and beautiful window display, which really is a feast to the eyes, and you will be lured into this gem of shop.

What's in store? Not only a range of traditionally crafted stationery and paper-related goods but also a fully bespoke design service - perfect whether you are looking to go that extra mile to impress your correspondents or if you simply want some beautiful stationery to adorn a tattered writing bureau! Time to dust of my ink pen.

Meticulous Ink, 33 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BN. Tel: +44(0)1225 333004 [email protected]

Above; shop front and interior. Bottom left, Letterpress bicycle correspondence cards £18. Right, 'To My Favourite Person' greetings card £3.95

Come dine with...Brit Decor

I love the buzz I get from entertaining house guests late into the night with miraculous re-filling wine glasses and plenty of good homemade food on offer. But how to seat your guests...? Brit Decor takes a look at a selection of trending dining seating - why not be eclectic and mix and match this season.

1. Masters Chair, Conran Shop £141, 2. Kartell Comback Cahir, Aria Shop £392,
3. Swivel Bar Stool Rockett St George £99, 4. Vitra Top Ton Chair, Heals £196

Great British Sewing Bee (BBC 2)

The Beeb is finally tapping into the homemade crafting renaissance that has been sweeping the country since Kirstie Allsop showed channel 4 viewers why she is Queen of Crafting!

New series on BBC Two, the Great British Sewing Bee, is presented by the loveable Claudia Winkleman and sees a group of British amateur sewers competing for the title of Britain's best home sewer. Each task is judged by everso slightly dishy Patrick Grant of Saville Row tailors, Norton and Sons, alongside May Martin, who has been teaching at Denman College (Women's Institute Academy) since 1995.

My fave contestent so far is the nimble 81 year old Ann, who puts the majority of us to shame with her energy and skills from the days when sewing was commonplace in almost every household. Ann says, "I can't imagine life without sewing". Brit Decor is rooting for you Ann!

The Great British Sewing Bee, BBC Two Tuesdays at 8pm.

Style Icon: Margaret Thatcher

With the death of Baroness Margaret Thatcher, I feel compelled, as a child of the Thatcher years, to write about the woman who defined an era and who has left a lasting impression upon me.

I know what you may be thinking, Style Icon!? Perhaps then, this post is more about about the 'Brit' than the 'Decor'. Whilst the Ex-Priminister is unlikely to be remembered as a fashion icon, she certainly had a style of her own with the staple collection conservative blue suits and, of course, the famous Asprey handbag, which in 2011 sold for £25,000 at a Christie's auction.

It was all about the power of image with Margaret and the 'Thatcher' brand as a formidable stateswoman and world leader also known as the 'Iron Lady', an image which she chose to play up to rather than play down. Surely, if this brand is still being talked about around the world today, it was a success one? To some she is the icon of modernity and reform, to others she is a symbol of hatred and of social decline.

A lasting impression of my childhood during the 1980's is of a huge sense of 'Brit culture' - from the dominance of the pop and punk scene, fashion icons, Princess Diana, and the UK returning to the world stage as a power in every sense of the word (okay, somewhat nostalgic but it has stuck with me). Whilst I am in no way attributing all of these things to Margaret Thatcher, she is nonetheless embedded into the fabric that era.

Style Icon: Min Hogg

I first stumbled across the work of the interior design legend, Min Hogg, in a 1993 World of Interiors feature about a Majorcan villa, which she had transformed for a German couple. At the time, as a young, aspirational creative, I was sold immediately, struck by the sheer elegance achieved through very simple white colour schemes. The devil was certainly in the detail where Min had introduced textures and antique objects to create a stunning holiday escape. The master bedroom with it's luxury textured wool carpet rug and antique bed still serves a personal benchmark for interiors design and, to this day, that very article still sits in my scrap book of inspiration!

There aren't many people who can say that they had the current Editor of AmericanVogue, Anna Wintour, as their assistant but Min is one of them. During the early years of her career, Min became Fashion Editor at Harpers & Queen, where Anna joined as her assistant although it is said that neither got on. From there, Min took up the post of Editor for a new magazine called 'Interiors' launched in 1981. As the founding Editor of World of Interiors magazine, Min is still Editor-at-large even in her seventies.

Today, Min has turned her hand to a new collection of print-to-order wallpapers and fabrics 'the seaweed collection available at minhogg.com

Bear Interiors

For those of you who have not yet visited the City of Bath, not only is this a World Heritage City, it is also now bustling with independent retailers and interiors shops. I recently stumbled across a small gem of a shop, Bear Interiors, just on the outskirts of the city centre. Filled with stylish contemporary items for your home, it's well worth a visit if you're looking for 'not on the high-street' style for your home.

Spring Buy!

Check out this visual feast from Liberty, the 'Unexpected things bird house' is taken from their Miho collection. This items is a build your own ornamental bird house with slot-together design and contrast panels. To add to its beauty, the materials are all environmentally friendly. Liberty £38

Spring may be on hold...

This March was officially one of the coldest on UK records and the unseasonable chill factor looks set to continue into April. Therefore, it would appear that it's not quite yet time to part with my winter woollens! I do have the welcome option of lighting the wood burner to keep the house warm and snug on an evening but I can't help but feel that it's time to pack away the faux fur cushions and reindeer skin rug until next winter.

However, with the lighter evenings and the brighter, sunnier days, this is the perfect time to take inspiration from the start of a new season. Look around your home right now, open a window to let in some fresh air and assess how you can bring Spring into your interiors.

Brit Decor has taken a look at some simple but highly effective ways of brightening the mood.

Accessories; Cushions (left - right), Habitat 'Evelyn' £12, Zara Home Plain Silk Cover £15.99, Designer's Guild 'Butterfly Parade' £95, Habitat 'Dapple' £25, Habitat 'Mila' £25. Glasses; both Habitat 'Devon' Hi-ball £4 each. Candle; H&M Home £3.99. Tile; Fired Earth Natural History 'Leaf Design 17' £11.48. Vase; Orla Kiely Medium Stem Green Gloss Vase £30. Lamp; Habitat 'Tommy' Metal Lamp £15.