It is becoming hard for me to keep track of all the wonderful exhibits going on this year, so I thought I would start a column to help stay focused. One that looks like it would put me into inspiration overload is Victoria & Albert Museum's The Cult of Beauty exhibition, which explores the Aesthetic Movement from 1860-1900.
Just look at the face of the exhibit, the 1858 "Pavonia" oil painting by Frederic Leighton. Can you believe the sheen of her hair? Utterly beautiful. The exhibition runs from April 2-July 17, 2011.
V&A museum always has great gift shop tie-ins, and this may be my favorite to date. There are the the William Morris Wallpaper Coasters, which would be perfect for a summer party. They always have great notebooks with clever covers, like Writers I Met and Liked. Sadly, the Wooden Print Blocks with an Arts and Crafts motif, are only available in store. I would have put an order in right away for the Beardsley Angel Christmas Cards, but the UK shipping costs keep it from being a logical purchase. When I saw the Kimono Cranes Vinyl I got excited because I thought it was Japanese tape. It isn't, but it may be something even better. It is an adhesive vinyl border created by designer Emma Jeffs that can be applied to walls, taken off and reused.
