I can sing a rainbow

A delivery of new lights from Blaze On arrived today.

wicker stars in rainbow colours.

They are really very cheery.

Happy Blue Day!

We have had a day of photography inspired by my blue kitchen chair.. Here are some lovely teeny hare shades by Helen Minns.



They have a reversible fitting so they can be used on a base or hung from the ceiling.


These blue gingham lanterns haven't made it onto the website until today! At last!

and here is a new colour from House of Chintz (shown here with turquoise textile cable).

Such beautiful detail!

...and in case you need cheering up after all those blues here is a burst of colour!

Tomorrow I think I'll take my green kitchen chair to work!

Please can you give me a hand?

We are just about to re-design the Radiance website. It's not going to be vastly different, in fact it will look pretty similar but:

• At our end it will be easier for us to look after so it won't lag behind (as it sometimes does) and stays ship shape and up to date!
  
  
• We're going to have bigger images so you can zoom right in to get a closer look.
  
  
• We will have more supporting images - light switched on, light switched off, front, back and inside so you really get a better idea of the products.
  
  
• You know that I love telling the stories of all the designer/makers and their marvelous products? Well there will be more of that! I've been learning more about many of the makers recently as I've been interviewing them for my book (did I tell you I'm writing a book about contemporary craft lighting to be published next year?) so we will add more opportunity for interviews and links.
  
  
• We'll have a search facility so you can easily find what you're looking for.

Is there anything you would like to see on the site? Anything that's bugged you or anything that would make it easier or more informative?

After all the website is for you!

I'd love to include some testimonials too so if you would like to say anything I'd love to hear it. What do you love about Radiance? The shop or the website?

I would really appreciate any comments....

The picture above of the Blaze On fairy light garland was taken by a lovely customer from France who used it on ther blog post about perfume and silk lingerie! Very pretty

Podcast Interview with Joanna Coupland

Step into the quirky world of Joanna Coupland with this lovely podcast interview. Fiona went to interview her in her colouful house in York packed with curiosities. Find out how she came to make all her lovely little birdies and other animals.....

Featured in Good Housekeeping

Joanna Couplands bird fairy lights are becoming very famous! Here they are in Good Housekeeping Magazine. They are in a special edition of the magazine that is only available to buy in the North East. Click on the image to see a close up! Her birds are flying out of the door. Everythime she sends some over they are quickly snapped up! Glad they are going off to good homes to add some cheer and sparkle!

Live & Love York Magazine

Joanna Couplands little bird fairy lights are getting alot of attention this month. They have just appeared in Live & Love York Magazine, a very pretty magazine that circulates the town each month, headlined as 'Lights You Just Won't Want to take down'! Absolutely! You can read this magazine online here. The birdies are on page 41.

They are out in Good Housekeeping Magazine too but I haven't seen it yet. Maybe tomorrow!

The Birdy Auditions....

Ah! So THIS is what happens at Radiance when we have all gone home in the evening....Joanna Couplands birds come out to play!

I wonder who will get the part.....

Sweethearts

Let me introduce the brand new Sweethearts by Blaze on. They are like the popular cotton ball lights only heart shaped! There are 20 lights on a string and they come with warm white LED bulbs in which have a life expectancy of 100,000 hous or 10 years of average use. They are swapping all their fairy lights over to LED's now as they use a lot less energy ( i think these use a 10th of the energy of the ordinary bulbed ones) AND the bulbs last a whole lot longer. I was worried that they might not have the same glow but to be honest I can't tell the difference!...so it's all good.

These lights have a lovely fun feel to them...they are really sweet!

Pretty Heirloom Lights

This very beautiful set of Heirloom lights by York designer/maker Louise Traill arrived today. It's particularly lovely....I know....I always say that though each time a new set comes in. This one has very soft colours when the lights are off and a lovely warm glow when they're on. Ahhhh! Soon Louise is going to make us some of her 'Carnival' shades too. I'm looking forward to them...

Fairy lights

We had a big delivery of fairy lights the other day so all the colourful ball lights, including the most poplular rainbow tones are back in stock. We also have cocoon lights in pinks, purples and funky rainbow AND these lovely cabbage roses.

What a glow!

I've never managed to capture these lights at their glowing best but this evening as I turned all the shop lights off at closing time I forgot about these ones and they were left glowing in the dark begging to be photographed! Lovely aren't they. They are made by Louise Traill and we call these ones the 'Rich Mix' Heirloom Lights.

Fruit n Vegetable Lights in the press

Joanna Couplands Fruit n Vegetable lights have been in a photoshoot with Jane Asher for the March issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine which has just come out. Its an article about 'how busy women stay slim'.....by having fruit and vegetable fairy lights in their dressing room obviously!

Pretty, Colourful Paper Lanterns

We got some gorgeous multicoloured paper lanterns today. They come with either 20 lanterns or 35. They are such bright warm colours and I am certainly taking home a set to brighten up my kitchen!



They would make a great gift as they are beautifully packaged. They come in a box with a clear window and this is what they look like through the window! Here they are on the website.

Anna Tayler fairy lights

Anna Tayler sent some beautiful handmade flower fairy lights today. They are so wonderfully red. So vibrant and VERY Christmassy!

Joanna Coupland Birds are back in stock

Jo's bird fairy lights are back in stock. They look great sitting along my high shelf keeping an eye on things...

Fairy Lights in blue

Just wanted to let you know that the Blaze On Ambient Ball fairy lights are now availablei n blue. A few people have been asking for blue ones so I got some in. There are only a few sets in now but there will be more in before Christmas. See them here.

Blaze-On

I first saw these gorgeous lights by Blaze-On when i visited Camden Market last year. I hoped that i may be able to get some for Radiance then but as they had just opened their busy shop and it was nearly Christmas they had no stock to share. I had a lovely chat with the founder Lisa Durr and was really inspired by her story and by what they were doing.

Lisa left Vancouver and the corporate world over 10 years ago, for a short soul-seeking holidayand ended up staying for a long time. She met and fell in love with her husband on a white sandy beach, and they travelled together. They met great friends, explored a rich culture , were touched spiritually and started a family. Thailand had given them so much and they wanted to give something back. So many of their friends had amazing talents but were struggling to take those talents further. Thats when Blaze-On was born.

It now supports 10 family businesses over there and is based on Fair Trade to all.

I am happy to now be able to stock their 'Ambient Ball' lights in five different colours -purples, pinks, greens, rustic tones and cream, all beautifully packaged in a recycleable box. They look fantastic in the shop window and they will bring us light and warmth for the dark months to come.

Louise Traill Lights

Louise has made five gorgeous strings of colourful lights for Dimitris restaurant in Littleborough. I'm hoping he'll send us some pictures of them in situ. They are lovely in these bright, rich colours and I have some on order for Radiance which will be with us soon. See more of Louise's lights here.

Louise Traill Fairy lights are back!

It is with great happiness that I announce the return of Louise Traill's marvellous fairy lights. Louise has been unable to make them for a while and has been sorely missed but now she is BACK and the first two sets from her new batch arrived this morning. Each shade is lovingly made by hand from beautiful papers, beads, buttons, sequins and whatever pretty things Louise can lay her hands on. Every set is different but the ones that we have in at the moment are a mix of pretty pastel colours. Gorgeous!

Fruit and vegetables in a basket

We've displayed Joanna Couplands creative Fruit and Vegetable fairy lights in a basket. They look really cute. I love that radish!