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PRODUCT: Whatever house number you reside at…make sure it stands out from the crowd with these super-stylish oak numbers. Made in the UK by cool furniture company Another Country, they are constructed by laminating three sections of solid oak and are UV lacquered for long lasting protection. Depending on the level of exposure to the elements they will age and weather at different rates like outdoor furniture or decking. Available in numbers (H11xD
2.1cm) and letters (a, b and c, H8xD2.1cm), the FF DIN BOLD typeface was used on road signage in Germany and on German car number plates from 1956 until 2000.

PRICE: £34 each

PLACE: Another Country

I HEART WORK

Who are you: Neisha Crosland        

What is your work: Surface Designer

What is your website: www.neishacrosland.com

Describe your work in 5 words? It’s always compelling to me.

What is the first thing you do when you get to work? I put on Radio 4, make a Green Mulberry tea, and look over the work I did yesterday.

Where is your workplace and what is the view out of the window? I work in my studio, which is attached to my house, so out of my window I can see the terrace that separates the two. It is lined with olive trees, and in the summer time, Agapanthus plants. There’s a table and chairs for summer lunches, and one wall is covered in my colourful Haveli tiles.

Why do you love what you do? Because it completely absorbs my attention!

Describe a typical day in your office? It starts with talking to my design assistant, Claire, to discuss the CAD work to be done, such as putting patterns onto new ceramic collections, and trying to hit all my emails on the head. It’s very easy to get distracted by answering emails - much easier than facing a blank piece of paper on the drawing board. I then talk to Ivan about any appointments and go through any samples of product that have come in. I sometimes have a meeting with one of my licensees, or we will have a studio meeting about what to put on our new blog.

What can’t you work without? Ivan and Claire.

What are your three favourites from your collection? I now design for many different products…but probably Zebra and Hollywood on fabric and rugs and wallpaper and the new Pollen on tiles and wallpaper are some of my favourites. They all work well in different textures and surfaces.

Who or what inspires you? Popova, Anna Maria Garthwaite, Beethoven, Verdi and Heston Blumenthal - and most recently, the book by Jonah Lehrer ‘Proust was a Neuroscientist’ and the ice age artists at the British Museum show.

What is the best advice you have received? My mother used to say, “Luck is only noticed by those who are looking for it.”

One moment in your career you will never forget? The first time I saw a lady wearing one of my scarves. It happened in Waitrose and I followed her around like a groupie!

What are you working on at the moment? A new wallpaper collection, vinyl flooring and some new rugs for The Rug Company.

What’s your proudest career achievement? Receiving the English and Art prize at school, getting into the RCA, and being commissioned by Anthony Little of Osborne & Little to do a collection after my degree show. Most recently, being appointed a Royal Designer for Industry.

What is the best part of your job? All of it!

And the worst? When I just can’t get that flower right on paper and think I can’t draw anymore.

Which phrase do you overuse? “It needs to be sensitive and bring a smile to your face.”

If you could be someone for a day who would it be? A cocktail mixer at the Savoy or Claridges. A day would be enough to learn how to make cocktails and it would be quite fun eavesdropping in on people’s conversations at the bar!

How do you spend your downtime? Mainly pottering, eating, drinking and cooking.

What single thing would improve the quality of your life? Yotam Ottolenghi to cook for my family and friends once a week.

What have you learnt the hard way? That going too fast, trying to do too much and being too ambitious can be greedy. It’s about tempering ambition with patience.

If you could do another job what would you like to do and why? I’d be a writer. I find writing calms the brain.

If you had an extra hour each day what would you do with it? Read and go for a run.

What’s your personal motto? Calm down.

What advice would you give to your younger self if you were starting over again? Don’t try to do too much.

What dream do you still want to fulfill? To have happy boys turn into happy adults!

How would you like to be remembered? That I had a particular, recognisable style and produced two great sons.

Thank you Neisha for talking to The Lifestyle Editor.

Jorrit and Nicky’s first adventure together started back in the early 90s when their paths crossed on the border of Ecuador and Peru. After the inevitable stages that life can bring - buying a property, getting married, starting a family and their careers…Nicky states, “We got swamped with stuff! The removal company claimed they’d never seen so much stuff in such a small house – ever! I don’t know how two backpackers let this happen?” In the late 90s - after relocating to the Lake District and inspired by a book by Australian author Steve Biddulph, and his recommendation that every man should take his 40th year off - Jorrit and Nicky rediscovered their passion for the great outdoors, and started a new business. They set up Millican - a collection of bags and travel accessories (made using organic cotton, recycled polyester and vegetable tanned leather), named after the eco-adventurer and godfather of sustainable living, Millican Dalton. An original eco-warrier from the early 1900s, Dalton moved from London to a cave in Borrowdale Valley, Cumbria and spent much of his life in the outdoors, and was completely self-sufficient - he even made his own organic clothing, tents and rucksacks. “We want to make gear that outlives us - to design stuff that people can pass down to their grandchildren.” From rucksacks to soft suitcases, shoulder bags to overnight bags, their range is classic and understated in its form, robust and enduring in its function. Millican Dalton’s life-story offered Jorrit and Nicky a wealth of inspiration for their modern day business, and he clearly felt true freedom when he was living simply out in nature. So what are you waiting for? Get out there. Go and live your own adventures…just remember to pack a Millican bag for the journey! Photography by Moy Williams. www.homeofmillican.com

Pull up a chair…no scrap that idea and pull up a wooden stool instead! That small, invaluable piece of furniture is always useful as an extra seat or an impromptu side table. You can perch on it, sit on it, put something on it or simply admire it - which is probably what these covetable pieces will make you want to do. The hard-working stool earns its place in your home, so treat it with the respect it deserves please! Top: Ulrik stool designed by Alex Hellum, £120, SCP, 1^st row left: Metal  and wood stool with ‘have a seat’ printed on the top, available in White, Putty, Petrol Blue and Mint Green, £75, Rose & Grey, right: Sula reclaimed adjustable stool, £99.95, Rockett St George, 2^nd row left: Stool Two in ash or ash/walnut from, £157.50, Another Country, middle: Raft stool in steel and black ash, £279, Skandivis, right: Cadby Velvet Button stool in Mushroom or Dusky Tea Rose, £192, Rowen & Wren, 3^rd row left: Industrial Twist stool in mango wood and iron steel (available early July), £120, Cox & Cox, middle: Perfectly (Imperfect) oak stool, £175, Galvin Brothers, right: White and natural wooden stool, £85, Bodie & Fou 

Robert Wheeldon decided that it was time to return to his roots and start his own lighting design business, Aditi Studios, in the Peak District. “I was born here and returned when I decided to start the studio, as I find it an inspiring place to work. After studying painting and life drawing, Robert took a degree in photography and worked in London for a few years learning ’lighting’, he then moved into film work and larger scale film lighting - often building background lighting from scratch on set under a master electrician. “I have worked so much with using light as a tool to tell stories, and I once heard someone say ‘a movie without lighting…is radio’ - which I think is an Orson Wells quote.” Following in his father’s creative footsteps (John Wheeldon is a craftsman potter), and with most of his earliest memories with clay in them somewhere, it seemed a logical material for Robert to work with. His industrial-chic, ceramic lights are hand made and boast an organic, textural aesthetic with three designs in the collection. The I/O (pronounced ‘eye-oh’) is mid-century, Scandinavian inspired and is crafted using rich, traditional stoneware, and finished with a glaze. The Flying Scotsman is a large classic down lighter, inspired by the original vitreous enameled pressed steel down-lighter you’d often see in industrial settings, and also along Britain’s railways. The Laerdal is a pendant light, with clean Scandinavian-inspired lines, and the exterior is made from volcanic basalt. Robert’s Spring 2013 collection and new pieces on the bench are vintage blues and greens from base oxides…and gold. “The method and the purpose, as much as anything inform the result - that’s how I can make it and I want it to do this - its as simple as that. Light travels in straight lines and clay can be bent into shapes…brilliant!” www.aditistudios.com 

I HEART WORK

Who are you: I am Heather Chontos, mother and personal chef to two beautiful daughters, a painter, a designer, a stylist, and the artistic director and creator of Milk Farm Road.

What is your work: I create as many beautiful things as possible with my own two hands.

What is your website: www.heatherchontos.com, www.milkfarmroad.com

Describe your work in 5 words? A well curated visual journey.

Tell us a little about your work? My work has taken such an abstract path, starting out working in furniture design, then painting, fashion illustration, styling, art directing, designing…and so it continues. My work gratefully is also what I love doing and what I am best at doing. I want to make beautiful things and create a visually beautiful world and that is what I get to do most of the time. I guess I could best explain it as being an instigator of inspiration, a creative problem solver - taking something that is empty or blank and giving it life to tell a visual story.

What is the first thing you do when you get to work? I kiss and hug everyone. When I am away on a shoot these days, I am travelling from home in Montana to New York City or San Francisco. I used to see these people all the time when I lived in Brooklyn, but now it is only once or twice a month - so it is always a pleasant reunion to see my colleagues and friends. If I am working at home in my studio in Bozeman, the first thing I do is make coffee and sit in my garden with Zana my youngest daughter, and we talk about what I should make that day and what colours would be fun to use. She is like a mini consultant!

Why do you love what you do? I like sharing a piece of myself with the world. I love painting, but not everyone can buy a big painting to hang on their wall, so through styling and designing I share an element of my creativity in a more tangible way.

Describe a typical working day? If I am on a shoot, I get to the studio around 8:30am and the rest of the team trickles in, my assistant, the photographer, the creative director etc. We all have breakfast together and then discuss the shoot list, laying out what we will need for each shot and the layout from the selection of props I have pulled or made for this shoot. If I am designing something I usually have a colour sketch laid out or I make one, and then I doodle around with designs - which leads to sewing, drawing, or painting a piece of tableware. Then there is the PR part of my job. I have to keep on top of my blog, and be good at staying in touch with customers from Milk Farm Road. I take a lot of photos and try to come up with new ideas as often as I can to keep things on a good roll of productivity. There are a lot of parts to my job - they all tie in together and play nicely with each other, but sometimes it’s like being an octopus keeping all the parts together to keep it whole.

What can’t you work without? My apron! I have an old apron that needs to stay on me at all times or I am instantly splattered with paint!

Who or what inspires you? My children of course inspire me all day long, they always have. But it is also anyone who takes a risk on what they are good at. I am always impressed greatly by the people in this world who believe in themselves enough to take that chance, and give something they love a shot. It is a bold move and it makes me want to try harder.

What is the best advice you have received? “Keep it simple.”

One moment in your career you will never forget? Hanging my huge paintings in an old dairy in London called Egg. It was a beautiful gallery space and my name had been put in the window with the title of my show. When people piled in that night for the opening, it blew my mind that people actually wanted to see my artwork - they cared about what I thought and what I did. I had to take a moment in a back room as I cried a little in awe of accomplishing this stage in my life.

What are you working on at the moment? New designs all the time for Milk Farm Road. I am trying to narrow and fine-tune the collection into its best place.

What’s your proudest career achievement? That I have a career and have managed to be a single mother for more than 10 years to two girls who are healthy and happy people on this earth. I still create and grow in my career and I get to be a mother at the same time. This is what I am most proud of for sure.  

What is the best part of your job? All the beautiful things I get to play with on a shoot.

And the worst? The schlepping of all the beautiful things over the years!

Which phrase do you overuse? “I need options!”

If you could be someone for a day who would it be? Lee Krasner the artist - Jackson Pollock’s wife.

How do you spend your downtime? I do a lot of hiking in Montana with my girls and our big, stupid dog Riley. She is a St. Bernard cross and loves to run up the mountains with us. I love to be outside whenever possible - it makes everything better.

What single thing would improve the quality of your life? A private jet so I can just fly whenever I need to. Travelling from Montana is a tricky thing at any time of the year.

What have you learnt the hard way? To be patient.

If you could do another job what would you like to do and why? I would like to work for the UN as a humanitarian aid worker. I would like to live in Africa especially, and help solve problems in the under-developed parts of the world to build a better humanitarian practice in these countries always in turmoil. It would feel so good to be able to really help people.

If you had an extra hour each day what would you do with it? Bake a cake with Zana my youngest daughter, who is four and a half.

What’s your personal motto? I don’t really have a motto. I suppose I believe in being positive. There is too much energy wasted on things that are negative, so I try to believe in who I am and what I can achieve, if I am positive in my thinking.

What advice would you give to your younger self if you were starting over again? Follow through - don’t wait for anything to come to you .

What dream do you still want to fulfill? I have seen a lot of the world, but there is still so much out there. I promised my daughters we would buy an around-the-world ticket when they were both a bit older, so I want to keep that promise. It would be a wish come true for all three of us.

How would you like to be remembered? As a good artist.

Portrait of Heather Chontos by John Kernick.

Thank you Heather for talking to The Lifestyle Editor.

Dividing her time between Paris and Amsterdam, food writer and stylist Yvette van Boven also runs a restaurant and catering company with her cousin. Her latest cookbook Home Made Summer (she has also published Home Made and Home Made Winter) takes inspiration from summers in Provence and her childhood in Ireland, and her delicious, cosmopolitan recipes are combined with atmospheric reportage photography. Evoking a real celebratory summer mood with dishes such as cantaloupe soup, pink grapefruit meringue tart, Prosecco, elderflower and melon jelly and a coconut, summer cocktail - this book simply shouts sunshine! “Summer offers so many fresh fruits and vegetables that there’s almost no need to cook them. I know that on hot summer days, few people are keen on spending long hours in the kitchen.” Yvette, we like your way of thinking! Home Made Summmer by Yvette van Boven, £19.99, published by Abrams, photography by Oof Verschuren and available online here.

I HEART WORK

Who are you: Simon Terry

What is your work: Brand Director for Anglepoise®

What is your website: www.anglepoise.com

Describe your work in 5 words? Family business through the generations.

What is the first thing you do when you get to work? I offer to make everyone a cup of tea.

Can you tell us a bit about the history of Anglepoise®? I am the fifth generation of the Terry family and it was my great, great grandfather Herbert who founded the family business in 1855. The company was a spring specialist and they were approached by automotive engineer George Carwardine 80 years ago, for some special springs for a four-spring light he had designed. They liked it so much that they licensed the product.  It then led to a collaboration where they designed and built the first three spring Anglepoise® light and the archetypal Original1227™ lamp was created - based on Carwardine’s pioneering perfect-balance mechanism. Over the years, the brand has been developed and more recently in collaboration with preeminent British Industrial Designer, Sir Kenneth Grange. All the new designs remain true to Carwardine’s original design concept, whilst incorporating essential modern features, such as energy saving bulbs, and LED technology. I am extremely proud that the brand is now recognised as an iconic British brand around the World.

Why do you love what you do? I love it because I feel immensely proud of doing something that is part of the British design landscape – I still find it humbling to be part of such an iconic brand.

Did you go straight into working for the family business? No I didn’t. 11 years ago I had a career working in post-production and visual effects in the film industry. My father thought that I was not interested in taking over the family business, I was working in London, and they were based in the Midlands. He then became ill with cancer and my hand was forced. It was a baptism of fire to say the least! I only kept one of the test machines from the factory, had to make most of the team redundant and relocated the business to Hampshire where I wanted to be based. It was a very tough time. I looked at the company’s design archives and felt the only way forward was backwards, in terms of design. There was an article on Sir Kenneth Grange in the Guardian from the 1980’s talking about Anglepoise® and its merits. I went to meet him and he became not only a major influence on the business but also on me. He taught me the values of making something with integrity, honesty and a lasting design aesthetic.

Describe a typical day in your office? The usual onslaught that a small business throws at you! We have a small team here in the office and I tend to wear quite a few hats. The hardest part is always letting go, but having children makes you reevaluate the life/work balance and what is important. I always like to think that we all have a good laugh at work - there are a lot of jokes!

What can’t you work without? I guess what I can’t work without is other people. I find it inspiring and like bouncing ideas around. I found it difficult when I went from working for a film production company to being the person in charge of the company – I went from a collaborative team environment to quite an isolating one. I was suddenly the boss and the one who everyone looked to for the decision making – it was a difficult time for me personally.

Who or what inspires you? Sir Kenneth Grange has been a huge influence on me and he has become a great friend. 

What is the best advice you have received? If you are not failing often enough, and hard enough…you are not trying enough. I think failure is important because it is all about learning. Fear of failure is something you have to get over and embrace.

What are you working on at the moment? We are trying to get consistent across the board with the brand and are re-positioning it, giving it a smarter look and feel. We have also been working with Portsmouth University, Strong Island and numerous artistic individuals on the ‘creating balance project’, which has been extremely rewarding. It doesn’t involve the exchange of money, but the creation of ideas in the local community. We are also working on a very exciting collaboration but I cannot reveal anything until possibly next year!

What is the best part of your job? The flexibility and freedom to just get on and do it! To generate ideas and be inspired - I think you should always look outside of your own industry for inspiration or you just end up replicating ideas.

And the worst? Probably when a product or component arrives at the door and there is a mistake, however small! You feel emotional with the level of commitment that you can only feel from a family business. If it really hurts, then you really learn. I also don’t like seeing my team stressed or if something is not going well. I always try to help and don’t like it if I am not able to. 

Which phrase do you overuse? I am afraid it is not really repeatable! Inappropriate language!

If you could be someone for a day who would it be? I would love to be Sir Kenneth Grange for a day…just to be able to get inside his creative way of thinking, and unique insights into the objects that surround us.  I would also like to be my son to see what he thinks of his father – but maybe its better not to know!

How do you spend your downtime? Trying to get off the iPhone at home, and at the moment I am training for a local Triathlon!

What single thing would improve the quality of your life? To be a bit more organised and plan ahead, especially when it comes to booking holidays! I do enjoy being disorganised though as great ideas often come from the chaos! I think it is always good to work with people who have the strengths where you have the weaknesses.

One moment in your career you won’t forget? I was working on the special effects for one of the James Bond movies and had to overlay a negative effect on part of the film in a casino where 007 put on special X-ray glasses, and where much of the clothing went transparent so that you could see the weapons everyone was carrying. As a young man having to look at lots of images of beautiful actresses in their underwear for his work – well, it has clearly stuck in my mind! 

If you could do another job what would you like to do and why? Something where I inspired people – I would love to feel that I do that a little bit every day.

If you had an extra hour each day what would you do with it? Learn how to cook. I think it is good to learn. Food is about celebration and bringing people together.

What’s your personal motto? Sleep when you are dead…live the dream!

What advice would you give to your younger self if you were starting over again? Just to get stuck in, stop making excuses, and to know that problems don’t get any better with age. Issues have to be dealt with. I was a bit indecisive when I took over the company with some situations and I should have reacted differently. I wouldn’t change what I did though and I would do it all again, it made me who I am today, and I appreciate taking the good with the bad.

What dream do you still want to fulfill? I would like to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats and do the Three Peaks Challenge.

How would you like to be remembered? As someone who just got on and did it and left things better than he found them. I think we all have a duty to change something for the better.

Photography by Martin Gardner, stylist Emma Hooton, wallpaper by Cole & Son, furniture by Ercol.

Thank you Simon for talking to The Lifestyle Editor.

It seems that dreams do come true…well certainly for Joe McIntyre that is, who has bravely turned his wish of starting up an online homes shop into reality with St Aidan’s Homeware Store. “Art directing style shoots for magazines and being on location in amazing homes meant I was always spotting gorgeous pieces. I decided to take the plunge and make my dream of sourcing and selling quirky, hard-to-find pieces into a reality.” Joe named the online boutique after his younger brother Aidan, who sadly passed away when he was only 26. “I wanted to find a way to make his name live on somehow-he was no saint, so that was a touch of humour!” Showcasing a range of home accessories including industrial-vibe lighting, organic ceramics, printed cushions and covetable vintage pieces, Joe is curating a very cool online boutique that is sure to delight and appeal to many. www.staidanshomewarestore.co.uk

Introducing a rug to a room can instantly soften the decor and add another layer of texture, tone and interest. Hand tufted, hand woven and hand knotted, Loaf’s brand new collection of 13 floor rugs are perfect for a subtle softening of floor-boards and are made from 100% wool. The range includes the chunky-knit Bobble and Guernsey designs, the striped Finca, Young Turk, Blue and Grey Barn, and the ethnic-inspired Minna, Bergen and Lars. The muted and neutral palette of the collection will blend well with most colour schemes and the rugs are available in a selection of medium and large sizes. Prices start from £245. See the collection here.

The colours of the London Underground lines may not be your average design inspiration, but the London Transport Museum has cleverly launched the Tube Line Colours collection. As part of the on-going year of celebrations commemorating 150 years of the London Underground, the range consists of powder-coated reclaimed luggage racks from the decommissioned Metropolitan line trains, metal trunks, furniture by Anthony Hartley, LED desk lamps by Group Design, and eco-friendly leather handbags. The colour reference comes from the 12 colours of the Underground, including gold to celebrate 150 years and white for the map background. The collection is modern, fun and functional, and brings a touch of utilitarian transport chic to your home: Luggage racks, small £180, large £285; Trunks, small £62, large £82; 150 Desk Lamps by Group Design (limited edition) £150; Furniture by Anthony, chair £385, stool £195, bench £495, table £595; Paperthinks recycled leather handbags £65. Available from 9th May. www.ltmuseumshop.co.uk

With their workshop based in Somerset, Obi Furniture has been created as a result of many years of wanting to produce handmade ready-to-order furniture, with the same integrity and quality of bespoke cabinet making. Offering affordable, high quality, tables, desks and cabinets beautifully designed in small batches, with oak and black walnut being two of the key woods used throughout their collection. Coupled with a design aesthetic and a neutral and contemporary colour palette that beautifully crosses the line between contemporary and traditional, they believe that if both an intellectual and manual investment are to be made in the making of a piece of furniture, then the quality of materials used should match this investment. If you are looking for a piece of furniture with a quality of construction and detailing that surpasses mass produced ranges then take a look at Obi Furniture’s collection. www.obifurniture.co.uk

Looking for something just that little bit different for your home? Hot off the press from their latest photo-shoot for the Summer collection, Graham & Green’s über-cool range of furniture and homeware has something for everyone. With three beautifully curated collections; House of Colour, Rustic Grandeur, and Modern 1950’s - their bold neon accents, updated traditional aesthetics and cool, eclectic pieces perfectly bring personality and a bold individualism to your home. Take a look at more of their gorgeous collection here.

There has to be a reason to leave a comfortable job and traverse America, visiting 50 states in 365 days, with only an adopted coonhound named Maddie for company. Theron Humphrey did just that. “I woke up one Idaho morning and realized that I’d never change the world. I felt small…like I wasn’t living a good story. Two things brought me to my decision to do something different - my grandfather passing, and one of the great catalysts that stirs someone to create something new in their life…a broken heart.” Swapping a desk job for a photojournalism project, where he met and photographed someone new every day as part of a Kickstarter-funded project, the decision proved to be a turning point for Theron as he also took photos of Maddie doing what she does best: standing on things. From bicycles, to horses, people to playground equipment, there seems nothing she won’t stand on with grace and patience. “One morning I figured I needed a photograph to remember how Maddie and I travelled together in the old pickup truck that was our home for the year. I picked her up and put her on the roof. She just stood there and smiled at me. Good things seem to start that way. You know…small.” Theron has developed a cult following with his blog about Maddie seen here, and now a book of his poignant Instagram photos has been published. If nothing else, this book will make you sit back, get lost in some adorable images of Maddie on her travels and make you wonder about your own dreams…and what if? Maddie on Things by Theron Humphrey, £10.99, published by Chronicle Books and available online here.