Graffiti wallpaper

Last week I was lucky enough to be given a heads up about some graffiti wallpaper spotted in town. I happened to be passing by Gerry Keane on Talbot Street yesterday and I was able to check it out for myself.

This graffiti paper is designed by Muriva {based in Simonstone in the UK}. Entitled ‘Che Guevara’ it’s pretty self explanatory. The Che paper can be seen in a larger scale here. However, I do think this particular pattern is too obviously repetitive on a realistic scale.

To date, {off the top of my head} I haven’t heard of any graffiti wallpaper, and I’ve got to hand it to them – it’s a really good idea. I don’t know why I haven’t seen any before.
I really like the idea of this wallpaper, but maybe a version that has been toned down more to a more discrete scale. Paired with something soft, to give a strong juxtaposition between the two, I don’t see why it couldn’t be used as a feature for someone who isn’t afraid to try something out of the ordinary.

The proof is on the plate

It began innocently when I was doing my house-girlfriend duties yesterday morning – the dishes. I was cleaning one of my antique pie plates. I had bought a set of three; all detailing different recipies on the bottom of each dish. Quite cute, plus, they’re massive plates so they come in really handy.
So, getting to my story, while I was washing one particular dish, the recipe on the plate finally got to me. The particular recipe was for lemon meringue pie. I had never made lemon meringue before so I thought, why not.
Be warned: have about 2 hours to dedicate to this recipe. It took a while to make, since the center is lemon curd, and that takes some time on the stove top. Also, it demands your attention, so plan to make this tasty treat when you don’t have anything going on on the side that may distract you. It is worth it.
I was really pleased with how it turned out. The meringue was perfectly set and brown on top, although the curd was a touch runny / not completely set, so we referred to it as our lemon meringue soup for the evening {be stingy with the water at the beginning}. There’s always next time.
A word of warning: don’t go overboard with the lemon. Less is more in the case of this recipe.
I made a plain pastry for the base and blind baked it before adding the lemon curd. No specific recipe was used for the pastry – just straight forward. Nothing fancy.

If you’re interested, see below for the recipe from inside the dish …

Ingredients
1.5 cups of sugar
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 cup of water {be stingy with this bit!!!}
3 beaten egg yolks 
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons of butter
0.5 cup of lemon juice
9″ baked pastry shell 
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
6 tablespoons of sugar

Method
Mix first three ingredients on saucepan, stirring in water. Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring until thick for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir small amount of hot mixture into the egg yolks, then return to hot mixture. Bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add lemon peel and butter. Slowly stir in 0.5 cup of lemon juice. Cool to lukewarm, stirring frequently. Pour into cooled pastry shell. 

Beat egg whites with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to soft peaks. Gradually add 6 tablespoons of sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Spread over filling, sealing to edges  of the pastry shell. Bake in oven at 200 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool before serving. 
Click here for a handy cooking calculator, should you prefer to measure in cups, mls, oz etc.

Om nom nom nom om nom nom.

How many people does it take to change Tom Dixon’s light bulb?

 

 

This afternoon my boyfriend and I stopped off for some yummy dinner at Yo! Sushi on Clarendon Street in Dublin. While we were tucking into our tasty plates, I was taking note of a minor design crisis to the left.

What had happened was one of the light bulbs had gone in one of the Tom Dixon Mirror Ball lights. No biggie, it happens. But what I found interesting {to the embarrassment of my boyfriend} was that it took 3 staff members to try to change the bulb. After 20 minutes and countless attempts of trying to get into the light fixture, they all gave up.

I’ve commented on the lights in Yo! Sushi many times, as I am a fan of Tom Dixon. I’m really hoping, for Tom’s sake, that there’s a certain knack to changing the bulbs. I will now save you all from a rambling rant about the lack of a manual which, if the bulbs are that difficult to change, should have been on the premises.

After witnessing the ordeal the staff went through to try to change one light bulb, I can’t help but wonder how practical these specific light fixtures are. Again, I’m hoping for Tom’s sake that there’s a lot less involved in changing the bulbs, and that there’s a trick to it. I’ve never worked with or encountered one of Tom Dixon’s lights up close, but going forward I’ll need to figure one out before I suggest using them in the future, after what I’ve seen today.   They’ve since managed to change the bulb. Or maybe it was easier just to replace the light?

Dear Tom,
I have not yet lost faith.

2021 EDIT: I’ve received so many comments and emails recently about how near-impossible it is to change these lightbulbs so I think I’ve lost most of my faith in these fixtures at this point.

2021 UPDATE: It only took 11 years, but we have a solution! Special thanks to Helen for solving this design mystery:

2022 UPDATE: Another helpful answer from Tom below! Maybe … Tom Himself?