from the slums of shaolin...or clapham

donna wilson's got flow. or flo, rather. the british designer's latest work with uk collective flo is a girly masterpiece that brings a feminine, decorative flair to the world of home accessories. donna's doyley rug may have used its feminine charm to win me over but, considering it's made out of my material-of-the-moment, felt, it was an easy sell.

constructed of gorgeous wool felt and embellished with beautiful cut-out, doily-esque patterns, wilson's doyley rug is another example of the creative possibilities found in felt. for me, it's just one of those pieces that i loved right off the bat. it's cute, intricate and simple at the same time. win, win and win.

along with designers from team absolute zero degrees, flo and donna wilson have put together a small collection of wonderfully lady-like but universally appealing accessories for flo (available at the placesandspaces showroom in london) that i think deserve a little extra attention.

wilson's friends over at absolute zero degrees created two new wallpaper and textile designs for flo that bring great decorative patterns to the wall. granted, the graphic wallpaper trend isn't exactly brand spankin new, but i think theirs is a worthy addition to the bunch. my favorite is the swallow pattern, reminiscent of blik's fly decals (why are swallows just that cool?), but their bee pattern is equally appealing, especially in the clay/light blue colorway they chose.

absolute zero's swallow and bee patterns, along with wilson's doyley rug, represent a sort of delicate, decorative style that i love for its inherent femininity. but despite the fact that i cling to the girly-ness of the doyley and absolute zero designs, their work is far from exclusionary (even if one of the patterns is composed of bees and butterflies...). their nods to delicate graphic patterns fit in with current trends in both wallpaper and furniture. so, don't be afraid boys, these girls made butterflies, bees, doilies and birds cool enough that we could all enjoy them.

GIRLY RUGS RULE [doyley rug*donna wilson for flo] a little bit of etiquette for your floors

BUGS ARE FOR GIRLS [bees print*absolute zero degrees for flo] butterflies and bees make for a perfect pattern

BIRDS BIRDS BIRDS [swallow print*absolute zero design for flo] also available in rust and black, as seen above