Terrazzo is originates from Italy and means terrace in Italian. Currently terrazzo has quite a luxury feel to it, however terrazzo was invented about 500 years ago as a cheap flooring solution. Back in the days marble was the preferred choice, but wasn't affordable for everyone. Crafts workmen started to experiment to find a cheaper solution and started experimenting with using left over scraps of marble and gave them a second life. Terrazzo is made by mixing these left over pieces of marble into a cement or clay. After the cement has dried up the floor will be finished through polishing which exposes a truly unique pattern of stones of different colours and sizes. By using smaller or bigger stones and different colours of marble, the final result can be very different between different terrazzo stone application. Originally terrazzo was mainly made from left over pieces of marble. These days designers and artists are also experimenting with different materials such as quartz, granite, recycled glass, porcelain, concrete, and metal aggregates.
In the world of modern contemporary interior design terrazzo has made a come back. And we think it is here to stay for a long time. Going hand in hand with a raising popularity of pattern decor, terrazzo gives you several different possibilities to home decoration and to add colour in original shapes. As terrazzo is coming from a time where is was anything but exclusive, you might find it hard to imagine it has a place in a design interior. You might know terrazzo from the floor in your local train station, or the ancient basic kitchen in your grandmother house. But as many materials and styles from the past will come back at some point, so did terrazzo. By modern designers dated materials have been reinterpreted in a modern way, giving it a complete transformation into a modern design product. In the example of terrazzo designers used techniques typically used in dull public spaces, and reimagine them in contemporary design homes so you see them in a completely new light.
These days terrazzo can be found back in many different ways. It is used in interior design, for example bathroom floors, kitchen tops, coffee tables and even chairs. But where back in the days terrazzo was mainly applied as a flooring solution or other surfaces, the modern terrazzo patterns can have many outcomes. Smaller home decor products such as coasters, trays, cushions, storage boxes and so on are available with different types of beautiful terrazzo patterns. Even the world of fashion design did not stay behind, jewellery made of terrazzo stone is growing in popularity and terrazzo pattern are used to print on fabrics to use for bags and other fashion accessories.
We are in love with the beautiful patterns of terrazzo stone. So we decided to create a collection of contemporary design prints with photographs of real terrazzo stone integrated. We used pictures of real terrazzo stone and combined them with modern graphic artwork. In our collection of Terrazzo Posters the terrazzo stone is the star of the artwork. The texture and different patterns are in contrast with the minimal graphic artwork, which results in a very unique piece of wall decoration. We wanted to experiment by adding something natural to a minimal artwork, with a surprisingly unique result. Our posters will suit any modern contemporary design interior. We currently have six posters available in the collection but are working on more which will soon be added to the collection. In the collection you will find several posters that show a black, white and mint green terrazzo stone pattern combined with minimal black graphic shapes. We also have a full black and white poster for a minimal look. Last but not least we offer some geometric design posters with simple shades of grey. Of course you will be able to shop the full collection online. All posters are available in size A3 and A4.
]]>Ebru Art - Turkish Water Painting
‘Ebru’ is a hundreds years old Turkish water painting technique which is used to create traditional and artistic patterns for decorating purposes. Maybe you know it better as paper marbling, a kind of marble effect is achieved with this painting method. Colour pigments are sprinkled on a layer of thickened water, after which paper is used to ‘print’ the created patterns.
I have always been fascinated by the unique and organic patterns that appear on the water with this special painting technique. When sprinkling colour pigments onto the water, patterns appear in a natural way and every single print is different. Even though I have known about Ebru Art for a long time, I had never used the technique myself. So I decided to visit a professional Ebru Artist in Amsterdam to teach me the tricks. This was very helpful, even though it took a lot of practice to create the final patterns used for the softcover design notebooks.
In traditional Ebru Art, the colour pigments are usually worked on with different tools after pigments have been sprinkled onto the water. The pigments are moved around with for example metal pins and other tools. This way you can 'draw' on the water and create shapes such as flowers. For the Beautiful Mess Notebooks, I did not want to manipulate the colour pigments in any way after sprinkled onto the water. I wanted the patterns to be very organic and natural. This way the effect of spilled ink is created, which looks very unique on paper. After the 'water painting' is finished the result is printed into a piece of paper. Many experiments with different techniques and colours resulted in the final contemporary patterns which are used for the modern design notebooks.
The idea for this original notebook collection was to use a traditional technique and translate it into a modern lifestyle product for daily use. The end product is a trendy notebook, something you will use every day to make a to do list, write down creative ideas, make a shopping list etc. The notebooks have black lined pages, a golden text and are thread bound which give them a modern and contemporary styled look. We thought a simple notebook was the perfect end product for these patterns, giving you a chance to look at the almost relaxing patterns in your often so stressful daily life. You can look at the notebook cover over and over and discover new parts you did not see before. Look again and you will find a new bubbles and lines, like ink flowing on the cover of the notebook which are naturally shaped on the paper. The patterns will never get boring no matter how often you take out your notebook to take a note.
The final collection of notebooks contains four different individual styles which are achieved by using different painting techniques. A simple and modern colour pallet is used of black, white and blue. The four different notebooks designs go really well together. The idea is that you can buy an individual notebook, or combine them in a set of 2 notebooks or a set of 4 notebooks. Even though the patterns are very natural and organic, the final product has a trendy and modern design style. The notebooks have golden printed letters on the softcover and are thread bound, a very nice extra feature to the stylish collection of notebooks. The notebooks have thick black lined paper and a 300 grams of paper cover.
How ever you decide to buy them, each individual notebook is wrapped in a fancy black kraft paper gift wrapping. The gift wrapping is sealed with a sticker that shows the same pattern as the notebook. This makes it a perfect unique gift for her, maybe also for him but the notebooks turned out to be mostly popular as a gift for a woman or a girl. In any case you will steal the show with these unique notebooks as they certainly are an original gift. The notebooks each have a belly band with information about the handmade patterns. For an affordable price you have a truly unique handmade design gift with a story, to treat yourself or someone else.
There you go, you now know the secret behind our Beautiful Mess Notebooks. More notebooks with different pattern designs will be added to the collection in the future so stay tuned!
Suzan Claesen - Founder of 5mm Paper
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