Nelipot Lane

March 12, 2016

The Skittle Alley Cake

So finally I’m here again to tell you about a wonderful place called Skittle Alley Coffee & Pantry. It was created by two wonderfully vibrant, lovely ladies who are conscious about where food comes from and how it is grow or raised.

The skittle Alley, adjoining the Black Lion pub in Hammersmith is transformed into Skittle alley coffee and pantry each day. It is a calming (even on a busy day!) eclectic place, where they sell all things beautiful, handmade and conscious. Things that are good for you and the world!

This wonderful little hub has such a creative and energizing atmosphere it is infectious!

They make the most wonderful juices, unusual teas and of course I have to say coffee! For lunch they make a mean avocado on toast, they sell delicious jams by Charlotte’s Artisan Preserves and handmade art is always on display. Everything they use or products they buy are lovingly and thoughtfully sourced.

They decided to start a farmers market to bring even more goodness to this little oasis. Raw milk and meats from Gilcombe Farm, Artisan breads by Sally Clarke and Organic fruit an veg knowing where their food was coming from and being able to talk to the people who produce and grow them.

They made me feel completely at home when I nervously arrived with sample box in hand. I knew I wanted to be apart of their market as soon as I turned the corner and saw the dark blue grey low building with red tile roof.

Everything I looked at I fell in love with. Them, the tea towels, the shelves of wonder (delicious looking jams and chutneys, beeswax paper, seaweed spices, teas) the ceramics, the coffee and the shed, where the stunning Little Lake Flowers resides. So I was ecstatic when they said they would love me to join them!

So I was recently looking at my phone at some old pictures and I realized it’s been a year!

A year since they said yes, so I thought I really want to say thank you! It’s such a joy to set up my stall there each week. I’ve met such great people, everyone who works there or comes by are so lovely and have really not just me supported me but each other.

And so begins The Skittle Alley Cake…

The sumptuous cushions handmade for them by Floating Island.

The handmade tiles by Gemma Orkin Ceramics.

Gorgeous hand dyed shibori apron from A Life Less Ordinary.

The rustic red tile roof next to the deep blue/grey brick work.

Creating the cushions first as they are the first thing you see when you step through their doors so of course they will be the focal point of the piece.

A mini Skittle Alley begins to emerge.

The vintage Blue basket that contains the bio-dynamic eggs from Brambletyne fruit farm on a Saturday.

I think I have managed to capture the purity and naturalness of the tile pieces.

The magic of the Alley makes the eggs giant!

The ceramic tiles make a great representation of the Alley on a farmers market day. Children and dogs run around, people laughing and chatting in the sun. Its such a community and always a great vibe.

I have a bit of an obsession with little versions and big versions being next to one another!

The marvelous blooms of Little Lake Flowers, always brightening the corner of the alley with their wild flowers and who could forget the delicious and most welcoming (on those cold early mornings) Ozone coffee….mocha coffee beans anyone.

When all the inspiration comes together!

There was such emotion in the air once I had surprised them. They are just so sweet they kept saying we need to thank you! But they make this place and I am so happy they let me become a part of the vision.

The beautiful and talented duo Lyndsey and Georgina.

Come and pop by for a lovely chat, peruse all the beautiful pieces and grab an organic juice to go with that avocado on toast!

Skittle Alley

Monday – Friday 8.30 am – 12 noon

Saturday 9 am – 1 pm (farmers market)

Number 2 South Black Lion Lane W6 9TJ

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September 10, 2015

The Frozen New Forest Cake

When Emily told me that she needed a delicious piece of art for her friend Lyndsey who would be leaving them all to teach music at a school in the middle of the new forest I was enchanted!

I could see this vivid new forest cake in all its green and lush splendor in my head, it would be vibrant and whimsical with little woodland creatures. Then she said she was obsessed with the movie Frozen and my forest froze over!

The vivid greens turned a stark blue and everything was dripping in ice crystals.

I needed to achieve a balance in this frozen world. Lyndsey is a warm person who loves to teach and share her passion for music with her students so I needed to keep a warmth through the blues and whites.

In blue hues I recreate the iconic Frozen castle and grand staircase in which all the students can take refuge when the winds start blowing and the snow falls. Here Lyndsey will teach her students.

She sweeps past the fountain and sits at her grand piano, the soft notes carry through the frozen forest and her beloved tulips dance in the crisp air.

The great pine trees sparkle and gleam in the morning sunlight, blue ice crystals hanging from the trees send streams of light across the forest floor, which is painted in her favorite food shops stripes (a little inside joke to keep her smiling all the way home)!

A monochromatic blue toned landscape.

I hope the Lyndsey is still enjoying her new life and that it has a little bit of the magic that I created in The Frozen New Forest Cake!

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October 31, 2014

The Party In Peace Cake

The creaking rusty gate that leads to a spooky dark cemetery on a cold frosty night, a faint howl on the wind and the rustle of whats left of the leaves on the trees. A thundering crack that fills the air and shakes the ground beneath your feet marks the moment, this is the day of the dead and they all want to come out and play….

He breaks free and rises, costume check, scary lantern check, delicious molten chocolate cake check!

The one thing missing, cobwebs, ah to be able to go back in time!

The whole gang is here, blood thirsty vampire, nerdy witch and a good old ghoul.

When the children sleep the real fun begins…This is the day that sends chills up the spine.

Happy Halloween!

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September 28, 2014

The Beach Cake

Everything smells like suntan lotion – Micheal Franti and the spearheads

I love the beach, the warm summer rays and the soft salty breeze. I like the little moments in between the waves, the sound of nothingness, blissful, serene, peaceful.

This is a cake for Sarah, this is Sarah’s place, here Sarah finds her pieces of driftwood that she turns into beautifully created pieces of art, where she collects delightful shells and twisted rusted metal.

(Oops! Here come the iphone pictures!)

Skeletal creation, structural forms weathered and bare, exposed to the elements for far too long.

Parched trees and peachy coral adorn the turquoise sea and rolling dunes.

The pieces begin to have life, a playful light-hearted quality of elation and wonder.

A sun deck perfect for two, perhaps this is a place she likes to read a good book and later watch the sunset.

(And were back to a canon, with someone behind the camera who knows what their doing!)

The true essence of the beach, painted wood, muted tones, all softness and calm.

Everything smells of suntan lotion, an ode to her favorite lyrics. Inhale and be transported to another moment in time and space.

The perfect hideaway for the beach lover, a new England retreat, a place to surf and watch the dolphins.

vintage lace parasols, English breakfast tea and a shortbread biscuit beach, yes please!

Sarah’s favorite flowers frangipani grow wild on her beach.

In between the roll of waves and the cries of the seagulls you can hear children’s laughter from the excitement of flying their very first kite!

So the last rays of sun are upon us, the distinct smell of winter is in the air, but for the few days of summer left this is definitely where I would want to be.

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September 7, 2014

The Festival Cake

The perfect festival starts with good weather, amazing friends, great music and hopefully fantastic food and by food of course I mean cake!

If you could create your own little festival, what kind of place would it be? A little bit retro, romantic and whimsical, neon bright and white lights or rustic vintage?

For Rosie this was going to be a chic retro affair!

So with a pop of neon brights, Welcome to Rosiebury 2014!

The metaphorical music stage created with wire that I formed into music notes.

This is a cake for the music lover, for the person who likes to feel the grass between their toes whilst they sway to the beat, the person who likes to rough it just a little bit, but at heart, they are a true glamper!

floating balloons and shabby chic tipis fade off into the distance, along with all the merry festival goers…..this is a moment for Rosie and her loved ones!

Orange is the new black! Sometimes you have got to just start from scratch, yes I nearly missed a trick, I made loads of beautiful pink poppies only to remember Rosie isn’t a pink kinda girl and as she loves the show……..!

When the sun begins to set, the fireworks come out!

Swaying to the beat burning man style!

Gold covered spheres and sugar candy trees these are what great days are made of!

Oh, imagine, if only this festival cake were real!

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July 23, 2014

The Abstract Cake

Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence – Matisse

But however fleeting the moment created embrace it fully! The cakes that I create may only be enjoyed for a short while, but they are forever apart of people’s experiences, a fond memory looked back on, laughed at and perhaps hopefully thought of in some kind of wonderment!

Trying to make a piece of art for someone who taught and still studies art was somewhat daunting, but the idea of creating a gallery space, a cake form mini retrospective of modern art was very exciting indeed!

Matisse, Picasso, abstract art, family, Wales and Ireland, these are some of the things that are important to Maggie so these would be woven together to create a private exhibition for her to peruse and then perhaps devour!

Each side of this square cake would be a certain artists style of work, linked by colour and texture, stitching the piece together and each side would be devoted to a family member.

I received a beautiful wedding picture of the family to model each person on and a photograph of her grandson with jam all over his face, luckily for me this is abstract so a likeness was all I had to worry about!

So today, here at The Nelipot Lane Gallery we have a special guided tour, please follow me so we may begin!

Three Dimensional elements to draw you around the piece, creating movement and continuity.

Matisse would be Maggie’s and her husband’s side, I wanted them to be in a place they would love.

The colours in Matisse’s work are so very beautiful, the bold patterns and lines seem almost childlike in essence.

I wanted to recreate the Welsh landscape that she loves so much with a photo that my partner took when he and I went to visit Wales.

I love the different styles of Matisse, I favour his Fauvist style but wanted to include some abstract expressionism and his later cut – out work to help with the flow of the piece.

Kandinsky would be Maggie’s daughters side, his soft washes of colour against the dissecting circles and bold black lines intrigued me.

An abstract version of her veil (she was the bride in the photograph) and the soft shades match her colouring perfectly.

Picasso’s cubist paintings with their expressive brushstrokes and muted browns and beige would have to be her son’s side as I was told he was the one with the crazy hair!

Triangular blocks stand out in logical chaos.

Beautiful rich turquoise creating depth as well.

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Klee would be for her other daughter, Her short blond bob mirroring Klee’s Senecio.

Abstract squares in beautiful soft shades and tones, golden yellows, muted purples and dusky pinks.

Pollock! For the top of the cake I went a bit wild, I covered everything in sight and began!

A pop art Raphael, her grandson.

This could be straight from De Stijl itself!

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Thank you for visiting The Nelipot Lane gallery, please make sure you eat the art work!

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May 25, 2014

The Archaeology cake

How do I begin this cake?

This is what I was thinking when I got an email from E requesting one of my delicious (her words, not mine) cake creations for her dads 60th birthday who likes motorbikes, whiskey, Wales and archaeology!

This thinking went on for some time, but then, what luck, inspiration struck, how would he like to have his hobby of archaeology transformed into an edible dig site for him to peruse as he wished.

I know, I know they say never play with your food but I think there are moments in life when you really have to just dig in! (Oh I really did say that!) So I pitched the idea originally wanting sweets to be buried, but knowing he would be turning 60 I also had a back up plan of making actual artefacts that have been found in sites around Britain. So she went with the artefacts, this I think was the best choice, sweets would defiantly be fun, but making the artefacts brought a realism to the cake that I think he would appreciate more.

I was incredibly excited to make the artefacts. Straight after some initial research into archaeology I just had to make them.

My Priscacara liops and Ammonite fossils.

I needed him to have some little tools to be able to dig with so I made the brush by cutting down a larger one I had brought and the trowel was such a brilliant find from the dolls section!

I wanted to have a feature on the cake to draw the eye around the piece and frame the centre piece so I made some standing stones that he would recognise from his trips to Wales.

Painting the gold coins. I love this part, so much detail comes out that the pieces take on a new dimension.

Map of Wales with the dig site marked out in red near Pentre Ifan.

I don’t like to write on cakes in the conventional way so try to incorporate messages within the tone of the piece.

The finds! Sugarpaste replica clay pot, spear head, gold coins, fossils and gold torque (The torque I made from a combination of wire and sugarpaste as it would have been to fragile otherwise, although I try to make everything edible sometimes you have to use wire to strengthen or support objects, but I meticulously tell my clients each and every thing that isn’t for the eating and text them just to reiterate!

All Archaeologist need somewhere to keep notes.

delicately spiced carrot cake which I then covered in a zesty creamcheese buttercream.

Creating the impression of the Welsh rolling hills with mint and spruce green marbled fondant.

All the little bits and bobs ready to fit perfectly into their place.

Creating height to the cake.

Somewhere to work and write whilst on the job!

I know I made it but isn’t the bucket filled with dirt (crushed ginger biscuit in this case, the flavour marries with the carrot nicely) too cute!

The Roman cobbled road has already been excavated and the site shows potential having also already found a gold coin that is carefully placed in the find tray.

The rest, waiting to be found, peeking out slightly, soon to be restored to their former glory.

Preparation and organisation are important qualities in any budding archaeologist so I made sure he would be prepared!

Details, Details, Details.

The vision realised.

When E emailed me to say her dad loved the cake and that he was like a little boy digging out his artefacts I had a huge smile on my face, this was exactly the picture I had in my head of how I hoped he would respond to the cake, you can never tell what kind of reaction you will get, I worried it might be to frivolous for him, but you know, we all have that inner child no matter how old we are and this cake for a time was his playground!

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May 25, 2014

The Spring Clean!

So I seem to find that I am still getting used to having a blog.

I have all the material, I do a lot of creative things and am surrounded by talented creative people, but the writing, now that’s another matter. I could talk about what I feel or why I did this or that for days, writing is where you think about what you will say then type, then correct some things, then think about it some more and rewrite and then maybe it’s not quite right so…well you get the picture, but I’m working on that!

Honestly, I am, really, this is where I get to posting every week (There I said it and I can’t go back on it now) no excuses. There is going to be a little spring clean going on here, this is the time, my home, my life and Nelipot Lane.

So whilst you are waiting for the new look here’s just a little something I whipped up…….

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May 6, 2014

The Birthday Party

Is a party still a party even when there are only two of you?

Each and every year for my wonderful boyfriend’s birthday I like to create a little world for us to while away the day, something special for just the two of us in our home!

All the fun begins the moment you start day dreaming about what kind of picture you want to paint, the atmosphere and ambience must be thought out along side the delicious food and oh what fun can be had thinking about all the possibilities when it comes to the decorations!

I love to create a moment for people, a moment where they can just be somewhere else.

He has enjoyed a Belagio inspired buffet with all his favourite bites, I have spent the day transforming the room into a sumptuous fort and created a Masterchef inspired 4 course dinner. Together with his sister, we created a night at the Oscars, red carpet, oversized gold cardboard Oscar statues and of course his favourite directors and actors, the works……….oh but of course I lost my camera!

This year, for helping in the creation of my business, our room was turned into Nelipot Lane Teahouse for the evening. We would be sharing a three course meal that may have ended up being a two course meal because I might have gone slightly overboard on the amount of shellfish I brought!

Green ink wash on beautiful textured paper keeping the natural and kwirky feel with hand stamped titles and ornate stamped edging.

I wanted a natural feel to the space, open for reverie and nostalgia. Cut paper lantern, white flowers and jute tied napkins.

First course – Sea food Platter, with marinated lobster tail, calamari, Scottish scallops, king prawns and longustines in lemon and herbs.

Little glass jars of home-made seafood sauce, lemon aioli and avocado cream. Longustines in mini metal bucket. Its all about the details.

Steamy mussels in creamy white wine and herb sauce in a wonderful little French style metal casserole dish.

As for the main. we had to eat that the next day!! Rib-eye steak with chunky sweet and white potato chips, asparagus and rocket salad with home-made Bernaise, garlic butter and peppercorn sauce!

I didn’t even get to chance to take a proper picture before he had delved right in!

And for desert….So its not quite perfection but heck it tastes delicious. Geniose sponge with strawberry marscapone mousse and pistachio macaroons.

Oh and of course there couldn’t be a birthday without the cake…….

A plain (this is what he likes!) chocolate cake it may, be but it was a very special cake indeed….

The Jump Cake is a recreation of a photograph that he took at a beautiful little oasis in the Nevada desert called China Ranch.

This place was magically intriguing and the picture of him, his mama, me and his sister jumping for joy captured perfectly how we were all feeling at stumbling upon this little jem.

I wanted to create that moment that was so special, to invoke the feeling of the cool breeze sweeping off the lake with the sound of the cicadas slowly getting louder as the sun went down, the weird but wonderful brick a brac market filled with everything you want but might not necessarily need and that sight of a beautiful crystal clear sky against huge date trees as we opened our tent in the morning!

I loved the fact that the cake stand reminded us of the rusted tins and cans laying around the old 1940’s cars (together with bullet holes) that we found on our hike, like we were back at the scene of some prohibition shot out!

Its all about the detail for me, right down to the rips in my jeans and the laces on the trainers, but the best bit for me was seeing his face as he saw each and everyone of them, this makes it all worth while.

Well now, what am I going to do next year…………

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April 10, 2014

The Secret Garden Cake!

I loved the movie The Secret Garden as a child, I haven’t read the book, but I am now about to order it! I always wished that I could have been apart of that magical world. The scary but intriguing sprawling mansion and those beautiful grounds, finding that ornate key, following the cute little robin and delving into the untouched walled garden. Oh to be a child again…..

So when Emily asked me to make her a cake for her husband Ben whose a landscape gardener, well now, what a wonderful way for me to revert to my childhood reveries of cobbled pathways leading to enchanted nooks and ponds with lily pads and perhaps a few fairies!

Ben spends his days creating beautiful havens for others to while away their time, but he and Emily haven’t their own little oasis to escape the big city. How perfect to be able to build a miniature realm for them merging all the things he loves!

Yoko Ono – their cat, who Emily enthusiastically mentioned wiggles her bottom! Football, particularly Arsenal, being a DJ and also the people who would be gifting him this creation.

So here we go again, not with the ordinary, but with the magical, the fantastical, the extraordinary world of edible art!

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I wanted to place the names Dad, Rosie and Will as though they had roamed the place themselves and etched them in the wood and stone.

I really wanted to keep the essence of this cake quite pure and true to the movie so chose an ambiguous reference to football, the stepping-stones in hexagons and pentagons!

I wanted to keep the realism of the world so the only way for me to create the tree and ivy bush was to cut the leaves out individually!

Yoko Ono and her wiggly bottom!

Painting the fondant brings life to the pieces I make, this is my canvas so the layers of light and shade need to be purposefully thought out.

I could just imagine Ben pushing Emily on the swing he made for them right after they carved a message of love into their tree!

Every detail is a moment that could have existed, perhaps somebody labored over a fire, painstakingly forging the iron work to create beautifully unique handles and hinges for the wooden gate leading to this hidden world!

once everything is completed there is but one thing left to do…..

I wonder where this quaint little pathway leads at the bottom of the garden.

Yoko Ono took pride of place on the swing with her Arsenal coloured collar!

Two fish in the pond, one each for Mr and Mrs Pike!

Music notes gently swaying in the breeze, for Ben’s love of being a DJ.

Oh and here is one last extra treat, a time-lapse of me building the delicate garden, filmed by the talented guys at New Road Collective, hope you enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/91638340

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