Stylist’s Eye: Jeni Glasgow shares some everyday joys

I’ve recently added some drama to my dining table with beautiful hand-embroidered antique French napkins I bought at L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgu in Provence, France. They are oversized to the point of resembling a small tablecloth and I love that! Who doesn’t love wearing a napkin like a billowing skirt or flowing drape. Dining couture at its very best.

Something that never ceases to make me smile is my mini collection of laughing fish. I purchased a couple of beautiful carved cow horn fish sculptures and really enjoyed that the fish seemed to be “laughing”, there was a joyous sense of gentle comedy about them. Then my friend and stylist, Ruth Forsyth, gifted me some more and the collection has been growing ever since.

I really don’t splurge. I am a determined treasure-seeker and consummate bargain hunter. However, last year on a whim, I bought a large hand-painted wall hanging, “Wild Plants”, from French textile artist Aurore Pélisson and I absolutely treasure it. Perhaps it will be a future family heirloom?

My wackiest recent purchase is without doubt a feathered head-dress from Deirdre Macken of Lucy’s Lounge in Dublin’s Temple Bar.

A useful thing I would love is a KitchenAid stand mixer and a Sage food processor.

I’ve been eyeing up a giant glass diamond-shaped sculpture meets paper weight sourced by Killian McNulty at the Vintage Hub. Do I need this? Probably not. Do I want it? Absolutely.

A book I always come back to is The Art of Eating by MFK Fisher.

I’m always inspired by Connemara. I feel the expanse of space here allows my heart to open and my soul to expand.  The wide horizon blows my mind and my perspective shifts, literally and figuratively. I like to daydream about one day moving there; I imagine finding myself writing poetry and making simple paintings in a tiny place with a big stove and a picture window. I would battle the elements to grow a little garden and live happily ever after.

I’ve just returned from a wonderful project at Chateau de La Gonette in Provence. It might be impossible not to be inspired there; the quality of produce from the surrounding area, the delicious local cheese, the natural wine, the heady scent of lavender, the beauty of wild flowers, the rugged mountains; the sun, the sun, the sun.

There are a couple of Irish artists that continually stop me in my tracks; Stephen Lawlor, Stephen Dunne, Fiona Cawley, and ceramicist Fiona Kerbey.

Every day, I wear my Thorn earrings by Lee Hale, bought from Ted Muehling in Soho NYC over twenty-five years ago.

Harriet Davidson, my co-conspirator and collaborator for the project in La Gonette, uses a tiny whisk that is so small it almost looks like a toy. But, wow, so many times I reached for that little whisk over the course of our five weeks cooking together and now realise that it is the handiest kitchen item ever.

Beside my bed you’ll find multiple pairs of reading glasses, a stack of unread books, calming pillow spritz by Tisserand, and a small brass framed black-and-white photograph of a man I don’t know. I’ve been meaning to pop a picture of my Dad in there, for years now.

I recently bought a pair of bright red Reebok Eames Elephant trainers, which are fun to wear.

I’m awaiting a little wood stove for my studio-office, and looking forward to the warmth at last. I also bought some porcelain tiles that I’m looking forward to seeing in situ.

My mother, Mo, always says “what’s meant for you won’t pass you by”, which I find helpful in moving on in life.

Portraits by Doreen Kilfeather.