Search results for ""thames hudson""

Arguably the most famous perfume in the world – most memorably endorsed by Marilyn Monroe – Chanel No 5 continues to fascinate and claims millions of devotees around the world. Created in 1921 by Coco Chanel, the perfume was one of the first to use synthetics. To complement her pioneering fashion, Chanel wanted to give the modern woman ‘a perfume, but an artificial perfume...not rose or lily of the valley...a perfume that is compound’, presented in a distinctively pared-back glass bottle that would become an icon in its own right (inspiring a series of works by Andy Warhol decades later). Presented in two volumes (one on the early years of Chanel No 5 from 1921 to 1945, the other on the period in which Chanel No. 5 went truly global, from the postwar years to today), Chanel No 5 explores the evolution of the perfume’s packaging, composition, manufacture and marketing, with unprecedented access to the Chanel archives and those tasked with creating the fragrance today. The world’s leading creatives have lent their talents to the perfume’s advertising campaigns, which are given pride of place in the book, from photographers such as Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton, to film directors including Ridley Scott and Baz Luhrmann, and stylish muses – Coco Chanel herself, of course, as well as Suzy Parker, Catherine Deneuve, Nicole Kidman, Gisele Bündchen and Lily-Rose Depp.With over 750 illustrations

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All knowledge, the cosmos arranged on shelves, in cupboards, or hanging from the ceiling, ‘infinite riches in a little room’ – such were the cabinets of curiosities of the 17th century. This survey, now available in a compact edition, traces the amazing history of cabinets of curiosities, from their first appearance in the inventories and engravings commissioned by Renaissance nobles such as the Medici or the Hapsburgs, via those of the Dane Ole Wurm and the Italian polymath Athanasius Kircher, to the serious 17th- and 18th-century scientists Elias Ashmole and Levinas Vincent.

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‘A photographic encyclopaedia of one of the 20th century’s greatest creators’ The Business of FashionFounded by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in 1961, shortly after the young couturier left his post at the helm of Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent would soon become one of the most successful and influential haute couture houses in Paris. Introducing Le Smoking, the first tuxedo suit for women, in 1966, Saint Laurent also presented iconic art-inspired creations, from Mondrian dresses to precious Van Gogh embroidery and the famous Ballets Russes collection. This definitive publication opens with a concise history of the house, followed by a brief biographical profile of Yves Saint Laurent, before exploring the collections themselves, organized chronologically. Each collection is introduced by a short text unveiling its influences and highlights, and illustrated with a gallery of carefully curated catwalk images. These showcase hundreds of spectacular clothes, details, accessories, beauty looks and set designs – and, of course, the top fashion models who wore them on the runway. A rich reference section concludes the book.

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A splendid – and necessary – publication…a great resource Iain SinclairCharles Booth’s landmark survey of life in late-19th-century London, published for the first time in one volume. In the late nineteenth century, Charles Booth's landmark social and economic survey found that 35 percent of Londoners were living in abject poverty. Booth's team of social investigators interviewed Londoners from all walks of life, recording their comments, together with their own unrestrained remarks and statistical information, in 450 notebooks. Their findings formed the basis of Booth's colour-coded social mapping (from vicious and semi-criminal to wealthy) and his seventeen-volume survey Inquiry into the Life and Labour of the People of London, 1886-1903.Organized into six geographical sections, Charles Booth's London Poverty Maps presents the hand-colored preparatory and printed social mapping of London. Accompanying the maps are reproductions of pages from the original notebooks, containing anecdotes and observations too judgmental for Booth to include in his final published survey. An introduction by professor Mary S. Morgan clarifies the aims and methodology of Booth's survey and six themed essays contextualize the the survey's findings, accompanied by evocative period photographs. Providing insights into the minutia of everyday life viewed through the lens of inhabitants of every trade, class, creed, and nationality, Charles Booth's London Poverty Maps brings to life the diversity and dynamism of late nineteenth-century London.

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The mid-20th century was one of the most popular, collectable and dynamic periods of international design. Drawing on the inventive style of the era, this range of gift products features exclusive illustrations of iconic mid-century designs, from Eames chairs to Poul Henningsen lamps and George Nelson clocks, all rendered in a distinctive graphic style. Featuring over ninety pieces by sixty designers and design duos, Mid-Century Modern: Icons of Design is arranged chronologically, and includes chairs, tables, storage, lighting, and product and industrial design. Each spread includes a graphic depiction of the piece and a concise text. The models, materials and designers index offers easy reference through the book.

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Anyone can create a beautiful home by foraging, and salvaging what they find. Whether a box of rusty nails or a disused armchair missing a leg, discarded objects can be restored, recycled or repurposed to fill the home with personal style. Artful interiors are born from curiosity, creativity and imagination, yet many of us fail to see a potential curtain rail in a bamboo stick or a hidden kitchen worktop in an old carpenter’s bench – let alone knowing where to find such objects. Presenting the techniques and philosophies of a wide spectrum of experienced foraging homeowners, this book showcases unexpected and inspiring interiors from all over the world, from an upturned boat in France to an Australian beach house. Such diverse locations each demand a different approach to foraging and, as a result, each home has a distinct sense of style. In an era when self-sufficiency, living off grid and saving our planet have never been more important or appealing, The Foraged Home will provide guidance and inspiration for all those looking to go beyond the world of mass-produced flat-packs.

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In a climate that ranges from cold, dark and unforgiving to endless sun and crystalline skies, the homes of the Nordic countries are lifted by ever-changing and dramatic natural light balanced by an intrinsic sense of warmth. Nordic architects today are as much informed by vernacular traditions and natural materials as their forebears, but the most recent generation of practitioners reflects a new appetite for spatial exploration and changing lifestyles. Divided into four chapters – rural cabins, coastal retreats, town houses and country homes – this survey of over forty of Scandinavia’s finest and most innovative houses features work by a broad spectrum of leading architects, such as Jon Danielsen Aarhus, Tham & Videgård, Snorre Stinessen, Reiulf Ramstad and Todd Saunders. Structured by terrain to reveal the full diversity of the landscape and its architectural challenges, the book is full of fresh thinking about living spaces that are at once universal and distinctively Nordic. From country houses complete with traditional Nordic fireplaces, saunas, window seats and verandas, to remote cabin hideaways and artist’s studios, there are details and grand ideas that can be applied to residential design anywhere. A reference section includes an appendix of architectural plans.

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You Are an Artist is for everyone who wants to be an artist, but has been too afraid to take the plunge. It combines a thought-provoking meditation on art practice with a series of practical exercises and creative provocations that encourage everyone to fulfil their potential as an artist. The book is itself a kind of art school, helping the reader to work out what kind of artist they are, and what they can achieve. Drawing on the author’s experience as an art school teacher, it playfully adapts the methods of art education, mixing these with the sideways approach to creativity popularized by the author’s activist campaigns. Smith provides an array of ideas, tips and practical examples, illustrated with documentary photographs of his own specially made work. His riotous paintings and installations are set alongside discussions of time, place, looking, thinking, stealing and becoming, with enlightening forays into the history of art and creativity. A collection of hilarious, at times startling and often moving narratives bring to life a series of lessons about the nature of art and inspiration. Each lesson comes with a series of prompts to harness the reader's own artistic capabilities. Whether we like it or not, says Bob and Roberta Smith, we have been enrolled in the world, and the world is an art school. You are an artist, because every human being who has ever lived was once an artist.

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Why are trees so important? How many types are there? How do they benefit the environment and wildlife? This book, by the award-winning author Piotr Socha, answers these questions and more, tracking the history of trees from the time of the dinosaurs to the current day.

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At first glance, all you can see on the page are simple outlines of body parts or seemingly abstract shapes. But look closely through the three coloured glasses and the amazing intricacy of the human body becomes apparent – as if by magic, the secrets of life are revealed! Following the award-winning What’s Hidden in the Woods?, this book includes a removable poster, which can be unfolded for even more fun!

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How do bees communicate? What does a beekeeper do? Did you know that Napoleon loved bees? Who survived being stung by 2,443 bees? This book answers all these questions and many more, tracking the history of bees from the time of the dinosaurs to their current plight.

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Each book in the Moments of Mindfulness series pairs the wise words of a great writer, master, philosopher or poet with Olivier Föllmi’s beautiful and moving photographs. Föllmi travelled far and wide to witness the celebrations, landscapes, rituals and traditions of cultures all over the world, discovering new ways of seeing as he sought to understand and capture through photography the connections linking the people to their ancestral lands. The effect is transcendental and transformative, awakening our senses and preparing our souls to receive these simple yet profound teachings.

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Shakespeare's potent use of garden imagery has captivated successive generations of readers and inspired the making of gardens across the globe. Laced with quotations and abounding with illustrations drawn from sources including Elizabethan gardening books, embroidered fabrics and hand-coloured herbals, The Quest for Shakespeare's Garden tells the story of the Bard's own garden at New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon, revealing its place in garden history.

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The fifth instalment in this popular and highly successful series, Viking follows on from Legionary, Gladiator, Knight and Samurai, your guide to the Norse world of the tenth century ad. Discover everything you will need to become a successful Viking warrior: how to join a war band; what to look for in a good leader; how to behave at a feast; what weapons and armour to choose; how to fight in a shield wall; where to go raiding; how to plunder a monastery and ransom a monk; how to navigate at sea; and what to expect if you die gloriously in battle. Modern reconstructions and ancient artefacts, including 16 pages of brilliant colour images, will immerse the reader visually in the Viking world. The humorous text peppered with quotes from sagas and chronicles will take you on an engrossing journey from joining a raiding party to how to die gloriously.

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A landmark publication that captures the beautiful richness of every aspect of trees and their importance for science, culture and the future of humankind. Trees feed us, shelter us, inspire us and heal us. In a world facing the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and a pressing climate emergency, the importance of these primeval beings in shaping our future is hard to understate. Generously illustrated and organized according to tree lifecycle – from seeds, leaves and form to wood, flowers and fruit – this book celebrates the great diversity and beauty of the 60,000 tree species that inhabit our planet. Exquisite details are rendered by surprising photography and infographics: intricate bark and leaf patterns, intertwined ecosystems, colourful flower displays, archaic wooden wheels and timber houses. Integral to science, art and culture, fundamental and fragile, dependent and depended on, the vitality of trees is revealed like never before.

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Australian photographer, author and director Robyn Lea has been working internationally for over 20 years. Author of the best-selling Dinner with Jackson Pollock (Assouline, 2015), her critically acclaimed work has featured in The New York Times, Vogue USA, Vogue Italia, Vogue Living, Time and Elle Decoration UK, among other publications. Lea is also an exhibiting photographic artist, having had more than ten solo exhibitions, including at the prestigious Vittoriano Museum in Rome in 2015. Robyn is the author of A Room of Her Own, published by Thames & Hudson in 2021.

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Nikos Stangos was a popular and highly influential figure in the cultural life of London until his death in 2004. As an editor at Thames & Hudson, he was responsible for many acclaimed books, and he worked with some of the bestknown artists and art historians of the day. He was also an accomplished poet, composing verse in both English and his native Greek. His poems, while rooted in the specifics of his life, deal with broad philosophical issues: the nature of beauty, love, art and reason. All the works in this posthumous volume are published for the first time here, accompanied by illustrations from some of the artists who knew and loved Stangos. Their works, and those of all the contributors to this unique book, stand as a testament to the esteem in which Stangos was held, and as a tribute to his enduring memory.

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A limited-run, special publication created to showcase the work of 10 young photography talents from top US art school SCAD, to be published in the year of T&H's 75th anniversary. Class of 2024 is a unique and deeply individual look into the future of photography, showcasing the work of ten students or recent graduates from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), USA. Introduced in their own words, and illuminated by essays from established writers, curators and editors, their photographs cross genres from portraits to landscape, fashion commissions to private projects, collages to film stills and offer up ten very different yet equally compelling and imaginative ways of looking at the world today, in all its complexity. Wilfully subjective and guided only by the strength of the creativity within its pages, this book, published to mark the 75th anniversary of publishing house Thames & Hudson, aims to capture a moment in time, support new talent and inspire lovers

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Magnum Magnum showcases the best of Magnum Photos, celebrating the vision, imagination and brilliance of its photographers – from the acknowledged 20th-century greats to the modern masters and rising stars of our time. Since its founding in 1947 by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David ‘Chim’ Seymour, Magnum Photos - the legendary co-operative - has powerfully chronicled the peoples, cultures, events and issues of the time. Now, following its 75th anniversary, Magnum Photos and Thames & Hudson join forces to publish an updated and expanded edition of the original hit publication Magnum Magnum (2007), which was previously presented in three formats and sold over 200,000 copies worldwide. Organized by photographer, Magnum Magnum is built upon a founding concept that made Magnum such a unique creative environment; a collaborative process where each of the four founders picture edited the other’s photographs. This book evokes the same creative spirit, with each photographer selecting and critiquing six key works by another of the agency’s 87 photographers along with a commentary explaining the rationale behind their choices. This new edition adds the 25 photographers who have joined Magnum in the last 15 years. With more than 150 new photographs and over 700 pages, this book is the definition of an updated classic.

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‘…the elegant joy with which she lived her life came to her so naturally – in the delight she took in the highest forms of culture, especially music, in her house in Italy surrounded even in the hottest summer by its cool green lawn, in her always beautifully styled appearance, but above all in producing at Thames and Hudson books that attested to her great respect for high culture – one might have imagined nothing had happened to her to cause anything but total delight in the world’ David Plante Eva Neurath, co-founder of Thames & Hudson, wrote this memoir for her granddaughters, and it is a private story of a remarkable 20th-century life. The youngest child of a principled and avant-garde mother and a Jewish father, she was born in Berlin and grew up there in the Twenties, in the world of Marlene Dietrich and Leni Riefenstahl, when anything was possible. Her wide knowledge of the fine arts was the result not of any formal education but of her work for art dealers, at a time when great collections were changing hands. Her mother for a time had a gallery for contemporary artists, and through other relatives she knew the world of music. But this was a world in the grip of traumatic change. Pursued by the Gestapo, Eva, her second husband Wilhelm Feuchtwang and their baby son Stephan left Berlin in 1938, first for Rotterdam, then London. Wilhelm was interned in the Isle of Man, and Eva was at her wits’ end. Then came another change: she was visited with a message from her husband by Walter Neurath, an Austrian art historian and publisher who had come to England earlier and also been interned, but was soon released to continue his publishing of books for Adprint, where he had created the ‘Britain in Pictures’ series. Offered a job by Walter, Eva grasped the opportunity to re-create herself in her own right as picture researcher, layout designer and art director. In 1949 they founded a new publishing house, Thames & Hudson, and married in 1953. Her life with Walter moved in circles of art, archaeology and history, among friends including Henry Moore, Harold Acton, John Julius Norwich and Roy Strong. The memoir ends in 1981, but Eva’s work continued until 1999, the year she died, and the story is filled out by her son, Stephan Feuchtwang. The book is illustrated with photographs from Eva Neurath’s family albums.

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The second volume in Thames & Hudson’s monographic series on global architect Sir David Adjaye, winner of the 2021 RIBA royal gold medal. Following on from Adjaye – Works: Houses, Pavilions, Installations, Buildings, 1995–2007, published by Thames & Hudson in 2020, this book covers the impressive portfolio of work created by the architect between 2007 and 2015. During the years covered in this book, Adjaye became interested in developing an architecture that was more expansive, taking him outside Europe to work on major projects such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver and the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo. Designing buildings around the globe, including two projects connected with the post-Katrina reconstruction programme in New Orleans, Adjaye carefully tailored his approach to each place, sensitive to the important role architecture plays in affirming a sense of community and identity.

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The definitive overview of one of the world’s most experimental and distinctive graphic-design studios. Originally established in 1992 by Michaël Amzalag and Mathias Augustyniak as a graphic design studio, M/M (Paris) have since defied categorisation, becoming one of the most radical creative practices of today through their influential work across the contemporary cultural sphere. By collaborating with fashion designers and brands such as Alexander McQueen, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Miuccia Prada, Jonathan Anderson, Nicolas Ghesquière and Yohji Yamamoto; musicians Björk, Étienne Daho, Kanye West, Lou Doillon, Madonna and Vanessa Paradis; contemporary artists including François Curlet, Philippe Parreno, Pierre Huyghe and Sarah Morris; and rethinking the iconic titles Interview magazine, Purple Fashion and Vogue Paris, M/M have been building a visual atlas of the creative landscape since the early 1990s. In this illustrated A to Z, beginning and ending with the letter M, interviews with Michaël Amzalag and Mathias Augustyniak frame over 850 images of their projects. A series of conversations with rarely heard luminaries – designers Peter Saville, Experimental Jetset, Cornel Windlin and Katsumi Asaba; fashion designers Miuccia Prada and Jonathan Anderson; artist Francesco Vezzoli; cinematographer Darius Khondji; chef Jean-François Piège; theatre director Arthur Nauzyciel and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist – are interspersed, providing a thought-provoking insight into the minds of one of the world’s most distinctive creative duos. A foreword by Donatien Grau and an afterword by Éric Troncy bookend contributions by Emanuele Coccia, Jo-Ann Furniss, Alison M. Gingeras, Étienne Hervy, Emily King, Philippe Rouyer and Akira Takamiya. Edited by Grace Johnston, volume two of M to M of M/M (Paris) completes the first volume of M/M’s monograph published in 2012, and now republished by Thames & Hudson.

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PUBLISHED TO ACCOMPANY THE ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EXHIBITION AT THE RIJKSMUSEUM, AMSTERDAM, THIS IS THE FIRST MAJOR STUDY ON VERMEER'S LIFE AND WORK FOR MANY YEARS. ---------- 'Proust was once so excited to see a Vermeer show that he collapsed … I got chest pains merely leafing through the catalogue' Jonathan Jones, Guardian 'Invest in the fat catalogue, stuffed with scholarly discoveries and photographic closeups, and you will learn about everything from Vermeer’s optical mastery to his moral symbolism' Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times 'Excellent' Artists & Illustrators 'Getting a ticket for the once-in-a-lifetime Vermeer exhibition, above, at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam this year might frankly be a bit of a challenge, but you can at least console yourself with the exhibition catalogue, published by Thames & Hudson, which is a gorgeous thing. Nothing matches seeing a painting in the flesh, but this comes mightily close.' The Herald ---------- Vermeer's intensely quiet and enigmatic paintings invite the viewer into a private world, often prompting more questions than answers. Who is being portrayed? Are his subjects real or imagined? And how did he create such an unrivalled sense of intimacy? Bringing together diverse strands of the Dutch master's professional and private worlds, this is the first major authoritative study of Vermeer's life and work for many years, throwing light on all thirty-seven of his paintings. The book was designed by Irma Boom, the ‘Queen of Books’, and printed on an uncoated ‘Munken Print White’ paper, specially commissioned to ensure the veracity of colours. Irma Boom says: ‘the matte paper brings you closer to Vermeer; there is no gloss or glare in between, just like with the real works.’ With a wide selection of contextual illustrations, commentaries and up-to-date research by distinguished international Vermeer scholars, this is the definitive volume on the most admired of all seventeenth-century Dutch masters. With contributions by Bart Cornelis, National Gallery, London Bente Frissen, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Sabine Pénot, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Pieter Roelofs, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Friederike Schuett, Staedel Museum, Frankfurt am Main Christian Tico Seifert, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh Ariane van Suchtelen, Mauritshuis, The Hague Gregor J.M. Weber, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Marjorie E. Wieseman, National Gallery of Art, Washington

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The first longterm appraisal of the photography of Daniel Schwartz. Daniel Schwartz's photographs explore human activities set against an immense range of political geography and cultural history, touching on such monumental themes as imperial warfare, ancient history, environmental collapse and the vanishing cryosphere. Tracings reveals a body of work that is humanistically motivated and anchored in reality, blurring the divide between photojournalism and art. Positioning Schwartz’s work to date in the wider history of the medium, Tracings draws together themes tackled in five monographs concerned with cultural history, political geography and the environment published by Thames & Hudson between 1986 and 2017. Essays by Beat Wismer, Giovanna Calvenzi and Carolin Emcke examine the ways Schwartz’s documentary photography intersects with the arts; look at photographic affinities and methods in Schwartz’s work, analysing the narrative of his previous books; and study Schwartz’s depiction of the individual at work, and how photographs of human activities are interwoven with photographs of nature. Tracings is not so much a retrospective as a project tracing and continuing an evolutionary line through all Schwartz’s projects to date.

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The story of the Highland clans is a gripping one, full of celebrated names and heroic deeds. It is also, as Alistair Moffat reveals, the story of a fearless people, shaped by the unique traditions and landscape of the Scottish Highlands. Here, he traces the history of the clans from their Celtic origins to the coming of the Romans, through the great battles of Bannockburn and Flodden, to the Clearances and the present day. The images bring the stories to life with historical portraits and depictions of significant events such as the battles or the Highland dances, to name but a few. The story of the clans is also about the pain of leaving, with the great emigrations to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Complete with a clan map and an alphabetical list of the clans of the Scottish Highlands, this is a must for anyone interested in the history of Scotland.

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This third, updated and expanded edition of Christiane Paul’s acclaimed book investigates key areas of digital art practice that have gained in prominence in recent years, including the emergence and impact of location-based media, interactive public installation, augmentive and mixed reality, social networking and file-sharing and tablet technologies. It explores themes raised by digital artworks, such as viewer interaction, artificial life and intelligence, political and social activism, networks and telepresence, and issues surrounding the collection, presentation and preservation of digital art. It also looks at the impact of digital techniques and media on traditional forms of art such as printing, painting, photography and sculpture, as well as exploring the ways in which entirely new forms such as internet and software art, digital installation and virtual reality have emerged as recognized artistic practices.

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Stimulate your senses, and discover the incredible benefits of natural essential oils with Aromatherapist in a Box, an instructional card set by Jo Kellett and illustrator Elin Svensson. Understand the 50 most common essential oils and their therapeutic uses with this attractive and practical box. Following the instructions on the cards, you’ll learn how to treat a host of ailments in an entirely natural—and surprisingly effective—way. The cards give you all the information you need to choose and apply the right essential oils—lavender, sandalwood, neroli, peppermint, and many more—and the book tells you how to make your own candles, massage oils, and bath salts.

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Four Seasons: Create Four Elegant Collages with the Images in this Surprising Kit is a unique introduction to the art of collage. In the same style as her trademark collage “pin-ups,” Maria Rivans presents four “seasons” with all the images and backgrounds you need to re-create them yourself; and after the satisfying process of composition, the four finished collages will work together as complementary artworks to adorn your walls. Maria provides a choice of backdrops, hundreds of surprising collage elements (which the reader cuts out themselves), and the practical advice—you bring your own spin for a unique, contemporary result.

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What should you look for when you're re-reading a draft? What are the most common mistakes first-time authors make? How can you inject excitement into flat prose? How do you make readers root for your protagonist? What verbs should you avoid, and which must you use? Why should you mix long and short sentences? This ingenious toolkit answers all these questions and hundreds more. Drawing on years of successful writing and publishing, and careful study of scores of how-to-write manuals and style guides, the Writing Coach will challenge, advise, encourage and inspire. And because the cards address universal problems of story and style, they won't just help novelists, but anyone who writes. So whether you want to create better books, blogposts, press releases, memoirs, news stories or screenplays, you'll get the coaching you need.

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Discover the calming power of the flow state with Forest Dream, a 1,000-piece circular puzzle that captures the natural beauty of the woods.   We all know flow, even if we don’t yet know what to call it: that blissful state of absorption, when you’re so engaged with what you’re doing that you don’t notice the time passing. Psychologists have discovered that this still, almost meditative condition brings us a host of mental health benefits: balance, tranquility, and stress reduction. Jigsaw puzzling is an easy way to find flow, which is why it has boomed so dramatically in recent years.   With the first of Skittledog’s Flow puzzles, illustrator Elin Svensson’s Forest Dream uses harmonious forms and colors, inspired by the forests of her native Sweden, to take the puzzler on a gentle journey to a place of calm.   In a new spin on the traditional jigsaw, this circular design, cente

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The best photo assignments from the Monocle archive, published to mark the magazine's fifteenth anniversary. Back in 2007 the first issues of Monocle magazine hit newsstands and kiosks around the globe. At its core was a pledge to commission all original photography – capturing the world on film, on the ground and in the moment. The cover of that first issue featured a Japanese helicopter pilot from the country's defence force – taken as part of a 10-day reportage assignment for both photographer and writer. In the years since, Monocle has continued in its pursuit of documenting the world through its unique lens – from embassies and residences to world leaders and cultural stars. Each issue has featured a dedicated photographic Expo section celebrating lesser-known locales, obscure events and curious characters through truly outstanding photography. Alpine wrestlers, Syrian outposts, French legionnaires, noodle-makers, game show hosts and private member’s clubs have all graced the pages. The Monocle Book of Photography draws on the best of these photographic stories from an archive a decade and a half in the making. A handsome linen bound edition with the highest quality gloss paper and printing, the book also features supporting text about the photo assignments and the stories behind them, including first hand accounts from the photographers involved.

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Among the many treasures of the al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, are hundreds of chess and other games pieces dating from the 7th to the 19th centuries ce. Intricately crafted in a rich variety of materials, including ivory, wood, ceramic, glass, jade and agate, these tiny objects are of enormous historical and artistic significance. They not only mark the evolution of familiar games into their modern forms, but also evoke the imperial palaces, military camps and herders’ tents in which they were played over many centuries, from the Sasanian period through the Islamic era in Central Asia, Iran, present-day Iraq and northern India. The chess pieces include both early figural sets and the more abstract forms that later became popular throughout the Islamic world. Dice, pachesi sets and a medieval Arabic treatise on chess complete the collection.

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Bridget Riley is one of the most important British painters of our time. Since the early 1960s, when she first gained recognition with her powerful black and white paintings, the artist has continued to explore the principles of abstraction in startling and original ways. Through her systematic engagement with colour, tone, form and structure, Riley pushes the boundaries of perception, challenging us to look at the world anew. This landmark publication brings together for the first time all of Bridget Riley’s known paintings, including well over 650 works ranging from the late 1940s to 2017. Each painting is illustrated with a full-page colour image, many of which have been sourced from the artist’s extensive archive and rarely published. Drawing on archival research and expert knowledge, the publication includes an introductory essay, explanation of materials and methods, extended exhibition history, biographical information and explanatory notes. The publication benefits from the remarkable input of Bridget Riley herself, who has been present at every stage of the project and has provided first-hand information about her work and exhibition and sales history. Bridget Riley: The Complete Paintings is a seminal visual resource and provides the most comprehensive overview of the artist’s paintings to date.

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Chronicling a journey of close observation across some of the country’s most picturesque states via the medium of 60 entertaining, informative profiles, Mexico: A Culinary Quest captures the essence and spirit of Mexican food history as well as a wide range of contemporary cooking styles. The profiles represent a cross-section of both walks of life and social classes: nuns; grande dames; campesinos; barrio residents; creatives in the arts, architecture, music, film and media; businesspeople – and, of course, great chefs. The lively profile texts are accompanied by specially commissioned photographs of both people and places, focusing the aesthetic interplay of visual and textual narratives. While food is at its heart, the lure of Mexico: A Culinary Quest is not just the featured personalities – their tables, their menus, their local specialities, their kitchens – but the country’s magnificent settings and landscape. From Yucatán to Tabasco, from Nueva Leon to Chiapas, from famous watering holes to local holes in the wall, Mexico: A Culinary Quest is a feast for both the eyes and the intellect.

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This spectacular collection of nearly 200 jewelled weapons and priceless accoutrements from the Indian subcontinent was assembled over many decades by Sheikh Nasser and Sheikha Hussah al-Sabah for The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait. Produced for aristocratic patrons who valued the arts, these richly decorated edged weapons and other princely objects bear witness to the legendary opulence and refinement of the Indian courts during the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Many incorporate decorative features originating in Central Asia, the Iranian world, China, and even Renaissance Europe, testifying to centuries of trade, travel and warfare. At the same time, these ornate and uniquely Indian weapons are masterpieces of a long and unparalleled tradition of artistic craftsmanship on the subcontinent, displaying distinctive techniques of gemstone setting, hardstone carving, enamelling and blade damascening.

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The spiral is the natural form of growth, and has become, in every culture and in every age, man’s symbol of the progress of the soul towards eternal life. As the inward-winding labyrinth, it constitutes the hero’s journey to the still centre where the secret of life is found. As the spherical vortex, spiralling through its own centre, it combines the inward and outward directions of movement. In this original and engrossing book, Jill Purce traces the significance of one man’s central symbols from the double spirals of Stone Age art and the interlocking spirals of the Chinese Yin Yang symbol to the whorls of Celtic crosses, Maori tattoos and the Islamic arabesque. Many of the superb images here were intended as objects of contemplation; for the spiral is a cosmic symbol.

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The ultimate guide for aspiring artists with a love of manga. Following How to Draw a Graphic Novel, Balthazar Pagani returns, joined by manga expert Asuka Ozumi, to demystify the process of creating manga, from the creative spark that inspires a story, to what it's like to work in a professional manga studio. Featuring the work of Italian manga illustrator Silvia Vanni, and told from the point of view of two young manga fans, How to be a Manga Artist delivers a blend of professional advice and practical tips to guide aspiring creators, including how to construct a compelling narrative, develop characters your readers will fall in love with, and the basics of printing, digital file set-up, and self-promotion. How to be a Manga Artist also includes a specially commissioned chapter by renowned Japanese illustrator Fumio Obata - who encourages readers to look beyond the aesthetics of manga and to put themselves into the story to develop a style that is entirely original and true

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Our protagonist Zach develops a love of reading thanks to the stubborn efforts of his friend Ro, who reveals the imaginative power of books. Zach isn’t convinced that books are for him – they’re too long, they’re boring and he would rather watch TV. But thanks to his friend Ro’s stubborn efforts, Zach falls for books hook, line and sinker, and loses himself in a world of dinosaurs, princesses, pirates, football and rocketships – anything and everything the library has to offer. The benefits of reading for pleasure are well researched. As well as being linked to academic attainment, reading for pleasure can increase empathy, our understanding of our own identity, and improve mental health. These outcomes are most likely when reading takes place out of free choice. Through lively rhymes and dynamic illustrations, The Library Book helps early readers understand the plethora of books available to them through their local library and encourages parents, guardians and teachers to help children find books that appeal to their personal interests. Written in a catchy rhyming style by bestselling author Gabby Dawnay, The Library Book will trigger a love of words in readers of all abilities, while Ian Morris’ inventive watercolour illustrations – which are reminiscent of two British illustration greats, Quentin Blake and Chris Riddell – make Zach’s emotional journey come alive. The combination is a picture book that will inspire a love of libraries, reading, books and words in even the most reluctant reader.

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The latest book in Shinsuke Yoshitake’s bestselling ‘Imagination’ series takes a whimsical and wildly inventive look at maps. If you get lost, it’s simple – you just look at a map, and hey presto! You can find out where you are. But might there be other things a map can show? How about treasure maps, maps of your feelings, maps of how things work…? When you think about it, a map can have a million uses. This charming new picture book by Shinsuke Yoshitake is an ingenious exploration of the wonderful world of maps and how they help to guide us.

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Using luminous HUV printing, Bang immerses readers in the awe-inspiring phenomena of the natural world. In this follow up to the highly acclaimed Glow, award-winning illustrator Jennifer N. R. Smith takes us on a breathtaking tour of the planet's most astonishing natural phenomena - from explosive volcanoes and geysers to dancing lights in the night sky. The Earth may seem solid and stationary but deep beneath its surface it is constantly changing, twisting and transforming. Its unbridled power is what generates surreal natural phenomena and dramatic landscapes, as well as devastating natural disasters. In this lavishly illustrated book, young readers will discover the explosive power of volcanoes, a cave filled with giant crystals, a hot spring pool filled with bathing snow monkeys, dinosaurs hidden between layers of rock and an incredible ecosystem that can survive the boiling hot waters around hydrothermal vents, as well as extreme weather and incredible optical phenomena, inc

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An original retelling of a classic Taoist tale. Once upon a time, there was a tiny grain of sand. Its life was rather boring, until one day it made a wish. Suddenly the grain of sand found out what it might be like to be something else – but is the grass always greener? This rendition of a classic fable tackles an age-old question: how can you be happy with your lot in a world full of temptation? With bold, contemporary illustrations and a rhythmic and witty text, this book is funny, lively and wise.

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A colourful, fact-filled introduction to the world of fish. There are 1,001 fish inside this book, and they can’t wait to show you the ocean. Follow them and meet a host of fascinating creatures that live below the waves. Dive into the deepest depths, find out why humans need to take care of the sea - and watch out for hungry predators! Awash with lively illustrations and full of fascinating facts, this book is a must for all children interested in the natural world.

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