Skip to content
confessions of a design geek confessions of a design geek

Award-winning UK design blog established in 2010 to discover, champion and inspire new designers.

  • Home
  • product
  • furniture
  • features
  • About
  • Contact
confessions of a design geek
confessions of a design geek

Award-winning UK design blog established in 2010 to discover, champion and inspire new designers.

guest blog:: port eliot festival by clare howdle

Katie, August 6, 2010June 16, 2020
This article was published 16 years

You might think British festivals are all about the mud, pop-up tents and plastic pints – leaving little space for beautiful design. You’d be wrong. This year’s Port Eliot Festival refused to bow down to stereotypes, despite the intermittent rain, which tried its damnedest to turn the site into a mudslide.

flags at port eliot festival (hipstamatic photo: clare howdle)
Flags at Port Eliot Festival (Photo: Clare Howdle)

These stunning silk flags billowed weekend-long; overlooking…

…the delightfully tucked away cocktail tent, decked out with vintage furniture and reconditioned lighting. But it was Port Eliot’s cabaret tent that really took ‘festival chic’ to a new level; dressed to create a quirky, opulent and luxurious extension of the Port Eliot stately home; under canvas.

port eliot cabaret tent (hipstamatic photo: clare howdle)
Port Eliot Cabaret Tent (Photo: Clare Howdle)

Swathes of velvet and shimmering glints from the swaying chandeliers falling across the floor evoked the feeling of a 1940s boutique London underground club where the cocktails flowed freely and heels kicked out to the saxophone’s song.

Well done to the Port Eliot Festival team for taking interior design exterior for the weekend.

Oh and talking of brilliant design, who can resist a tipi?

tipis at the port eliot festival (hipstamatic photo: clare howdle)
Tipis at the Port Eliot Festival (Photo: Clare Howdle)

Clare Howdle is a writer; a word smith; a self-confessed ‘alphabet floozy’; living and working in Cornwall – and will hopefully be bringing more sneaky peaks into Cornish design over the coming months. Amongst other things, she runs tell tales; a monthly night for readers, writers and listeners; and writes a blog for Drift – which in her words is  “surf, but very, very stylish”.

Clare shot the pictures for this post on her  hipstamatic.

(Vested interest alert: Clare is my step-sister, but I hope you’ll agree; also a very talented writer.)

This article was published 16 years
Blog Confessions of a Design Geek caberetclare howdleexteriorflagsguest bloggerhipstamaticport eliot festivaltell talestipiwords like pictures

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

Confessions of a Design Geek

out and about :: pick me up, 2014

May 5, 2014June 16, 2020

This article was published 12 years Contemporary graphic arts festival, Pick Me Up, is back at Somerset House for the fifth year running. I popped in to have to look and found all this lovely stuff… Pick Me Up is a fun, informal way to explore graphic art and an…

Read More
Confessions of a Design Geek

out and about: the temporium

December 11, 2010June 16, 2020

I went to London’s latest pop-up design shop; The Temporium, a collaboration between Denzeen, Deborah Spencer and Alice Breed. It featured some of my favourite designers, so I was very excited – and I wasn’t disappointed.

Read More
Confessions of a Design Geek

Katherine Plumb’s textiles are inspired by playgrounds

August 24, 2016June 16, 2020

This article was published 10 years Collarged is a collection of 17 printed textile designs featuring oversized abstract forms in bright primary colours inspired by playgrounds, skate parks and climbing walls. “This collection works to inject a feeling of recreation into interior environments through the use of strong, graphic pattern…

Read More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

©2026 confessions of a design geek | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes