Home Shopping: Whimsical, kitsch creations at Zoe de Las Cases

The French designer is not afraid to break the rules, and the result is cute, nostalgic home accessories.

Victoire magnetic reminder board and five magnets. Courtesy of Zoe de Las Cases
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After graduating from art school, the French designer and entrepreneur Zoe de Las Cases set up shop in Paris and online. Her virtual aisles are filled with whimsical creations - all inspired by her unconventional childhood in the beautiful Aubrac region of France, vintage photographs and domestic imagery from the 1950s.

It's a strange but fun mix and very original; I have yet to find another shop offering wares including miniature cardboard kitchen kits, cushions covered with colanders and fox masks.

Zoe finds old photographs of nostalgic scenes - smiling children on a beach holiday or cloud-watching on soft grass, three serious sisters on a picnic, a pensive housewife pegging out her laundry - then adds splashes of bright colour and pattern to the monochrome prints to give them a modern twist before printing the designs onto cushions. The results are kitsch and fabulous.

She's not afraid to break the rules. Some of her cushions are irregularly shaped, as if a child has cut around the outlines of the people with a pair of scissors. Her red colander cushion is completely mad (and somewhat at odds with the rest of the range) but I love it all the more because it's so bizarre.

Zoe also sells cute magnetic boards that feature daydreaming girls and come with fun magnets that can be anything from a radish to a fly swat. Perfect for shopping lists or invitations, they're by far the most chic memo boards I've seen in a while.

Don't miss the strange little cardboard people here, apparently designed to be propped on shelves or stuck on the wall. Crafters, beware: there are the most amazing rubber stamping kits, with fluorescent pink ink and vintage-inspired designs such as analogue cameras, moustaches, designer chairs and rollerblades.

The poster collection at Zoe de Las Cases is a delight, too, and as totally bonkers as the rest of the shop. In most of the collage-like prints, colourful pigeons perch on children's heads. Pourquoi pas? It's crazy, but I'm converted.

For shipping rates to the UAE, visit shop.zoedelascases.com or call 003 398 111 9716