smashing: very good, excellent; smash: break to pieces, success
chintz: calico cloth, often glazed, printed with flowers, originally from India;
chintz: also pottery decorated with a dense all-over pattern.

Chintzy fabric and china have suffered from a poor image but maker and up-cycler Janine Nelson is on a quest to bring give them new life.

Smashing Chintz mosaics are intricately made from damaged vintage china. The technique of using broken shards of china plates to create a decorative surface with is called 'pique assiette' and the Victorians used to do it (including Janine's great grandmother).

Inspired by the countryside, children's book illustrations, textiles and china patterns Janine creates a menagerie of chintzy animals - from cows, hares and birds to cats and dogs.  The mosaics become wearable with the addition of a brooch clasp orJanine might place them onto a carefully selected vintage plate.