Archive: Jan 2009

1. Wee couture finds: Chanel

   January 30, 2009 5:54 pm 10 Comments

    
   

   I'm just catching up on this week's couture shows on Style.com, and was wondering if we could take a moment to appreciate the genius that is Karl Lagerfeld. (But really? I'm just looking for a good excuse to post these incredible pics from the Chanel 2009 Spring/Summer haute couture show...)

   

   I do love the graphic simplicity of an all-white collection, except Lagerfeld's pieces were anything BUT graphically simple. At a closer glance, the most streamlined and simplistic designs featured embroidered, lace, appliqued and beaded embellishments with the most incredible attention to detail. (And have I told you how much I adore pleated chiffon?)

   

   

   And the exquisitely-crafted white paper headdresses by Katsuya Kamo sent me into a dozen different daydreams about alternate bridal headgear. If I had my time again I'd love to get hold of one of these seriously dramatic numbers.

   

   

   

   And this one looks like it's a creation straight out of that iconic scene from Antonioni's Blow Up...

   
   

   
   I'm also inspired by the super-pretty peaches-and-cream make-up, which is toughened ever-so-slightly with a subtle-yet-dramatic flick of black eyeliner. The use of thematic white eyeliner and white shadow also provides a nice contrast to the black liner. It's an easy look to play up or down on a night out - or indeed, your wedding day.

   
   
   p.s. LOVING these white mesh leather driving gloves...
   
   
   

   All images from Style.com.
   

2. Wee Valentine’s finds: The tiniest card

   January 29, 2009 7:25 pm 9 Comments

   

   I do love a good gimmick, but the World’s Smallest Postal Service goes way beyond the novelty-factor with the most heart-stoppingly adorable and beautifully-crafted Valentine.

   

   The San Francisco-based service is available online, and will transcribe up to 120 words of your (most romantic, heart-felt) prose into a teeny-tiny 1x1.5 inch letter. It will then be placed into an equally minuscule letter which is then hand-addressed, stamped and sealed with a miniature wax seal with your initial on it.

   
   

   To ensure your World’s Smallest Valentine doesn’t get lost in the post, it’s beautifully packaged – with a magnifying glass - in a larger envelope and sent to the address of your choice.

   

   Watch the whole magical process here...

   
   Worlds Smallest Postal Service (WSPS) from Leafcutter Designs on Vimeo.

   Best to order now for Valentine’s Day to ensure it arrives on time.
   World’s Smallest Valentine, US$8, from Leafcutter Designs.

3. Wee Valentine’s finds: The perfume

   6:37 pm 2 Comments

    
   

   I know … a bottle of perfume isn’t the most wildly original or personal Valentine’s Day gift. That’s why the department store counter is probably best avoided at this time of the year. However, the extremely clever people at Ormonde Jayne, arguably London’s best-kept secret perfumery, have got Feb 14 all wrapped up with their genius engraving service.

   
   

   What I wouldn’t do for a hand-blown glass flacon of their signature parfum with my initials engraved onto the exquisite gold and glass stopper … heaven! And I’d happily settle for Ormonde Woman, which was described as “truly great” and awarded five stars by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez in their recently-published fragrance handbook, Perfumes: The Guide.

   But it doesn’t come cheap. A bottle of parfum with personalised engraving will set you back £130. Allow five working days for engraving and delivery in the UK and two weeks for international post.

   Ormonde Jayne
   12 The Royal Arcade
   28 Old Bond Street
   London W1S 4SL
   Tel. 020 7499 1100
   Nearest Tubes: Piccadilly and Green Park.
   Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
   
   Opening hours:
   Monday to Saturday 10am – 6pm

   For more shops in Mayfair, click here.

4. Wee Valentine’s finds: The chocolate

   5:51 pm 1 Comment

   
   My tip for V-Day this year? Head to Melt in Notting Hill for a line-up of chocolate treats that are quite simply some of the best you’ll find in London.

    

   I’m a fan of their award-winning sea-salted caramels, but for Feb 14 I'm loving the sound of Melt’s Message in a Heart (£19.50), which allows you to hide a secret note inside one of their premium dark chocolate hearts. But then again, I’m just about swooning over the sound of dark chocolate twigs decorated with rose-scented sugar petals (Rose Matchsticks, £15). Oh my…

   Melt
   59 Ledbury Road
   London W11 2AA
   Nearest Tube: Notting Hill Gate
   Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
   
   Opening hours:
   Monday to Saturday 9am-6pm
   Sunday 11am-4pm
   
   For more chocolates and sweets in London, click here.

5. Shopping in London: Mimi

   January 27, 2009 9:16 pm 6 Comments

   
   Whilst I’ve posted about London-based designer Mimi Berry’s glorious leather purses in the past, her Cheshire Street shop deserves a full Wee Birdy tour. After all, this is the only place that houses the Central Saint Martins graduate’s entire collection, ranging from the perforated leather Maude coin purse to the luxe gold Frankie bag.

   

   

   Offering an alternative to flashy trend-led “It bags”, the typical Mimi bag manages to appear simultaneously modern and retro. This is due both to Berry’s use of butter-soft Italian leather hide in a range of vibrant colours and her classic, timeless designs.

    

   

   This modern/vintage aesthetic is played out in her East London shop, with her jewel-toned purses displayed on top of old-fashioned glass counters. But it’s her collection of sturdy, functional satchels that are getting all the attention right now, including the roomy oilskin Baggins (currently reduced from £177 to £150) and the smaller leather Elsie (£200). I’m also loving the Charlie bag with its smart brass chain straps.

   

   Most recently, Berry collaborated with London artist Kim Jenkins on a range of leather passport covers. And while it’s true that nobody needs a leather passport cover, it’s very hard to resist Jenkins’ retro jetset-inspired foil stamped designs.

   

   Which leads us to the extremely good timing of the Mimi sale – in store and online now. A perfectly good excuse to buy British, don't you think?

   Mimi
   40 Cheshire Street
   London E2 6EH
   Tel. 0207 729 6699
   Nearest Tube: Liverpool Street
   Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
   
   Opening hours:
   Tuesday to Sunday 10am – 6pm
   Sunday 11am – 6pm
   
   For more shops on Cheshire Street, click here.

6. Birdy pick of the week

   January 26, 2009 11:25 am 15 Comments

   
   Do I need a good reason to feature kitsch crocheted budgies on this blog? Not really. BUT, it is Australia Day. Have a good one, Antipodean birdies. Budgie crochet pattern, US$5, from Queensland-based Crochetroo's Etsy shop. Check out the lorries, too!

7. Vote for Wee Birdy in the 2009 Bloggies!

   January 23, 2009 5:41 pm 22 Comments

   Woooh, top news, chickens! Wee Birdy has been nominated as “Best Kept Secret Weblog” for the 2009 Weblog Awards, aka the Bloggies!

   I’d been super-chuffed if you could take the time to vote for Wee Birdy along with your other favourite blogs. Just scroll to the right on the voting page - Best Kept Secret Weblog is near the end.

   And congratulations to Wee Birdy friend and bloggy supporter Girl with a Satchel who has been nominated for “Best Australian and New Zealand Weblog”.

   Check out the other finalists and get voting at 2009.bloggies.com.

8. Shopping in London: Browns’ new shoe store

   4:08 pm 10 Comments

   

   What’s that you hear? Oh don’t mind me - that’s just the pounding of my wee heart as I race to post these pics of Brown’s brand-spanking new shoe store, which opens its doors on Brook Street tomorrow.

   As London’s very first dedicated shoe boutique to carry a variety of up-market international designers as well as emerging talent, Browns has created what sounds like the ultimate shoe experience with repair services, bespoke shoes and upcoming “special events”. The downstairs mens’ floor comes complete with its own wireless laptop service and a line-up of designers including Commes des Garcons, Lanvin, Raf Simons and Rick Owens.

   

   And in a move that will compete with Liberty’s new-ish designer shoe floor, Browns will be carrying its own line-up of exclusive designs by the likes of Balenciaga, Balmain, Rupert Sanderson and Martin Margiela.

   It all sounds defiantly anti-recession to me, which is reinforced by Browns’ comment that shoes are its “fastest growing category, having doubled year on year since their introduction two years ago.” 

   That may be so, but I’ll be desperately trying to hang on to my pennies come opening day tomorrow.

   Browns Shoes
   59 Brook Street
   London W1K 4HS
   Tel. 020 7514 0000
   
   Nearest tube: Bond Street
   Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
   Read more about shops in Mayfair.
   

   Not-so-wee heels pictured: Marni coloured platforms with bow, £390.

   All images courtesy of Browns.
   

9. Birdy pick of the week, part 2

   11:56 am 3 Comments

   
   

   
   I loved this so much I couldn't resist posting a Birdy Pick of the Week Part 2, as it ticks both my tea and bird obsessions. Tea cup bracelet, featuring a pea-green glaze and tiny birdy illustration, £24, by Bethan Lloyd Worthington at The Shop Floor Project.

10. Sponsored birdy post: Hello!Lucky

    January 22, 2009 10:50 pm 4 Comments

    
    Three cheers for the newest addition to the Wee Birdy nest, Hello!Lucky. As regular readers may recall, I’m quite a fan of their endearing retro-inspired designs and stunning letterpress invitations, which have also captured the attention of U.S. glossies including Martha Stewart Weddings, InStyle, Real Simple, Marie Claire and InStyle Weddings.

     

    Based in San Francisco - with another office in London - Hello!Lucky offers some of the very best stationery available online, including the most unique wedding invitations, greeting cards, personalised stationery and baby announcements.

    

    Founded by sisters and best friends Eunice and Sabrina Moyle in 2003, (that’s them looking gorgeous below) the company is ultimately renowned for its unique personalised letterpress stationery. Read all about their letterpress process here. But if you're on a tight budget, their new digital printing line is a more affordable option.

    
    Eunice and Sabrina, sans-moustache
    
    
    Eunice and Sabrina, with moustache
    

    Hello!Lucky just launched a unique range of destination wedding invitations featuring exclusive designs by another Wee Birdy favourite, Lab Partners. Naturally, the London invitation featuring the Routemaster, scooters and Eros is my pick of the bunch, but other fabulous wedding destinations include New York, Hawaii and San Francisco.

    
     
    

    The website is also the go-to for the most adorable range of Valentine’s Day cards. I love the brilliant Simpsons-inspired “I choo-choo choose you” card designed by Kate Sutton (a reference to the card Lisa gave a rather lovesick Ralph Wiggum).

    

    If you’re more of a crafty type and like making your own cards, you should check out their new-ish DIY book Handmade Hellos. Giving naff paper-crafting QVC-style a wide berth, the book is packed with loads of cool card projects to inspire a “wardrobe” of your very hand-made designs. And while you're at it, you might like to have a peek at Hello!Lucky's crafty and design-inspired blog - it's quite addictive reading.

    
    

11. Happy Inauguration Day!

    January 20, 2009 10:54 am 11 Comments

    
    I'm going to be glued to BBC1 at 4pm London time today to watch Barack Obama being sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. What a happy day.

    Obama memorabilia, or "Obamarabilia", will reach fever pitch in Washington DC today. Over on Etsy a search for "Obama" currently yields 3076 results. I think handmade is the most sincere and really comes from the heart.

    The hand-screenprinted tea-towels in the photo were actually gifts from friends of friends in New York. We had never met F and J before, yet we were invited to their Brooklyn Heights apartment on Christmas Eve for the most amazing home-made Japanese feast. At the end of dinner, J produced these gifts of tea-towels she had hand screen-printed herself. I was so touched by this act of kindness to strangers - and ultimately, of hope.

12. Dover Street Market’s Jan 09 Tachiagari

    January 19, 2009 7:16 pm 5 Comments

    

    On Friday I headed over to Mayfair for the press preview of Dover Street Market’s bi-annual Tachiagari, and a first-look at the new Spring/Summer 09 collections and designer spaces.

    

    Nowhere, the new basement space by Nigo and Jun Takahashi, was nowhere near finished and in a state of frantic disarray when I arrived just after 3pm. But judging by today’s new website pics, the blue and white version of their tiny Harajuku shop was up and running by the time the doors opened later that night for the Nigo book-signing. Just as well, as the orderly queue of fans braving the icy London temperatures outside DSM’s front door were a testament to Nigo’s cult following.

    

    Taking the lift up to the third floor, I was delighted, as ever, by Alber Elbaz’s cheeky new Lanvin space portraying two office girls having an IM conversation about the “sublime Lanvin dress on sale” at Dover Street Market. Oh so post-modern. I was also quite taken by the sparkling new Lanvin baubles tumbling out of their antique desk drawers, like the pearl and grosgrain ribbon bracelet and bejewelled brooches. And the equally covetable metallic ballet flats in pink and blue were also calling my name.

    

    The new Stephen Jones space on the third floor also caught my eye, with his new Spring/Summer collection of hats hanging from striking fluoro branches. I really love his new headband featuring a super-sized black opaque plastic rose.

    

    Moving downstairs to the second floor, I discovered that the Les Trois Garçons gang had transformed the shoe space with a collection of their antique treasures. To be honest, I was expecting a veritable cacophony of taxidermied animals and mounted moose heads, like the ones decorating their (rather excellent) Club Row restaurant. Similarly, I was surprised that none of their hanging vintage handbags made the final line-up at DSM. I really could have gotten stuck into them!

    

    I also came across newcomer Pokit’s space and their collection of made-to-measure corduroy tailored suits. The women’s skirt suit features feminine curves that are quite sexy without being revealing. Check them out on the fourth floor.
    
    All images courtesy of Dover Street Market.

    Click here for my shop tour at Dover Street Market.
    Click here to read about Rose Bakery at Dover Street Market.

13. Birdy pick of the week

    10:24 am 3 Comments

    
    
    
    

    Bird measuring spoons, US$92, and Bird Cheese Markers, US$52 from Beehive Kitchenware. (Thanks to Izzie for the tip!)
    
    Available in London from:
    Lucas Bond
    45 Bedford Hill
    London SW12 9EY
    Tel. 0208 675 9300
    Nearest tube: Balham
    Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
    Click here for more birdies.