Bust magazine is back in London for summer with another cracking Craftacular. And if the Christmas event was anything to go by (packed to the rafters with hipster kids and handmade fanatics), the next one will be another big hit on the crafty calendar, with over 50 handpicked stalls, demonstrations and workshops, drinks and DJs, as well as the ever-popular Lady Luck Pop Up Tea Shoppe (loving the sound of their home-baked fancies, special summer ice-cream cupcakes and homemade lemonade!).
This year Tatty Devine are back, and will be enlisting the help of Craftacular goers to set a World Record for the longest-ever charm bracelet.
If you’ve got a crafty business and are considering applying for a stall, be quick, as applications close tomorrow (Monday 13 July). Not to be missed!
Bust London Summer Craftacular Saturday 22 August 12pm until 8pm York Hall 5-15 Old Ford Road London E2 Nearest tube: Bethnal Green
Remember how I was telling you about the Barcelona shopping feature I was researching for Time Out London? Well, another local who steered me in the right direction was Marta Marginet, whose super-adorable Etsy shop and blog caught my eye a while ago.
She creates the sweetest hand-embroidered frame purses (I particularly love the simplicity of the black bunny outline on a white background) as well as hand-carved jewellery.
Check out her other creations at her Etsy shop here. Her blog is also well worth a click, with lots of beautiful photography from her recent travel adventures.
In the latest instalment of My Secret London, I caught up with Marylebone's organic beauty queen, Imelda Burke, owner and founder of Content Beauty/Wellbeing. She opened up her little black book to share some of her secret London gems...
Best for a books? Books are an ongoing obsession – our house is covered in them. We’ve got everything from art and photography books to medical encyclopaedias - it’s quite an eclectic collection. I go to Donlon Books for the hard-to-finds. It has the best photography and art collection and books on subculture. It’s now got two stores - one in Bethnal Green and one in Broadway market.
For books to give your brain a workout, I love The School of Life. Their faculty have read their way through thousands of books to bring you a carefully edited selection. They have the best categorisation of any bookshop I’ve been to. Shelves are organized in the following topics:
How to turn over a new leaf How to know you’re in love How to be green on the cheap How to be more creative How to enjoy your own company How to make the world a better place How to find pleasure in everyday things How to understand your childhood How to survive melancholy How to find a job you love How to think deeply about life How to get on with other people
Charlotte Mann's hand-drawn walls at The School of Life.
Best for vintage? The Peanut Vendor, a mid-century furniture shop based in Newington Green in Islington. It’s filled with wonderful, previously-loved pieces of furniture and homewares as well as design classics. Look out for G-Plan and Ercol classics.
Best for interiors and gifts? Rob Ryan’s store on Columbia Road, Ryantown, would have to be my favourite. From tiles to prints, glassware and now cushions – we decorated the treatment room at CONTENT BEAUTY/WELLBEING with his ‘No other planet could be as beautiful as this one’ print.
Best for stationery? I love a notebook and the best come from www.o-check.net. Their ‘Another Day, Cloudy Memory’ notebooks are sometimes available from twentytwentyone. Made from old-school heavy newsprint paper, numbered and fabric-bound.
I also love their cards, especially the ‘Spring Bird’.
Others I love are from the Monocle shop in Marylebone. Great linen-backed notebooks designed by the Monocle team in London and produced in Germany by Brandbook.
Best for kids? Jabberwockie in Islington has the best clothes, gifts and shoes for kids. Great for presents, skincare and quirky Japanese ranges. Don’t bother with the mainstream.
Best for beauty/skincare? That would be my own shop, CONTENT, of course! A selection of the best organic brands such as Dr Alkaitis and Pai Skincare and established near-natural brands like Ren and Nude. We also have one of the most extensive collections of natural perfumes and hold CONTENT wellbeing evenings once a month, which include food and wine tastings and tips for keeping healthy from our team of naturopaths.
Best London souvenir? I think the best thing to take home from London is an appreciation for the diversity living in a large city brings and the energy it creates.
Best place to eat? Saf vegan restaurant in Curtain Road.
I'm loving Tamar Mogendorff's bird houses and cages, which are hand-crafted using vintage fabrics and antique embroidery, buttons and beads. They're now available from Liberty in London.
I'm fully participating in Park Life on Friday evening (Blur's playing in Hyde Park!), otherwise I'd be making a mad dash to the Emma Cook sample sale. It sounds truly amazing, and will act as a tasty prelude to her upcoming collection for Topshop (out end of July). Hopefully there will still be enough good stuff kicking around on Saturday morning. See you there!
London’s been sweltering in a mini heatwave over the past few days, and thoughts have inevitably turned to air-conditioning (the Tube is finally getting it in 2010, but until then it’s industrial-sized fans, inane and hopelessly pointless hot weather warnings and bottles of water), icecream (I do love the Mr Whippy van on Tottenham Court Road) and bikinis.
Yep, swimsuit season is upon us, and if you’re looking for a particularly flattering one, you may like to check out this week’s issue of Time Out (it’s the one with Blur on the cover!) for my top five picks of London’s best (apologies for shameless plug). One of them is by London/Australian brand Jemma Jube, pictured in this post.
These four amazing campaign images are the collaborative result of an Aussie team, and the illustrious credits go to: concept and creative direction by Mel Kier; photography by Mel Kier and Liz Ham; retouching by Grace Testa at Studio Twenty4; styling by Mel Kier; make-up by Natasha Severino, Di Dusting, Aimie Feibig; hair by Sophie Roberts and Di Dusting; and models Lucy Edwards, Emma Booth, Candice Lake, Vivi Valentine, Lorelei Lee, Judy and Jessie.
Jemma Jube is available at Miss Lala’s Boudoir in London. Miss Lala’s Boudoir 18 Monmouth Street London WC2H 9HB Tel. 020 7836 6670 Nearest tube: Covent Garden/Leicester Square. Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
