I'm a migratory chick, who's made her home in London after flying her Sydney coop. Wee Birdy is my exploratory field guide to the good stuff in my immediate London hood and sparkling treasures on the horizon.
My flight path covers indie London shops (and occasional flirtation with the High Street), British design, the highlights of local food and snapping people in dandy outfits on the streets.
When I'm not flitting the highways and byways - I'm taking flights of fancy with a click and exploring niche elements of fashion, beauty, design and handmade.
Top Bird flew her native coop of Sydney, Australia, in February 2007, where she has been an editor of glossy magazines for the past nine years. She is currently nesting in London as a freelance journalist.
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I first came across the wonderfully quirky work by London-based jewellery designer Buddug Humphreys at the market stall she shares with Jessie Chorley at Broadway Market. It’s difficult to resist the charms of her teapot and teacup enamel jewellery range, which were inspired by her grandmother’s tea set. They’re also available to purchase online from her website or from Lapin and Me.
Hand foil-stamped birdy plant labels, 40p each, by London designer Kim Jenkins at Broadway Market. Non-Londoners can also buy them online here.
From Talk About the Park Ladybird book, 50p, from The Ladybird Lady at Broadway Market.
If today is anything to go by, London is in for some gorgeous Autumnal weather this weekend. I'm heading to Hampstead Heath for lots of kicking of leaves, throwing of frisbee and hunting for shiny brown conkers and chestnuts. Perfect.
I found these gorgeous hand-made paper Valentines at Broadway Market on Saturday. *Swooon!* They're like modern-day Victorian Valentine's greetings, with strips of lace paper doilies adding a decorative touch. I'm not sure if this stall will be a regular at Broadway Market (since V-Day comes just once a year) but it was just next door to the divine Violet Cakes stall.
Special thanks to LondonDaily Photo for the use of this photo, which was much nicer than mine!
For more shops and market stalls on Broadway Market, click here.
The perfect journal is tangible (ie. not online), tactile and has lots of hidey-holes to stash the assorted paper detritus one accumulates over a 12-month period (think letters, bills, bad jokes from Christmas crackers, photos, business cards and difficult-to-decipher scrawled notes).
London-based designer Jessie Chorley makes altered journals from the body of an old book, and creates “new” blank pages from an assortment of vintage and recycled papers, as well as envelopes, stitched pockets and old-school typewritten messages and reminders. Beautiful and handy.
Jessie’s books can be purchased online, or you can buy them from her wonderfully whimsical stall, Un-Petit-Cadeau, at Broadway Market in Hackney on Saturdays.
Jessie Chorley
Un-Petit-Cadeau
Saturdays, Broadway Market
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
Nearest tube: Bethnal Green Station
Nearest train: London Fields BR
For more market stalls and shops on Broadway Market, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.
(p.s. while you're there, check out the exquisite bird-themed jewellery by Buddug Humphreys.)
Carrying on from my raving craft post is this charming little shop in the heart of ever-hip Broadway Market in London’s East End, which if anything, supports my new motto, “Craft is Cool, OK”? (Maybe I should run up some screen-printed t-shirts in bold black type, Katharine Hamnett-style…)
Fabrications is alternately an artist-run gallery, shop and studio for in-house designer Barley Massey. It stocks an excellent range of unique, eco-friendly products and homewares that are hand-crafted by local artists and designers.
One wall of the shop features displays of quirky greeting cards, stationery and badges made by Hackney locals, accompanied by a profile on each artist. Keep an eye out for Lucy Jane Batchelor’s sweet retro-style range including tooth fairy envelope cards for children and her clever Missing Button badges.
The nice thing about Fabrications is that stock is constantly updated, so you’re likely to find new quirky gems all the time. I like the fabric pouffes bound by knotted rope using traditional sea-faring techniques (£150) and The Old Broad Bean (the Queen) Cockney jewellery, featuring faces of the royal family (and er, Dodi) on dried beans. Prices range from £3 for a badge to £30 for a necklace or cufflinks.
The other highlight of the shop is the wall of rainbow-coloured yarns (wools for winter and cottons for summer) and a small range of vintage yarn and hand-spun yarn with lanolin. There is also a wide variety of knitting and sewing supplies, including super-sized knitting needles.
Beginners can get fully kitted out here, with knitting packs complete with instructions and a pack of wool, as well as customised sewing kits for £2.50 with basic embroidery stitches. Or you could join one of the regular knitting classes.
When I visited, I found vintage knitting patterns for babywear and some gorgeous ‘80s pattern books including designs by Jean Paul Gaultier and Alaia. I also like the cute knitted goodies, from traditional Bakewell tarts and “I heart Hackney” purses (British souvenir alert!) to potted cactuses (bonus: not prickly at all!).
Don’t leave Fabrications without checking out in-house textile designer Barley Massey’s ingenious range of eco-friendly homewares. Barley recycles materials and waste such as bicycle inner tubes and vintage shirt ties to create beautiful and long-lasting cushions, pouffes, rugs, mats and runners. Amongst many of her commissions was the infamous Lost Vagueness tent at Glastonbury in 2003. Just imagine: your own piece of fabulous festival fun at home (minus the mud).
Fabrications
7 Broadway Market
London E8 FPH
Tel. 0207 275 8043
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
Opening hours:
Tuesday-Saturday 12noon-5pm
Or call for appointment.
Nearest tube: Bethnal Green Station
Nearest train: London Fields BR
For more shops on Broadway Market, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.
What’s this? A Bratz-Free Zone? Well, I never. But it’s true, and this toy shop in Hackney is still pulling the kids (and the parents) in with its unique stock of locally-produced goods and products sourced from niche companies around the world.
It’s the perfect destination for picking up a cool gift for your favourite under-12, with a plethora of innovative and educational toys. While this might sound like death-by-dodgy-craft to your average 10-year-old, I’d dare them to not find the love for a remote-controlled moon light (that surreptitiously teaches them the phases of the moon while they’re NOT going to sleep). Nifty.
And I reckon the African xylophone and bongo drums (£16.50) will also do a bangin’ job in extracting them from the X-Box. Create your own Partridge family, noughties-style. Rock on.
The hero products of the store (and hence its namesake) are the collection of beautifully designed German wooden trikes, bikes and walkers. But if you’re on a tight budget or after quality party bag fillers, look out for the RSPCA animal figurines from £2 and the collection of felt fruit & veg for £1.
I like the woven retro-style mini saucer chair from Africa, and the clever range of felt creatures made by a local mum who brings to life her son’s imaginative drawings.
The other big drawcard is the glorious range of children’s fashion, which features many locally-produced brands, like Edge & Jo, a Hackney-based co-op that makes batik-print frocks and matching pants. Christa Davis is another local who makes an ultra-sweet range of vintage and Liberty print dresses for little girls.
If you’re after babywear, look out for the small rack of woollen and cotton hand-knitted pieces. Apparently a Scottish Gran is largely responsible for this adorable range, which includes knitted cardies, all-in-ones and an ultra-cute striped knit pinafore. There’s also a small collection of vintage baby clothes.
Adding to the strong sense of community is the light-filled space downstairs that’s available to hire for parties and groups.
Buggies & Bikes
23 Broadway Market
London E8 FPH
Tel. 0207 923 2408
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
Opening hours:
Monday-Saturday 10am-6.30pm
Sunday 11am-5pm
Nearetst tube: Bethnal Green Station
Nearest train: London Fields BR
For more shops on Broadway Market, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.
It was (a) sight and (b) smell that lured me to Rebel Rebel some time ago. Wandering along Broadway Market one Saturday morning I discovered a sandwich board out the front of a shop which announced “Titania sleeps”. Intrigued, I turned to face a gorgeous window display of blooms that looked as though it had indeed been transported from a Shakespearean fairy’s moonlit forest garden. Then I inhaled … and discovered the true fragrance of fresh roses.
Rebel Rebel is a flower shop which delights in stimulating the senses of its customers, as well as its long and impressive list of corporate clients (like Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, L’Oreal, the BAFTA’s TV Awards, et al). But what I like most about their work is how they use the delicate and tiny flowers from a variety of herbs (such as mint, dill, fennel, rosemary, oregano and chamomile) to add texture and interest to their bouquets and arrangements. It’s an unusual and distinctive touch which adds to that all-important unstructured and “just picked from the garden” feel.
The roses, are of course, the hero bloom of the store. Rebel Rebel has a knack for selecting big, full-bodied roses with loads of petals and a delicious fragrance. When I visited, the deep blue-purple of some new hydrangeas were also impressive, as were the row of blood-red gladiolis in the window.
The store also stocks a small selection of quality cards, as well as a range of French Manuel Canovas luxury scented candles. The most popular fragrance is Nuit de Serendip, which boasts a staggering list of ingredients including freesia, tuberose, cinnamon, clove, peach, cherry, plum and vanilla. Can I hear the fairies beckoning …?
Rebel Rebel
5 Broadway Market
London E8 FPH
Tel. 020 7254 4487
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Friday 10am-6pm
Saturday 10am-5pm
Nearest tube: Bethnal Green Station
Nearest train: London Fields BR
For more shops and market stalls on Broadway Market, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.
I was brought up on a steady diet of English Ladybird books (amongst other classics like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Dr Suess, Where the Wild Things Are) and I can still recall the 1970s illustrations from the "Learning with Mother" and "Talkabout" series’ that captured and entertained me as a toddler (funnily enough, pretty tea sets, delicious cakes, a bag of sweets in shiny wrappers). As a consequence, I was also a child growing up in Australia who knew how to play conkers. (Not a terribly useful piece of knowledge in a beach-side regional town.)
So I was just a tad excited to discover The Ladybird Lady’s stall at Broadway Market, with a terrific selection of hard-to-find vintage Ladybird books (from £1 to £10), as well as vintage buttons, toy cars, kids’ games and vintage door handles. It’s a bit of a bower bird’s nest, but a very lovely and nostalgic one.
The Ladybird Lady
Saturdays, Broadway Market
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
Nearest tube: Bethnal Green Station
Nearest train: London Fields BR
For more market stalls and shops on Broadway Market, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.
Birds + bags = Heaven.
Kate Sheridan’s handbags and accessories are a highlight at Broadway Market.
Her current line-up includes a collection of fabric and leather bags and purses in two different ultra-sweet bird prints: swans ‘n’love hearts and a subtle rainbow print of little birds, mushrooms, leaves and flowers. The wooden bird charms hanging from the handles are a cute detail.
I love the folky embroidered belts with wooden buckles; skinny leather belts in red, yellow, green and blue (perfect for jeans) as well as the little leather purses in delicious jewel colours.
Kate Sheridan
Saturdays, Broadway Market
Nearest tube: Bethnal Green Station
Nearest train: London Fields BR
Sundays, Spitalfields Market
Nearest tube: Liverpool Street
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
For more shops and market stalls on Broadway Market, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.
Riding on the wave of cupcake mania, Violet is a sunny stall with delicious baked goods at Broadway Market. Arranged on pretty vintage cake stands and plates, these sweet concoctions not only look gorgeous, but they are doubly delicious.
The generous swirl of sublime buttercream icing is the secret to these cupcakes’ success, with flavours changing with the seasons. On this mid-July Saturday, the buttercream selection ranges from rose water & nectarine to cherry; honey and lavender; elderflower with candied elderflower; chocolate; raspberry and strawberry. Prices are 70p for mini and £2 for large cupcakes.
Other treats such as fresh ginger and molasses cake, elderflower marshmallows, coconut macaroons, organic candied orange peel and chocolate chip cookies added an extra non-cupcake-y dimension to this lavish banquet of sugar. Sweet.
Violet
Saturdays, Broadway Market
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
Nearest tube: Bethnal Green Station
Nearest train: London Fields BR
For more shops and market stalls on Broadway Market, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.
Labels: London food, London markets, Shopping in E8, Shopping in East London, Shopping on Broadway Market
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