In part two of "My Secret London", Urban Junkies Style Editor Martina McHowat tells us her favourite London destinations for gifts, stationery, beauty and food. It will make you dream of Icelandic mud and stationery with tiny beefeaters…
Best for interiors and gifts?
Lifestyle Bazaar on Newburgh Street always has a cool selection of lifestyle bits. Urban Outfitters and Muji are good for knick-knacky gifts, and the Magma product shop next to the book store is great for unusual finds. And I’m looking forward to seeing what H&M does with its homeware offering, slated to arrive in February.
H&M homewares range.
Best for stationery?
I do love Liberty’s stationery department, as much for their own line of note cards, diaries and address books, as well as the range of designers they stock. Smythson do great correspondence cards and stationery which you can have personalised, and their current Giles collaboration is a fashion-lover’s dream, with design sketches on the front and neon pink and green tissue-lined envelopes.
Best for beauty?
I get facials at Elemis off Bond Street, which is like a little sanctuary in the middle of potentially the busiest shopping district – not that you'd know it! It’s all quite South-East Asian feeling which I love, and Amanda gives the best tri-enzyme resurfacing facials – sounds hardcore but is really gentle.
I also love Sjal skincare, you can get it on www.cultbeauty.co.uk (also love their website, finally a site you can believe in completely, full of things properly tried out and reviewed).
And if you’re ever in Iceland, try out the hot springs at Blue Lagoon which have pots of this amazing silica clay mask dotted around – you just slather it on and float about. They’re doing it in tubes now for us poor souls who can’t be there in person.
I’ve just come back from Compton Hair in Covent Garden where I tried out their Brazilian Keratin Hair treatment, and it may well change my GHD-dependent life – after leaving it in for three days, my usually wavy, frizz-prone hair is down to a quick morning blow dry and it still looks straight and soft. I didn’t think it was possible!
Other London favourites?
I’m a bit obsessed with Columbia Flower Market on Sundays. The prices are just silly compared to what you’d pay in town, and the street is just stunning filled with every imaginable kind of tree, bush, shrub and stem.
Even better though, is that one side of the street is choc-full of some of the coolest little boutiques in the city; Cerise for jewellery, Suck & Chew for vintage-style sweets in jars and pocket money bits and Treacle for cupcakes and cool kitchen/homewares. I also love Far Global and Nom for the collections of Far Eastern antiques and bits & bobs. They have that lovely incense-y smell and everything inside is authentic and comes with a story.
Best London souvenir?
I try and stay as far away from the tacky souvenir shops you tend to find down the dodgy end of Oxford Street; nobody needs a Union Jack G-String. Instead, try Muji’s ‘London in a bag’ full of wooden London landmarks like the London Eye and St Paul's, and now they’re doing rather fabulous little ‘London transport in a bag’ containing little painted wooden buses, black cabs and tubes.
I also like Julie Bell’s stationery, which come in beautiful boxes and have London icons embossed on them – beefeaters, buses or phone boxes.
Best for food?
Sophie’s Steak House on the Fulham Road – it’s a lovely, homey but chic feeling place with no reservation policy, so you turn up, get given a number which flashes up on a board above the bar, and wait over delicious cocktails. Lots of exposed brickwork, lightbulbs hanging loose from the ceiling and old train carriage luggage racks above the tables. And it’s not unusual to see Sophie herself wandering around serving steak, which by the way, is divine. They’re just opened in Covent Garden too. Go!
For all addresses and a Wee Birdy map of Martina's secret London, click here.
Check out Martina's London Fashion Week coverage at Urban Junkies, which includes designer interviews, backstage images and a competition to win the Ultimate Swag Bag.
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.
To kick-start this brand-new series, we asked Jess Gearheart, creative director and blog editor of uber-cool new online women's beauty destination, Cult Beauty, to share her London secrets with Wee Birdy readers. And my, she's really spilled on the good stuff … Dig in, my dears.
Favourite London shops?
"One of my favourites is now closed. It was Mootich shoe shop on Elizabeth Street. Katarina's shoes were hand-crafted and stunningly gorgeous and the little studio was so welcoming and Dickensian in size and feel … perfect.
Sari shops on Brick Lane and Southall for their endless vibrant fabrics and row upon row of sparkling bangles.
Huntsman and Henry Poole on Savile Row because they're some of the last true tailors left on a street that is swiftly filling up with posers trading falsely on the Savile Row name.
Ormonde Jayne because it's diminutive and black and filled with marvellous scents.
The Village Deli in Highgate because they make American-style coffee."
Best for a bargain?
"A bargain? Does it exist in London? I always make a beeline for the 'Buy Now or Regret It Forever' rack at Topshop (in the back right corner of the basement) and have bought some of my coolest pieces there. If you can stomach the insanity of the sample sales, check out Fashion Confidential or Urban Junkies for the best and most up-to-date listings. The Century Theatre in Westbourne Grove always has something going on (Paul & Joe, Temperley, Matthew Williamson et al) and so does The Music Room on South Molton Lane (i.e. Hermes, Prada)."
A Music Room sale
Best for vintage?
"Annie's on Camden Passage for dresses and Blondie/Absolute Vintage on Commercial Street for accessories and shoes. Go to charity shops in the country for real bargains because you won't find them in London. Vintage does not come cheap in the Big Smoke. Actually, now that I think about it, Change of Heart in Crouch End is great for vintage finds, as it's off the beaten track. I found the most beautiful DVF dress with tags still on marked down to 100 quid. Still, like I said, not terribly cheap. You could also try The Button Lady in Hampstead."
Best for fashion?
"Matches for Sum Fortune shoes. Spitalfields Market for one-off dresses and jackets. COS for simple, essential pieces like ballet flats, shift dresses, vests and jeans. And they sell slips! GAP for summer sandals (because they have a brilliant European design team). Wolford on South Molton Street for the best opaque tights. You can buy an entire, beautiful wardrobe from those stores and, although it's not, it'll look super expensive and put-together."
Sum Fortune shoes.
Best for jewellery?
"Blondie for vintage jewels; Kabiri on Marylebone High Street for precious and semi-precious stones; and Tatty Devine on Brick Lane for quirky pieces like cassette tape brooches, name plate necklaces or Rob Ryan cut-outs. Astley Clarke is the best online jeweller in town and will deliver same-day courier service and gift-wrapped. Belmacz does the most beautiful high-end pieces. So does Alexandra Jefford and she takes commissions."
Best for interiors and gifts?
"Palette London and The Design Museum."
Best for stationery?
"Liberty and Hazlitz. Liberty for traditional stuff and brands like Billet Doux and Hazlitz for cool stuff no one else will have."
Best for beauty?
"Facials: Monique Horsey (great at extractions) or Sarah Chapman for facials. Una Brennan and Vaishaly Patel are good too but you need to book waaaaaaaay in advance for those ladies.
Nails: Teresa Smith because she'll come to you. Get a buffed finish. It last longer.
Hair: Karine Jackson for colour and I usually cut my own hair (yes, I know I shouldn't).
Shopping online: Cult Beauty for the best beauty finds online without having to dig around for them, of course. The Cult Beauty blog or Vogue.co.uk for beauty news.
Shopping in-store: If I want to browse in-store I go to Urban Retreat, Space NK, Lost in Beauty or Content Beauty/Wellbeing [Top Bird: shop tour of Content Beauty/Wellbeing coming soon!]. Content Beauty/Wellbeing is an all-natural shop with the best selection of natural and organic products I've ever seen, both online and in-store. And they do Dr. Alkaitis facials, which no one else in London does.
Spas: Bloww does great massages, Bliss is good for a New Yorker who misses her American spa treatments and Origins do mini-facials in-store, as do Simple (both based in Covent Garden).
Fragrance: Les Senteurs for hard-to-find fragrances or Ormonde Jayne in the Royal Arcade for my go-to scents, Frangipani and Ormonde Woman.
Eyebrows and lashes: Vanda Serrador or Vaishaly for threading and Sue Marsh for Eye-tec false eyelashes. Marsh does the most artistic and cool lashes in town. She'll come to you or you can visit her at Daniel Galvin in Marylebone. They'll stay on for a Very. Long. Time.
Waxing: Otylia Roberts or Bloww. Just go. Otylia is the best. She does the least painful Brazilian in Europe. Bloww is the second least painful."
Content Beauty/Wellbeing.Best London souvenir?
"Until it opens in New York, a Topshop dress and accessories; Organic Pharmacy shampoo and conditioner; BECCA concealer and beach tints [pick them up at Harvey Nichols]; sugar mice; Cadbury Flake; and new music that hasn’t arrived in the U.S. (Adele is just making it stateside)."
Favourite place to eat?
"There are four: Afghan Kitchen for a cheap night out and BYOB; the Grain Shop when I'm in west London and want a mound of healthy food (and sweets) to take away; Ottolenghi for brunch and 32 Old Bailey (but only on Balkan Fever night!) for a night of silly dancing. Also, on a sunny day I wouldn't complain if a mate invited me for Pimm’s and nibbles and poolside fun on the roof of Shoreditch House."
Salads at Ottolenghi.
Your number one London shopping secret?
"Stay away from Portobello Market. It's a waste of time, money and energy. Visit the other ones instead and go either really early or really late. There's no other city in the world with the street market culture of London. There's Columbia Road for flowers, Borough for food, Camden Passage for antiques and so many other smaller local ones (e.g. Broadway Market in Hackney et al)."
Click here for a Wee Birdy map of Jess G's Secret London addresses.
Check out Jess's must-read blog on niche skincare and cosmetics brands at Cult Beauty.
Super thanks and big birdy kisses to Jess for her generous tips and advice.
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.
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