Did I tell you that I visited David Jones' Christmas shop last week? (David Jones' is a major Australian department store, kind of like John Lewis in the UK). I know it's unfair to compare DJs to Liberty's magnificent Christmas shop floor, but I couldn't help but be disappointed by the sad and overpriced stock on offer. Who is doing DJ's buying??? And whose great idea was it to hide the Christmas shop in a dim little room at the back of the fourth floor of the men's store? And where's the magic??? Any chance DJ's can entice Yasmin Sewell back to Sydney? She did a superb job at Liberty. Gawd, even I'd put my hand up for the job.
Anyway, it took me all of three minutes to do my rounds of the DJ's Christmas shop (good Christmas shops usually have me lingering in their magical wonderlands for at least half an hour), and it left me kinda cold and uninspired. So I headed back to the safety of my favourite shops online in search of Christmas stockings and found these three beauties:
UK designer Donna Wilson is white-hot at the moment, isn't she? She's featured quite a few times in my gift guides, and her homewares range is spot-in, with genuine hand-made charm, gorgeous colour palettes, and just the right kind of kookiness. Her hand-knitted Christmas stockings, above, are AU$40 from Third Draw Down.
Ahhh yes, you can trust good old Fortnum & Mason to deliver on the luxe goods, with this sumptuous velvet stocking hand-stitched with silver balls and a soft white cuff. It's pricey but it looks it. And it will last forever. £85 from Fortnum & Mason (ships internationally).
Toast: now that's a UK store that knows what it's doing. This knitted Fair Isle stocking (above and top of the post) is made with organic wool. Best of all, it's £9.50 (ships internationally).
Have you seen any other gorgeous stockings? Tell me about them in the comments.
Australian readers, what do you think of DJ's Christmas stuff this year?
UPDATE: This shop has now closed, but the Bird Textile website is still going strong. The shop is now home to Follow Store.
Read my review here.
In the first of my Sydney shop reviews, I decided to head back to my old stomping ground of Surry Hills, where we lived for three happy years before we moved to London. It’s changed a wee bit since then – most significantly, we can’t afford to live there any more. And like Shoreditch in London, this inner-city suburb has not only ushered in a new class of residents, but a new direction in retail with the likes of posh grocers and upmarket butchers lining Crown Street.
But head down to Cleveland Street and you’ll find a bit of the grit from days gone by, even if the retail scene has vastly improved. In fact, the line-up of unique and eclectic shops, cafes and restaurants call themselves The Cleveland Cluster, and include the likes of David Met Nicole (review coming soon), Dinosaur Designs Extinct and Garden Life.
I couldn’t go past Bird Textile Emporium for my very first Sydney shop review (not with a name like that, anyway). The brainchild of creative director Rachel Bending, Bird produces a range of hand-printed organic fabrics, which have been developed into over fifty product ranges spanning fashion, homewares and craft. The whole business has solid eco credentials with a commitment to sustainable design.
Housed in a heritage-listed former pharmacy dating from the 1890s, the shop is a delightful space and rare example of Sydney’s retail history, featuring old Australian tiles, the original cabinetry and fittings. It’s a fitting platform for Bird’s range of retro-inspired textiles, which are influenced by mid-century Scandinavian and Japanese design.
Fabric is sold by the metre in three different weights, and there is also an in-house upholstery and curtain-making service. The fashion range has been recently pared down to a tidy capsule collection of five classic designs, which are available in a host of fabrics.
But it’s the homewares and crafty ranges that are the main attraction, with made-to-order lampshades (starting at AU$220) amongst the store’s best-sellers. Equally popular is the chook doorstop (AU$75), packets of buttons and fabric remnants at $25 each.
Crafty girls can pick up an organic patchwork kit for $30, and a DIY chook doorstep kit for $35 . Don’t miss the sales catalogue online for updated reductions in fabric, homewares and fashion.
UPDATE: This shop has now closed, but the Bird Textile website is still going strong. The shop is now home to Follow Store. Read my review here.
Bird Textile Emporium
380 Cleveland Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tel. 02 8399 0230
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Friday 10am-6pm
Saturday 10.30am-5.30pm
Refuel at Tea Parlour
Take tea and nibble on dainty scones and sandwiches. Prices are very reasonable, too.
579 Elizabeth St
Redfern NSW 2016
Open Thursday to Sunday 1pm-8pm
Tel. 0414 335 224
Photography by Lucas Boyd Photography.
Click here to view the full gallery.
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