Author Archives: topbird

1. Christmas shopping nights in London – part 2

   November 26, 2009 7:00 am 6 Comments

   
    
   As promised, here's part two of my Christmas shopping round-up, which actually includes quite a few fairs and fetes, so it's not strictly nights. Part three coming tomorrow…

   1 December: Supermarket Sarah
   Get stuck into the spoils of Portobello market courtesy of Supermarket Sarah, when she’ll be setting up shop in the Poke foyer of the Biscuit building on Redchurch Street. You’ll be able to shop online as well. Email sarah@supermarketsarah.com to get on the guest list. Click here for more details.

   

   2, 9, 16, 23 December: Columbia Road Christmas Wednesdays
   With the promise of mulled wine, mistletoe and mince pies, Columbia Road’s Christmas Wednesdays is one of the more romantic ways to shop for Christmas. Check out my write-up on last year’s event. Don’t miss some of my favourite independent boutiques, like Cerise, Ryantown and Lapin & Me. From 5-9pm.

   

   3 December: Content Beauty Shoppping Night
   Head over to London’s gorgeous organic beauty boutique for free makeovers, drinks and a hefty 20 per cent discount. RSVP to shop@beingcontent.com as space is limited. Click here for more details.

   

   3-6 December: East London Design Show
   Boasting an impressive line-up of UK and International designer-makers, the ELDS is one of the biggest independent shopping events in London. I went along last year and picked up quite a few good Christmas presents – and took full advantage of many of the special deals and discounts on offer. Adm £4. Click here for more information.

   

   3 and 11 December: Cheshire Street Late Night Shopping
   As many of you will know, I have quite a soft spot for Cheshire Street and its lovely line-up of independent boutiques, including The Shop, Shelf and Labour and Wait. Head over to the East End and enjoy drink or two whilst you shop, and don’t miss Mimi and Dragana Perisic for special discounts on all purchases. From 6-10pm.

   

   4-6 December: V&A Christmas shopping weekend
   Stock up on arty Christmas gifts and enjoy 15 per cent off all purchases at the V&A shop this weekend. If you can’t make it over to the South Kensington museum in person, you can redeem the discount online by entering in ‘VAXMAS091’ into the offer code section when you come to the payment details screen.

   5 December: We Make London Christmas Fair
   Lots of local crafty goodness on offer here, from the likes of Fabric Nation, Beeb Design and London Clay Birds (love!). Pop along to Chelsea Town Hall for all the fun. Click here for more details.

   

   5 December: Tea and Make (a great British Christmas fete)
   Well worth the trip to Forest Hill in South-East London for this lovely little fete, offering an excellent variety of wares by the likes of Selvedge Magazine, Hannah Waldron and Polly George. There are also free craft workshops and fun stuff for kids. Click here for more details.

   

2. Christmas shopping nights in London – part 1

   November 25, 2009 7:00 am 6 Comments

   
   It’s that time of year again when I round up my favourite spots for Christmas shopping in London. There’s a plethora of events, markets, and shopping nights on offer this time around, from candlelight shopping on Cheshire Street to buying direct from the artisans at Cockpit Studios. With a focus on the hand-made, design-led and independent shops, here are my top picks (part two is coming tomorrow)…

   26 November: One Night in November Xmas
   This East London shopping night boasts an excellent line-up of designers including byGraziela (retro-style kids’ bedding), Studio Special (cool clocks) and Share the Feeling (stocking fillers handmade in Hackney). There will also be extra Christmas cheer by way of champagne, cupcakes and raffles. 7-10pm, Thursday 26 November, 20 St. Philip’s Road, E8 3BP.

    

   26-29 November: Made in Clerkenwell at Craft Central
   Buy direct from over 70 designers at the Craft Central studios, and take your pick from a variety of jewellery, fashion, homewares, ceramics, accessories and traditional crafts. Don’t miss The Design Pop-up Shop, which features Esther Coombs’ distinctive ceramics (see below). Click here for all the details. Adm £2.50.

   

   26-29 November: Homeworks
   This collective of designer-makers, including the likes of Made with Love by Mrs Booth, Petra Boase and Lou Rota (see below), will be holding a Christmas sale at the Twentieth Century Theatre in Notting Hill. Click here for all the details. Adm £1 for the Special Yoga Centre.

   
    
   27-29 November: Hidden Art London Christmas Fair
   Setting up shop at the Old Truman Brewery, the fair will offer up some great alternative gift options from around 60 UK designer-makers. Take advantage of a sustainable gift-wrapping service by Fabrications, and there will also be drop-in craft workshops for children. Click here for all the details.

   

   27 November: Cockpit Arts Open Studio
   Buy direct from the artisans at this open-studio event, held at both the Holborn and Deptford locations. Nosey around their studios and consider your purchases over a glass of mulled wine or two. Click here for all the details.

   

3. Wee find: Vintage Christmas decorations

   November 24, 2009 10:45 am 2 Comments

   

   There's been a real trend for nostalgic Christmas decorations this year, with all sorts of glitter-adorned glass reproduction baubles gleaming from department-store windows. But I quite fancy the real thing, like these vintage decorations from Primrose Hill shop Shikasuki.

   

   The glass pine cones are Russian and date from the '40s and '50s, while
   the feather angels date from the '40s. There's also a great selection
   of '60s transparent baubles with miniature 3D scenes. Prices start at
   £3.50 for a bauble, with the larger angels priced at £35.

   

   

   Shikasuki
   67 Gloucester Avenue
   Primrose Hill, London
   NW1 8LD
   Tel. 020 7722 4442
   Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

   Opening hours:
   Monday to Saturday 11am-7pm
   Sunday Noon-7pm.
   

4. Wee find: Shelf opens up online shop

   November 23, 2009 6:02 pm 5 Comments

   
   

   Thoroughly cheered by the news that my beloved Shelf on Cheshire Street has just launched an online shop, showcasing such goodies as their signature vintage-style letters, exclusive designer collaborations, Scandi and Japanese ceramics and bags of vintage ephemera.

   The brainchild of jewellery designer Katy Hackney and costume designer Jane Petrie, the shop has been a bit of hit with the fashion and design crowd, with the likes of Peter Jensen name-checking it as one of his all-time favourite London shops. Here are my top picks for Christmas:

   
   

   

   

   

   

   From top to bottom: Vintage aspirin tin, £4; Christmas stationery pack, £15; 'Noel' plaster letters, £20; Shinzi Katoh shopping tray, £22; Frerk Muller raven tea towel, £19; Polite Notice by Shelf and Rob Ryan enamel plaque, £250.

   Click here to read my original Shelf shop tour.
   Click here for more Wee Birdy shop recommendations on Cheshire Street.

5. Birdy pick of the week

   November 22, 2009 6:09 pm 6 Comments

   

   The very talented Kate Wilson of Little Doodles has been experimenting with making retro-style airmail notelets featuring her inimitable little birds. I'm quite a fan – loving this little fellow in a bowler hat perched on a stamp. The essence of proper English eccentricity.

   And thanks so much for all your kind words regarding my illness. I'm still recuperating at home so please bear with me. The good thing about blogging is that you can do it from bed. I'll try to keep up – there are plenty of things I've squirrelled away in my bookmarks that are just waiting to be blogged about. And I've got a few London shop posts up my sleeve, too. xx

   p.s. Don't forget to enter in the competition for your own personalised stationery below…

6. Win Hello!Lucky personalised stationery

   November 19, 2009 7:00 am 43 Comments

   

   I'm a bit old-fashioned when it comes to nice stationery and thank-you cards, which is why I'm delighted that the lovely folks at Hello!Lucky are giving away 50 digitally printed personalised note cards to one lucky Wee Birdy reader. The winner can select a design from their current stationery range and personalise it with their name or initials (I love the birdy design, natch).

   
    
   All you need to do is leave a comment below (don't forget to enter in your email address!) telling me about the best Christmas card you've ever received. The Hello!Lucky crew will select the best/most creative answer. Entries close next Wednesday 25 November at 6pm (London time), and the winner will be announced on Monday 30 November.

   

7. Wee find: Decorative tapes

   November 18, 2009 7:00 am 15 Comments

   

   Here’s something completely non-essential that I can’t stop looking at: decorative tape. I briefly touched on the subject recently when I posted about Lazy Oaf, but I’ve since found a couple of relatively new UK-based online shops that do a particularly good job at sourcing some hard-to-find varieties from Japan, Korea, the US and beyond.

   

   I’ve been gifted some very cool Japanese MT Tape (above, £5.95 for a pack of two) by
   Nonesuchthings, who describes her website as ‘somewhere between a blog
   and a shop’. It’s made from Washi (rice) paper and is removable, so
   it can be used for all sorts of crafty and enterprising endeavours.

   

   

   Meanwhile, Papermash (above) stocks all manner of gorgeous stationery goodies that excites paper nerds like myself, including a lovely lace design (£3.75, above) and a pretty illustrative birdy tape. Don’t miss the ‘Free’ page which features a nifty downloadable snowflakes votive project (very pretty for Christmas).

8. Wee Birdy taking a break

   November 17, 2009 7:00 am 24 Comments

   Just a quick note to let you all know that I'm having to take a break this week as I'm recovering from an illness. A couple of pre-scheduled posts will be coming your way later this week. xx

9. Wee find: Lazy Oaf Christmas jumpers

   November 16, 2009 7:00 am 10 Comments

   
   

   

   Secretly loving Lazy Oaf's slightly mad Christmas jumpers this season, the type your gran (or Ron Weasley's mum) might have lovingly laboured over for months. I think I need one because I've never actually been a lucky recipient of the classic reindeers-and-snowflakes version. It's limited edition and has been hand screen-printed in red and blue. £39, from Lazy Oaf.

10. Birdy pick of the week

    November 15, 2009 6:41 pm 2 Comments

    

    Wise Guys DIY paper owls, £1.50 for a downloadable/print-at-home kit, by Mibo.

11. Welcome new Wee Birdy sponsors

    November 13, 2009 6:34 pm 4 Comments

    A big warm welcome to Caroline Gardner, Hunkydory Home and Sugalily, who are joining the Wee Birdy nest this month. Here are my top picks of the bunch from my lovely new sponsors…

    
    

    Caroline Gardner
    Using traditional printing techniques such as letter press and die stamping, Caroline’s distinctive and quirky designs have attracted a strong and loyal following in the UK. As well as greeting cards, notebooks, ribbon and wrapping paper, she also specialises in high-quality personalised stationery. Look out for her new-season Christmas collection, which features a rather lovely line-up of Advent calendars, wrapping paper and gift tags.

    

    Hunkydory Home
    Launched in 2005, Hunky Dory Home is the antidote to boring beige interiors, with a vibrant range of own-brand lampshades and cushions. All pieces are hand-made, and they also offer a made-to-order service if you’re after something completely unique. They also stock a handpicked range of design-led products to accompany their own designs. I love the hand-silk-screened sausage dog and Brit-themed cushions (1 and 4), crown teapot (2), and Brown Owl lampshade.

    

    

    Sugalily
    A very sweet one-stop design boutique, Sugalily specialises in luxe hand-finished, vintage-inspired stationery, greeting cards and wedding invitations. This is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all operation, with each product featuring a signature vintage embellishment, like cream daisy-lace edging, diamante buttons and ribbons. Sugalily also offers a bespoke design service for everything from business cards and logos to re-branding and social stationery.

12. Wee Birdy testdrives: Rebel Rebel flower school

    November 12, 2009 8:00 pm 16 Comments

    

    I recently found myself on a particularly dark and dismal Monday afternoon in the warm environs of one of my favourite London florists, Rebel Rebel, surrounded by the most exquisite and vibrant blooms. I was test-driving their first-ever flower school, which will be popping up at East London restaurant Bistrotheque in a couple of weeks’ time.

    

    The first lesson involved a quick tour around the shop’s seasonal flowers, followed by a tutorial in de-thorning roses (super-easy thanks to a rather nifty little tool) and lots of hands-on practice. Then it was time to put my floristry skills to the test, with a workshop on how to make a hand-tied bouquet. After practicing on roses it was time to pick my own mix of blooms, which was a very Rebel-Rebel assortment of ruby hydrangeas, Italian mint, pistachio foliage, purple anemones and yellow dill. Here are some pics of my tutor, Gus, going through the steps…

    
    

    
    

    For the finishing touch, I was tutored in the fine art of tissue and cellophane wrapping – and how to make a little water bubble to keep the flowers fresh. Et voila, here’s the final product, which is now taking pride of place in my living room… what do you think?

    

    

    The first afternoon flower school will be held on Friday 20 November from 2pm to 5pm. You will learn how to make your own hand-tied bunch of gorgeous, seasonal flowers and foliage, which you can take home at the end of the day. £80 per person.

    There will also be an all day Christmas workshops on Saturday 21 November from 10am to 4.30pm, where you will learn expert techniques to create your own door wreath or table centrepiece. Lunch at Bistrotheque  included in the £195 fee, and you get to take home your wreath and other goodies.

    For more details, call Rebel Rebel on 020 7254 4487 or email mairead@rebelrebel.co.uk, or visit the website.

13. Wee find: Nathalie Lete puppet theatre

    November 11, 2009 9:15 pm 2 Comments

    
     

    Here's the latest in French artist Nathalie Lete's painterly goodness: a children's puppet theatre from Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop. I'm just re-discovering this marvellous Covent Garden-based independent toy boutique, which also has a brilliant new online shop and blog.

    It's so easy to forget about some Londons' speciality shops, particularly if they're located in the touristy part of town. Pollock's is a real little gem, with all sorts of traditional toys for kids and puppet theatres for less than a tenner. Nice antidote to all the mass-produced, high street tat around.

    

    I'm also a little bit in love with this miniature puppet theatre (below), which at £6.50 is a very good buy AND (wonders of all wonders) it fits in the palm of your hand! Super-sweet.

    

    Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop
    44 The Market
    Covent Garden
    London WC2E 8RF
    Tel. 020 73797866
    Nearest tube: Covent Garden
    Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
    

    Opening Hours:
    Monday to Saturday 10.30-6pm
    Sunday 11am-4pm