I'm loving these limited-edition ‘Gold Dust Woman’ bags by French and English Confectioners, one of the labels I discovered at Swanfield. Featuring incredible starburst designs in raffia and metallic thread, each bag (there are only 14 in total) has been hand-cut and hand-embroidered by designer Lucie Gonnord.
There are also some rather lovely satchels and clutches in patent leather with sweet cut-out details. Priced from £85, at Swanfield.
Swanfield (until the end of Oct) 1.2 Kingly Court London, W1 Tel. 07595 64040 Nearest tube: Oxford Circus. Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 11am-7pm
I know that London (and this blog) has gone a little pop-up crazy in recent weeks, but here’s one that’s definitely worth a visit. Swanfield originated in East London as a collective of designers, and has recently gone ‘on tour’, with pop-ups in central London. The swans are currently nesting on the first floor of Kingly Court (just off Carnaby Street) with their fresh mix of independent fashion, vintage wares and accessories.
Three young designers, in particular, caught my eye on a recent visit: Cecilia Hammarborg (for dramatic swing coats in tweeds and worsted wool); Lucie Gonnard’s French and English Confectioners (for custom-made limited edition shoes and bags) and Katherine Pont’s MINE fashion label (keep an eye out for her whimsical Spring/Summer 10 collection – she's one to watch).
More posts to follow on each designer…
Swanfield (until the end of Oct) 1.2 Kingly Court London, W1 Tel. 07595 64040 Nearest tube: Oxford Circus. Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 11am-7pm
As some of you may know, I’m a little bit in love with French artist Nathalie Lete’s vibrant and whimsical illustrations, which adorn many a lovely bag, notebook and pendant necklace. It’s all about birdies, bunnies and fairytale flowers sprouting up and frolicking around clichéd Parisian souvenir landscapes – naive art at its best.
Her website offers a glimpse inside her Paris studio – looky here:
I first stumbled across Lete on a trip to Paris a couple of years ago, and have since discovered that quite a few places in London stock a variety of Lete’s loveliness.
Over on Cheshire Street, meanwhile, Mar Mar Co stocks a range of Nathalie's ceramics and prints.
But if you're after Nathalie's collection of extraordinary custom-made rugs, head over to Caravan on Redchurch Street, where you'll also find more stationery and some rather lovely ceramic pots.
Nathalie has also created a range of milky-glazed ceramics for Parisian ceramist Astier de Villatte, and you can find them in London at Designers Guild on the King’s Road.
And with Anthropologie opening its Regent Street doors on October 23 (the excitement!), Londoners will be able to access Nathalie's exclusive range of ceramics and furniture. And naturally, there's plenty of birdy designs to choose from. Swoon!
I peeped inside Eley Kishimoto’s pop-up shop in Soho’s Kingly Street on Saturday morning, and was delighted to discover not only the current ‘60s jetset-inspired collection (one of my favourites), but a room full of discounted samples downstairs.
You might want to consider putting off your winter coat purchase until you’ve paid the shop a visit – there are some truly great pieces here, as well as some cute frocks and accessories. The best buys, however, are their signature hosiery in eye-popping prints (this season has some lurex mixed in for extra sparkle).
The shop is run by members of the South London design studio, so you will get lots of insider EK news and advice, and you’ll also find some of their Japanese License accessories that have never been seen in the UK before. Look out for their ‘Flash’ print adorning everything from Converse sneakers to umbrellas.
It’s quite accomplished for a pop-up shop, with Eley Kishimoto printed curtains in the dressing room and artwork on the walls. Now if only this shop was a wee bit more permanent, I would be a very happy birdy indeed. It’s officially open until the end of October, but there are whispers that it could be around a little longer.
The Wish you Were Here pop-up shop opened in Newburgh Street on Saturday, bringing 12 new independent brands from New York's Lower East Side to London. It's the second leg of the trans-Atlantic shop swap, which saw 14 British brands pop-up in New York back in August.
I don't usually bang on about press goodie bags, but this one was packed with all sorts of American candy, like Jolly Ranchers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, as well as a can of Creaming Soda and a copy of the latest Nylon mag. All my favourites!
The shop is open in London until the end of October, with a month full of special events and parties. Check out my feature for full details (and my favourite picks) in this week's Time Out London magazine.
I'm a dedicated builder's tea drinker, but these delightful origami bird teabags designed by Nathalia Ponomareva just might encourage me to consider the wonders of green berry tea. They've been doing the rounds of the blogosphere, but I just had to include them as a Birdy Pick of the Week. Thanks to Inspire Inspire for the tip! (Check out her recent trip to Lille here).
In the midst of all the fashion week madness in London last week, Kitsuné kicked off their international project with a pop-up shop at Shop at Bluebird (click here for my recent shop tour). I hadn't encountered the French fashion/music label until recently, but I'm rather loving their AW09 collection, The Graduate, which takes its cues from the 1967 film.
Think wardrobe classics like navy pea coats and slimline corduroy jackets for boys and '60s-style swing coats for girls. The collection is kinda reminiscent of fellow French label A.P.C, only ever so slightly more sophisticated.
Until 12 October at Shop at Bluebird.
The Pop Up Kitsuné Store at The Shop at Bluebird 350 Kings Road London SW3 5UU Tel. 020 7351 3873 Nearest tube: Sloan Square
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 10am-7pm. Sunday 11am-6pm
Loving the Pearly pieces from Tatty Devine's AW09 collection, Button Up, which pay tribute to the East End's royal dynasty of Pearly Kings and Queens. Reflecting the hand-crafted and emblematic hallmarks of a traditional Pearlie's costume, there are hand-stitched buttons adorning heart brooches, anchor necklaces and bow earrings, starting at £18.
If you love all things Pearlie, then you might want to check out this incredible exhibition of Pearlie portraits (see top and below) by photographer Harry Dutton. It's currently on show in Tatty Devine's Brick Lane store. Just look at the detail in those costumes!
Tatty Devine are donating £1 from every sale of a Pearly King brooch or necklace to charity through the Pearly Kings and Queens Association. Gorgeous graphic jewellery – and a perfect London souvenir!
Tatty Devine 236 Brick Lane London E2 7EB Tel. 020 7739 9191 Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 11am-6pm Nearest tube: Liverpool Street
I’ve been meaning to post about the multi-faceted talents of The Likkle Girl Who Wurves Pwetty Things, one of Wee Birdy’s long-time supporters and bloggy-pals. Writing a blog has its good times and bad, but one of the most unexpected joys is stumbling across some kindred like-minded souls who have been incredibly supportive as well as lots of fun.
When she’s not cooking up a storm in the kitchen, Sydney-based Likkle Girl is blogging about her incredible fashion finds (I love this canvas faux fox stole from one of her favourite designers, Slow and Steady wins the Race)…
The pieces are hand-stitched using a variety of vibrant prints and discontinued Marmimekko fabric to create a string of ‘jewels’, which her grandmother referred to as ‘jiap-boh’ (literally ‘join cloth’ in the Teochew dialect).
And here I am modelling my 'New Jewels' this morning …
New additions have recently been added to her online shop (click here to check it out), but Sydney-siders may also like to view the Likkle Girl’s work in person when she pops up at The Little Bazaar (‘An Out-of-the-Ordinary Handmade Jewellery & Objects Market’) at The Beresford tomorrow, Saturday 26 September from 11am-6pm. Click here to check out all the details.
I really loved Peter Jensen's spring/summer 2010 presentation at the Institute of Contemporary Arts yesterday. Firstly, it was away from the catwalks (and the associated crowds, queues and depressing fashion hierarchy) and I watched the first half of the collection in relative solitude. Secondly, I've always enjoyed Jensen's playful take on the traditional runway show (see last season's Charlotte Mann backdrops), and this season was no exception.
Collaborating with artist Laurie Simmons, Jensen created pieces from his collection in miniature, and dressed them on tiny cut-out dolls. The miniature cardboard cut-outs were lined up along the mantle, where I later glimpsed Colin McDowell resting both hands and leaning right in to inspect them in detail. Detail is key here, as the tiny fabric garments were not just cut from real-size fabric – rather, Jensen painstakingly scaled down the fabric with tiny knits and hand-stitched embroidery.
The miniatures were shot in Simmons' dollhouse and then scaled back up to life-size portraits, which were dotted around the exhibition space. For the presentation, Jensen sent real-life models (with doll-like cut-out hair) to wander around the rooms and pose next to the cut-outs.
The collection itself was inspired by '50s American classics, so there were lots of twinsets, swing jackets and shift dresses, which were rendered in technicolour glory (think buttercup yellows, poppy reds and bubblegum pinks). The dollhouse theme was further explored with Jensen playing with the sense of proportion and size through the use of giant ginghams, oversized watermelon bags and a super-sized ric-rac motif. It was unashamedly girlish with tulle skirts, ruffles and swan prints, and my, it was pretty.
I finally paid Shop at Bluebird a long, overdue visit last week, and I’m delighted to report that it’s looking better – and dare I say more accessible – than ever. But it’s difficult not to be impressed and a little over-awed by the listed art-deco location alone (the former Bluebird garage), let alone the beautifully edited collection of fashion, books, music, homewares, vintage, and skincare products.
While it’s loosely divided into departments, all sorts of found objects, accessories and artworks are scattered throughout the 10,000 square foot space. Here, for example, you’ll find 1950s American glass milk bottles (£18) sitting on an oversized French farmhouse table, next to a rack of glorious Erdem frocks.
I really loved the selection of vintage greeting cards as well as the fabulous brioche mould pendant lights by Sally and Mark Bailey. The range of playful pastel-coloured ceramics by Berlin-based Kuehn Keramik was also a highlight.
The women’s fashion department is extensive and carefully considered, with labels ranging from Jasmine de Milo, Alexander Wang, Peter Jensen to Elizabeth and James, Luella and Richard Nicoll. Shoe-wise there’s Rupert Sanderson and Vivienne Westwood, while the jewellery cabinets are stuffed with Marni gems, vintage fob watches and Nymphenburg porcelain pendants.
There’s also an excellent spa with Micheline Arcier (Prince Charles’ aromatherapist of choice) joining this month along with an exclusive treatment menu. Right now you can pick up skincare products by the likes of Malin + Goetz and Ole Henrikesen, but keep an eye out for Aesop and Bigelow, which should be arriving over the coming months.
What’s most appealing is that the shop is constantly evolving, with new designers and pop-up spaces keeping it fresh and relevant. Launching its international project in the pop-up room this week is French label Kitsune (next stop is Colette in Paris). Then there’s Atelier Abigail Ahern, the new homewares concession which brings Islington interiors (and some rather lovely Jonathan Adler ceramics) to the Kings’s Road. I was also (predictably) excited to discover that Rob Ryan will be curating the Christmas shop this year.
Whatever you do, don’t leave without a twirl around the spacious dressing rooms, which are in the process of being decorated by individual designers. I’m looking forward to seeing the Bobby Dazzler dressing room (think hand-crafted creature feature!), but I rather liked the room with the incredible sepia photo collage.
