A global field guide to design, (life)style and secret finds
est. 2007

Author Archives: topbird

  2. Something for the weekend

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    I've been a very bad (but also v. busy) birdy of late. Huge apologies for my lack of posts. I promise I'll be back on form next week. In the meantime, check out my personal highlight from Arcadia's A/W09 press day: the Beth Ditto doll, courtesy of plus-size UK high street brand, Evans.

    I think every little girl should have one. Unfortunately the doll (made by Superdoll Collectables London) is a one-off, but check out those boobs and tummy! Ace hair, too. I'm really looking forward to seeing the full line-up from this exciting collaboration – if the monochrome dominoes dress is anything to go by, it signals a brave step by Evans in a brand new (and much younger) direction. Bravo!

  3. Birdy pick of the week

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    Hans Bølling's wooden duck (£64) and duckling (£34), from the Design Museum shop. The story behind the inspiration for the pair is pretty cute, too:

    "In Springtime Copenhagen, 1959, a policeman stopped the traffic in order to let a young family of ducks cross the street. The moment was captured by a photographer and created such an impression that all the newspapers published a now famous photograph of the ducks, which encapsulates the Danish attention to nature, detail and the ability to appreciate small everyday miracles."

  4. Wee London finds: Walk-in cocktail

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    I’m slightly obsessed with kooky-foodie architects Bombas & Parr, the London-based company behind the rather fabulous St Paul’s jelly.

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    The walk-in breathable cocktail is their latest theatrical food experiment, and it’s being unveiled today on Ganton Street. They're using the same technology as Anthony Gormley’s Blind Light at the Hayward Gallery – which was quite an unsettling and disorienting experience.

    It also involves donning a special protective suits before walking into a mist of gin and tonic water. To further enhance the ‘inner cocktail world’ experience, the interior will be decorated with giant limes and oversized straws. Once inside you can order food from a special menu that compliments the cocktail.

    And by the sounds of it, Bompas & Parr are just getting started. Harry Parr says, “I’m interested in states of matter. Here we’ve vaporised a cocktail. In the future I would like to make a liquid banqueting table. In the 1905 Gondola Banquet the Savoy Hotel was flooded and the meal was eaten on a floating gondola surrounded by live swans with dessert presented on the back of a baby elephant. That would be the ultimate meal.”

    While we’re waiting for the liquid banqueting table, feast your eyes on some of the other edible creations in Bompas & Parr’ s portfolio… I adore the bespoke tiered jelly display – perfect for wobbly wedding celebrations!

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    Alcoholic Architecture
    16 to 18 April and 23 to 25 April
    2 Ganton Street
    London, W1F 7QL
    Opening hours:
    5pm – 11pm
    Tickets £5, available from www.jellymongers.co.uk

  8. Shopping in London: Melt Chocolates

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    I couldn’t resist poking my head inside the doors of Melt Chocolates in Notting Hill, just in time for Easter. As you can imagine, it’s a hive of activity at the moment, with all chocolate handmade on site in the small kitchen out the back. And with their recently opened concession in Selfridges, demand has never been greater.

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    The kitchen is headed by Chika Watanabe, who conjures up sheer chocolate heaven in the manner of award-winning Maldon sea-salted caramels, peanut butter and raspberry jam truffles, and exquisite single-origin hot chocolate dipping blocks.

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    For Easter, there’s a delightful bunny mug designed by Lisa Jones with a milk chocolate egg (£17.50), traditional paper eggs filled with Swiss milk chocolate drops (£8.50) and egg cups with milk chocolate eggs (£9.50). Click here to see the full Easter line-up.

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    If you’ve left your Easter shopping ‘til the last minute, resist the calls of the supermarket aisle (and bad-quality, sugar-laden chocolate) and head over to Selfridges instead. Right now you can hand-pick your own selection of fresh chocolates and watch as Melt’s chocolatiers seal them inside a hand-finished egg. Fun and yum!

    Melt
    59 Ledbury Road
    London W11 2AA
    Nearest Tube: Notting Hill Gate
    Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

    Opening hours:
    Monday to Saturday 9am-6pm
    Sunday 11am-4pm

    For more chocolates and sweets in London, click here.

  9. Wee Easter finds: Etsy

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    I'm loving this incredibly twee and adorable spin on Victorian glass dome tableaux displays (usually reserved for taxidermied animals and birds) by Mossywood Lane. This particular "tiny wonderland" is entitled "Bunnies in Sewing Land", and features pastel bunnies playing in a pastel cotton reel world.
    US$65.

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    Super-sweet bunny egg warmer or handpuppet, hand-made using felt by Red Mush, US$9.95.

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    Custom ceramic egg with hand-stamped text     by Paloma's Nest, US$18 for one.

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    Handpainted wooden eggs, US$2.75 each, by Wee Wood Natural Toys.

  10. London street style: Affordable vintage fair

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    I caught these birdies hanging outside the Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair on Saturday in Bethnal Green. I only got there in the last half hour, but looks like great fun was had by all. Especially loved the Tea Shoppe by Lady Luck Rules OK, featuring individual tables from different decades.

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    This would be the crafty 1970s table. You could also play tiddly winks at the 1930s table, and Make do and Mend at the 1940s table. Check out the dates for upcoming fairs in the UK – it's coming to Lincoln, Nottingham, Liverpool, Durham and York.

  11. Wee Easter finds: Egg hunt at Present & Correct

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    I just got an email from Neal over at Present & Correct about the Easter egg hunt that's happening right now on their website. One egg will be hidden each day in the lead-up to Easter. The first person to find it wins a super-lovely bag of paper treats, with some chocolate thrown in for good measure. Too sweet!

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  13. Wee Easter finds: Hand-painted Rococo chocolate

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    Rococo collage

    Clockwise from left: hand-painted gentleman hare, made with dark and white chocolate, £30; hand-painted dark chocolate egg with Japanese bird design, filled with a mixture of Grand Cru ganache-filled mini eggs and truffles, £25; and hand-painted egg with leaping hare, filled with Grand Cru ganache-filled mini-eggs, £18.95, all by Rococo chocolates.

    Rococo shops in London:
    321 Kings Road
    London SW3 5EP
    Tel: 020 7352 5857
    Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
    Opening hours:
    Monday 12pm – 5pm
    Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 6:30pm
    Sunday 12pm – 5pm

    5 Motcomb Street
    London SW1X 8JU
    Tel: 020 7245 0993
    Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
    Opening hours:
    Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 6:30pm

    45 Marylebone High Street
    London W1U 5HG
    Tel: 020 7935 778
    Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
    Opening hours:
    Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 6:30pm
    Sunday 12pm – 5pm

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