Sunday Openings for Christmas

 

Christmas Sundays

 

 

Now open every Sunday 

11.30am to 5pm

 

 

Seasonal Soaps for Stocking Fillers

 

These bath shop products make excellent gifts and stocking fillers. And it's all about the packaging.

 

Beautifully wrapped, little cubed soaps that smell of Christmas.

 

Green Tea soap and bath salts are fresh and calming and this includes how they look.

 

The cutest little soaps ever. Smell simply of soap. Better yet they come in the gorgeous little boxes below. 

 

 

 

Three Kings Oriental Spice soaps have a festive aroma of cloves and cinnamon.  

 

Bags & Mitts

 

Check out our latest selection of accessories by Shruti.

 

 

This lush, floral, velvet shoulder bag also available in blue has a vintage feel about it. 

Check out the purses to match below.

The embroidered bags with detachable metal strap are great for evening or everyday.

 

 

Mary Poppins bag!



 Mittens make great gifts.

 

Cable knit ones too.

 

 

 

 

Great Northern Craft Fair 2012

Last weekend I visited the Great Northern Craft Fair 2012 in Manchester.

If you havent been, it'd be worth a visit when it's on again next year, as it is a selling show and it's a rare opportunity to buy craft/design objects straight from the maker. The work on show varies from ceramics, metal-work/silversmithing, furniture, textiles and jewellery. The standard of work is very good.

Being biased towards jewellery, I thought I 'd share the work of a few of the jewellery designers I met there.  

I was immediately drawn to these sculptural neck pieces by Eleanor Bolton. It's great to be able to get up close and try things on. They are light and comfortable, easy to wear. 

She developed her own craft technique, coiling and stitching cotton rope to get the desired forms.

(read more about that here.)

Here she is wearing a piece from her own collection.

Next something very different. A collection by Jenny Laidlaw. 

I'm afraid my photos dont do justice to this beautifully made work.  Jenny works with precious metals, iron wire, sometimes gemstones; each piece of jewellery is a perfect miniature composition. 

These earring include a metal braiding technique Jenny often uses.

We discussed asymmetrical earrings, and I shall be getting back to her with a commission request when  I've decided what I want.

The collection by Emily Knight is inspired by her time spent in India. You can see this in the "Temple bangles" below,

and also, in the lush "Foliage earrings". She works by hand piercing copper and makes use of shading her enamel finish to get colours that look weathered and sun-worn.

Finally, in complete contrast the work by jeweller Ruth Laird. These pieces in precious silver are hard to show in images. They really came alive when picked up and worn, as her technique it to make the work jointed, moveable. Ruth is inspired by mathematics as a starting point for her creative process. She  also highlights 2D surfaces with paint to bring colour into the equation.

she told me she was hoping to collaborate with someone she had met at the Great northern to create some short films of the work to be able to the kinetic aspect of her jewellery.

Homeware Arrival

 

This week saw the exciting arrival of our new homeware. More on its way soon. This is just a taster. Watch this space. 

I Won't mention the 'C' word just yet. 

Konplott & Korean Beauty

This beautiful editorial image was just one of many that was originally shot for Korean Vogue by Kim Kyung Soo a few years ago. We were in awe as we perused them in this season's issue of Selvedge.

 

How pretty do Konplott's 'Melody Drops' Range of jewellery looks against the page.

We couldn't resist!  

Layering

It's all about the layering with us.

 

Brighten Up With A Weston Scarf

 

Brighten up these gloomy, rainy days with a Weston Silk Scarf £149.

Amazingly this is a 'Petrified Wood' image. 

 

The other scarves we have instore include images of Pyrite, Moonstone, Rhodochrosite and Agate. 

 

Read a recent interview with Richard Weston by Vogue, here.

My favourite necklace

 

 

 

I love this lace collar necklace, especially its unusual coppery colour.  

Looks good with black. I have added it to my own collection! We have more in store.

London Design Festival and Tracey Neuls

The London Design Festival runs from 14th to 23rd September 2012 and showcases the city's pivotal role in global design. The Tracey Neuls Redchurch Street shop was featured.

And here is our Tracey Neuls TN29 selection, available in store in various sizes:

Geek £169

Plakt £175

Sloth £169

Gilet

 

Perfect for walking the dog?

Quilted gilet from the new Kokomarina collection.

We love this scarf!

There are a couple of others in the same range that are as quirky.  

Italian Jeans

We are are now selling jeans - Italian, twisted seam!

 We like the idea of wearing them with a big Myrine & Me knit and Tracey Neuls TN29 tan ankle boots, for a slouchy Sunday look.

We have been shortlisted for Premium Independent Retailer of the year.
Fingers crossed for 21st November when winners will be announced.

 

Autumn/Winter Collection Arriving

So Autumn/Winter collections have started to arrive in store at last! Here's a little taster of two gorgeous Ivan Grundahl dresses we've got.

 'Cannisse' has also arrived and there are some scrummy pieces! Watch this space. More details on all collections to follow.

Buying for Spring/Summer 2013

We are off to London next week to carry on buying collections for Spring/Summer 2013. Exciting!

So we shall be closed for one day only on

Monday 20th August 2012.

Open again on Tuesday from 10am till 5pm and then back to normal on Wednesday.

Sale Continues - More Reductions

So the sale continues. Won't be long before Autumn/Winter ranges arrive so we've made more reductions. There's a rail of clothes £25 and under. There's also a 'Silly Reductions' rail and they really are bargains!

There's still also a selection of jewellery reduced.

Kazuri Beads

Kazuri is hand crafted ceramic jewellery from Kenya. It means small and beautiful in Swahili. The company was founded by the late Lady Susan Wood, to create employment for struggling single mothers back in 1975 and is still going strong today.

Every bead is shaped by hand by one of  the 300 women employed there, kiln fired once, then glazed and kiln fired again before being strung. 




We've carefully chosen a selection of necklaces, bracelets and earrings to sit alongside our other collections of jewellery. Necklaces are £39, bracelets £29 and earrings are £15.  These are just a few of what we have.

In an age where so much is mass produced it's amazing to be able to have pieces that not only look lovely but that also contribute to such a worthwhile project.