Happy new year! First Saturday show - very good fun. We kicked off with Nicola Beauman, the owner of Persephone Books. PB is a little bookshop (and office, Nicola hastens to add - London is an expensive place) that gathers up lots of neglected works (often by women, all 20th Century), reprints and sells them. In this case, you can judge a book by its cover, because all of PB's books look the same from the outside - plain grey jackets, cream label for the title and author. Only inside will reveal the fabric-design endpaper, specially chosen to match the feel of the context at time of writing. For short stories, diaries, cookery books, and novels that you won't necessarily see elsewhere, and would make a great present (if you're not sick of present shopping). If you want to see the real thing, they're tucked away on Lambs Conduit Street; or they have an excellent online ordering service (80% of their business comes this way).
Didn't have time to mention this, but if you haven't bought a diary yet, try We Are What We Do: not the obvious choice for stationary, but it's an organization that believes lots of small acts add up to make a difference. And as part of that, they're involved with lots of projects to encourage people to ascribe to their philosophy (in a fun way). They're the people who Anya Hindmarsh worked with when she was designing her now ubiquitous 'I'm Not A Plastic Bag', and if you went to Bestival, WAWWD were responsible for that huge dragon lurking in the field (Jacques le Trash, a recycling dragon).
So here's their Action Diary 2011:
Startlingly, it's only £2. Which is cheaper than I paid for my week-to-view diary, page of notes on the side. And the actions they suggest aren't too difficult (Valentine's Day: Give Lots of Compliments). They get you to log your good action online when you do it - so far, 4,822,058.
If you're in Highbury / Finsbury Park area today, take a jaunt past Bennet and Brown, a place to buy Interesting Things. One of an interesting row of shops on Mountgrove Road, just off the Blackstock road, it's run by a couple of furniture restorers (another service they offer) who know their stuff. Stock changes all the time - currently you can see a couple of things in store online: enamel factory lamp shades from the Thirties (large, £52, small £34), and a set of four Arts and Crafts dining chairs (fully restored, oak with rush work seats, £495).
Also - plastic cowboys for £1! Whooo-hooo!
Warning: they have eccentric opening times, as is their right as an independent shop, so check their timetable before you go.
(They're next to the Sylvanian Families shop, but I'm not going into that any further...)
Lots of sales, too:
Ede and Ravenscroft (London's oldest tailor, founded 1689) for suits reduced from £550 to £395, cotton shirts down from £75 to £35, silk ties from £55 to £25. A proper, old-fashioned, sale.
Jaeger have an up-to-70% off sale - clothes and bags starting from £99.
Paul Smith has an online sale of up to 50% off their autumn/winter collection. AND they're not adding VAT this year, which is good news.
Lee has up to 30% off in their flagship store, Carnaby Street.
SCP furniture has up to 60% discounts on end of line and ex-display items.
Cath Kidson's sale is still online - up to 50% off clothes, bedding, accessories.
And, finally, the London Vintage Fashion Textiles and Accesories Fair. Not a pithy title, but then who needs pith when you're trying to describe a lavish affair of over 100 vintage fashion clothing dealers. The shoes, hats, handbags, linen, jewellery, dresses are dated from 1800 to 1980, and you'll probably be mingling with lots of In The Know fashion people who come here for inspiration. It's this Sunday, at Hammersmith Town Hall, 8am-5pm (£10 entry 8am-10am, £5 thereafter).
That's it! I'll be back in three weeks. Keep in touch.
***
Didn't have time to mention this, but if you haven't bought a diary yet, try We Are What We Do: not the obvious choice for stationary, but it's an organization that believes lots of small acts add up to make a difference. And as part of that, they're involved with lots of projects to encourage people to ascribe to their philosophy (in a fun way). They're the people who Anya Hindmarsh worked with when she was designing her now ubiquitous 'I'm Not A Plastic Bag', and if you went to Bestival, WAWWD were responsible for that huge dragon lurking in the field (Jacques le Trash, a recycling dragon).
So here's their Action Diary 2011:
Startlingly, it's only £2. Which is cheaper than I paid for my week-to-view diary, page of notes on the side. And the actions they suggest aren't too difficult (Valentine's Day: Give Lots of Compliments). They get you to log your good action online when you do it - so far, 4,822,058.
***
If you're in Highbury / Finsbury Park area today, take a jaunt past Bennet and Brown, a place to buy Interesting Things. One of an interesting row of shops on Mountgrove Road, just off the Blackstock road, it's run by a couple of furniture restorers (another service they offer) who know their stuff. Stock changes all the time - currently you can see a couple of things in store online: enamel factory lamp shades from the Thirties (large, £52, small £34), and a set of four Arts and Crafts dining chairs (fully restored, oak with rush work seats, £495).
Also - plastic cowboys for £1! Whooo-hooo!
Warning: they have eccentric opening times, as is their right as an independent shop, so check their timetable before you go.
(They're next to the Sylvanian Families shop, but I'm not going into that any further...)
***
Lots of sales, too:
Ede and Ravenscroft (London's oldest tailor, founded 1689) for suits reduced from £550 to £395, cotton shirts down from £75 to £35, silk ties from £55 to £25. A proper, old-fashioned, sale.
Jaeger have an up-to-70% off sale - clothes and bags starting from £99.
Paul Smith has an online sale of up to 50% off their autumn/winter collection. AND they're not adding VAT this year, which is good news.
Lee has up to 30% off in their flagship store, Carnaby Street.
SCP furniture has up to 60% discounts on end of line and ex-display items.
Cath Kidson's sale is still online - up to 50% off clothes, bedding, accessories.
***
And, finally, the London Vintage Fashion Textiles and Accesories Fair. Not a pithy title, but then who needs pith when you're trying to describe a lavish affair of over 100 vintage fashion clothing dealers. The shoes, hats, handbags, linen, jewellery, dresses are dated from 1800 to 1980, and you'll probably be mingling with lots of In The Know fashion people who come here for inspiration. It's this Sunday, at Hammersmith Town Hall, 8am-5pm (£10 entry 8am-10am, £5 thereafter).
That's it! I'll be back in three weeks. Keep in touch.
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