BBC London 3rd September

Starting off with something that was happening AS I SPOKE. The North London Vintage Market is happening today in Crouch End (St Mary's Parish Hall, Cranley Gardens, Park Road). It opened at 10am, and goes on until 4.30pm, and many of the stallholders from Spitalfields Antique and Vintage Market have decamped north for the day, so well worth a trip. There are 22 dealers, and an array of vintage happenings, from clothes to jewellery, to clocks and lamps and anything else you might fancy.

It's £1.50 to get in, and up the road at Ally Pally they've organised tea and cakes while you rest your weary feet and look out over London on this glorious day.


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Skandium on Marylebone High Street is one of my main window shopping destinations, and I'm always watchful of what they stock. Apparently, behind the scenes, the owners Chrystina Schmidt and Magnus Englund have been collecting vintage rare Danish antiques, and are now offering them for sale in a new shop which is called Republic of Fritz Hansen. (FH is considered an iconic Danish design brand, and this is the first shop and showroom in Europe so it's quite a coup). They're also selling modern Danish accessories which are likely to be too tempting for window shoppers across London.

Crucial details:

Republic of Fritz Hansen
13 Margaret Street
London W1W 8RN
020 7436 1838

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Next, Mary's Living and Giving shop in Primrose Hill opened last year. It's the third of it's kind (the others are in Westbourne Grove and Parsons Green), and it follows the same principles - high end vintage / second hand clothing, in excellent condition, and all the profit goes to Save the Children. It's a new brand of charity shop. And while by its very nature you're not going to find some sort of designer label there that the charity shop owners haven't heard of and charge you £1, you will be guaranteed that you don't have to sort through rubbish to get something good.

This shop is taking part in a treasure hunt which 14 shops all along Regents Park Road will be participating in from 10th to 18th September. It's a lovely idea - each shop will have a sculpture by the artist Nina Mankin which will hold clues and secret messages that will provide the keys to the esoteric questionnaire that treasure hunters have to fill out.

Every shop will have its own theme - so, for instance, the Mary Portas shop is all about dressmakers and tailors and material ...poignantly, maybe, because that shop used to house the materials of The artist's father. Which is why the treasure hunt is called "where I once played" and is all about memory and nostalgia.

Maps and questionnaires can be Collected in advance if you like - and have a look online for all the details and information about Nina Mankin's work.. www.ninamankin.co.uk or contact the Primrose Hill shop on: 020 7586 9966.

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Then, from the west of the city straight to the east, and it's the E17 designers who always seem to be busy. This time theyre putting together an art trail on Sunday 11th September. It's the seventh year they've done this, and they promise all sorts of artistry and delights, from prints to cakes and handmade goods.

It's at the Asian Centre near Walthamstow tube, costs £1 to get in (for which they promise a goodie bag btw) and all the details are on www.east17arttrail.co.uk

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And even though I balk at the mention of anything festive in the last vestiges of summer, I have to point you to a potential Christmas present before it's too late. If you know the kind of person who'd appreciate a designer briefcase, then you need to go to www.secretsales.com, register, and shop the sale (before Sunday) of Lanvin accessories. That way, you'll be able to buy a leather Lanvin briefcase not for £390, as you would in a shop, but for £47. Which seems like a bargain, if you know the kind of person who'd appreciate it...


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But back to what's actually happening today, on this Indian summer. Yesterday the Museum of Everything opened at Selfridges. The Museum of Everything is a London contemporary art collective which burst on to the scene in the Frieze Art Fair in 2009. This Exhibition #4 is for untrained and unexhibited artists, who have physical, mental, or developmental disabilities.

James Brett, the founder of the Museum of Everything says they're sometimes known as 'invisible artists' because they're often unrecognised by the art establishment, because they can't explain what the art they've created 'means'. Selfridges say it's going to be the biggest art project ever undertaken in the history of Selfridges. The whole shop is being taken over - the windows, the signs within the store, the Ultra Lounge, Selfridges exhibition space... the 200 works make up the largest presentation of art by unintentional artists in the UK.

And because it's Selfridges, there is a collaboration with a famous name too; the Shop of Everything has got together with Clements Ribeiro to launch a fashion collection - you'll find that in the Wonder Room's Concept Store, along with products from Everything Ltd, a collection of bespoke delights with prints from the exhibited art works.

Open until October 25th; have a look at www.selfridges.com for all the information and lots of pictures.



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Some advance notice - next Saturday, there's an Affordable Vintage Fair happening in York Hall (on Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green), that one that's usually famous for boxing. The word 'affordable' is always appealing, isn't it? Even if it turns out not to be the type of affordable you were hoping for.

 If you're an early bird, go at 10.30am, and pay £3 to get in before the crowds. If you like a lie-in, go after 11, pay £2, and find a bargain somewhere amongst the stalls from 50 traders around the country. They'll be selling vintage clothing and homewares from the 1920s all the way to the 1980s, and promise designer vintage, too, from YSL, Ossie Clarke, and Biba.

Have a look at www.vintagefair.co.uk for more info.

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And, finally, this month's bargains...


The London Designer Sale is happening on 9th (1pm - 9pm) and 10th (10am - 7pm) of September, in the Music Rooms, 26 South Molton Lane. You can expect up to 80% off these brands: Aquascutum, Belstaff, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Coccinelle, Carniani, Chloe, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Ed Hardy, Ferragamo, Fendi, Francesco Biasia, Gianfranco Ferre, Giorgio Fedon, Giuseppe Zanotti, Gucci, Harry‘s of London, Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Moschino, Patrick Cox, Prada, Sergio Rossi, Thomas Pink, Tods, Vivienne Westwood & YSL




The Sample Hunters Sale will be happening at the same time, from 8th - 11th of September at the Old Truman Brewery (visit www.samplehunters.co.uk for opening times). They promise up to 90% off a plethora of labels, including these people - you may have heard of them: Burberry, Stone Island, Belstaff, Luella, DKNY Jeans, Hackett, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Armani, Juicy Couture, French Connection, Twenty8twelve, Joseph, Thomas Pink, See by Chloe, Vivienne Westwood, Duchamp, Oliver Spencer, Aquascutum, Gieves and Hawkes and Missoni.