Wee Birdy

Christmas shopping nights in London – part 3

Here's my final round-up of London's best Christmas shopping sales, markets and events. Get your diaries ready and dig in...

3 December: Late Night Exmouth Market Christmas Shopping Extravaganza
Indulge in some mulled wine and nibbles while you consider your purchases from independent boutiques like EC One Jewellery, Family Tree (pictured below) and Clerkenwell Tales Bookshop. 5-9pm.

5-6, 12-13, 19-20, 21, 22 and 23 December: Pop up Christmas
If you’re in the Stoke Newington area, you might like to check out this Christmas market, which features a variety of brands and designers including Joseph Joseph, Pantone and Rude. You can also make merry with the requisite mulled wine and mince pies, along with Christmas carols and Father Christmas. Click here for more details.

12 December: Bust Craftacular
The Bust girls are back with their festive spectacular, offering over 60 stalls of crafty, handmade goodness. Shop to the sounds of ‘60s girl-pop courtesy of Sheila B, and try your luck at Tatty Devine’s Christmas Tree Tombola (can’t wait to see that one!). Keep an eye out for Belgium Waffle’s Cruel Tea stall, although prudish types may wish to avert their eyes. Adm £2. Click here for more details.

12 and 19 December: Of Cabbages and Kings Christmas market
This Stoke Newington market will be offering a host of festive treats, with refreshments from the Of Cabbages and Kings café. Look out for handmade wares by the likes of Edwyn UK (see below), Strikk handknits and Helen Rawlinson. Click here for more details.

12 December: The Mangle Xmas Sale
Tatty Devine, Rob Ryan and Amanda Fatherazi are just some of the big names to feature in this festive Shoreditch sale. Entrance is free and there will also be tea, cake and music. 11am-6pm. Click here for more details.

18, 19-22 December: Somerset House Super Christmas Market
If you’ve left Christmas shopping ‘til the last minute, here’s your chance pick up some great gifts of the non-high street variety from designers including Michael Marriott, Carl Clerkin and students from the Royal College of Art and Camberwell. Adm £2. Click here for more details.

Christmas shopping nights in London – part 2

 
As promised, here's part two of my Christmas shopping round-up, which actually includes quite a few fairs and fetes, so it's not strictly nights. Part three coming tomorrow...

1 December: Supermarket Sarah
Get stuck into the spoils of Portobello market courtesy of Supermarket Sarah, when she’ll be setting up shop in the Poke foyer of the Biscuit building on Redchurch Street. You’ll be able to shop online as well. Email [email protected] to get on the guest list. Click here for more details.

2, 9, 16, 23 December: Columbia Road Christmas Wednesdays
With the promise of mulled wine, mistletoe and mince pies, Columbia Road’s Christmas Wednesdays is one of the more romantic ways to shop for Christmas. Check out my write-up on last year’s event. Don’t miss some of my favourite independent boutiques, like Cerise, Ryantown and Lapin & Me. From 5-9pm.

3 December: Content Beauty Shoppping Night
Head over to London’s gorgeous organic beauty boutique for free makeovers, drinks and a hefty 20 per cent discount. RSVP to [email protected] as space is limited. Click here for more details.

3-6 December: East London Design Show
Boasting an impressive line-up of UK and International designer-makers, the ELDS is one of the biggest independent shopping events in London. I went along last year and picked up quite a few good Christmas presents – and took full advantage of many of the special deals and discounts on offer. Adm £4. Click here for more information.

3 and 11 December: Cheshire Street Late Night Shopping
As many of you will know, I have quite a soft spot for Cheshire Street and its lovely line-up of independent boutiques, including The Shop, Shelf and Labour and Wait. Head over to the East End and enjoy drink or two whilst you shop, and don’t miss Mimi and Dragana Perisic for special discounts on all purchases. From 6-10pm.

4-6 December: V&A Christmas shopping weekend
Stock up on arty Christmas gifts and enjoy 15 per cent off all purchases at the V&A shop this weekend. If you can’t make it over to the South Kensington museum in person, you can redeem the discount online by entering in ‘VAXMAS091’ into the offer code section when you come to the payment details screen.

5 December: We Make London Christmas Fair
Lots of local crafty goodness on offer here, from the likes of Fabric Nation, Beeb Design and London Clay Birds (love!). Pop along to Chelsea Town Hall for all the fun. Click here for more details.

5 December: Tea and Make (a great British Christmas fete)
Well worth the trip to Forest Hill in South-East London for this lovely little fete, offering an excellent variety of wares by the likes of Selvedge Magazine, Hannah Waldron and Polly George. There are also free craft workshops and fun stuff for kids. Click here for more details.

Christmas shopping nights in London – part 1

It’s that time of year again when I round up my favourite spots for Christmas shopping in London. There’s a plethora of events, markets, and shopping nights on offer this time around, from candlelight shopping on Cheshire Street to buying direct from the artisans at Cockpit Studios. With a focus on the hand-made, design-led and independent shops, here are my top picks (part two is coming tomorrow)...

26 November: One Night in November Xmas
This East London shopping night boasts an excellent line-up of designers including byGraziela (retro-style kids’ bedding), Studio Special (cool clocks) and Share the Feeling (stocking fillers handmade in Hackney). There will also be extra Christmas cheer by way of champagne, cupcakes and raffles. 7-10pm, Thursday 26 November, 20 St. Philip’s Road, E8 3BP.

 

26-29 November: Made in Clerkenwell at Craft Central
Buy direct from over 70 designers at the Craft Central studios, and take your pick from a variety of jewellery, fashion, homewares, ceramics, accessories and traditional crafts. Don’t miss The Design Pop-up Shop, which features Esther Coombs’ distinctive ceramics (see below). Click here for all the details. Adm £2.50.

26-29 November: Homeworks
This collective of designer-makers, including the likes of Made with Love by Mrs Booth, Petra Boase and Lou Rota (see below), will be holding a Christmas sale at the Twentieth Century Theatre in Notting Hill. Click here for all the details. Adm £1 for the Special Yoga Centre.

 
27-29 November: Hidden Art London Christmas Fair
Setting up shop at the Old Truman Brewery, the fair will offer up some great alternative gift options from around 60 UK designer-makers. Take advantage of a sustainable gift-wrapping service by Fabrications, and there will also be drop-in craft workshops for children. Click here for all the details.

27 November: Cockpit Arts Open Studio
Buy direct from the artisans at this open-studio event, held at both the Holborn and Deptford locations. Nosey around their studios and consider your purchases over a glass of mulled wine or two. Click here for all the details.

A week of Kent: Frank

I’ve been meaning to post about the weekend I spent in Kent earlier this summer, when my parents were visiting the UK for a couple of weeks. It was by far one of the easiest breaks I’ve ever organised, mostly due to the fact that there was little to no organising on my part. My parents arrived with a well-researched itinerary, and I was also inundated with some extremely good tips when I called upon the UK Twitterati for advice and help (thanks to @circeplum, @cassandracastle, @indiaknight, @maggieA, @I_Like, @LibertyLndnGirl).

On Saturday morning we headed to Whitstable, a seaside village most famous for oysters. At just 80 minutes by car from London, it’s the perfect destination for a weekend break or day trip. The New York Times visited earlier this year, so if you’re thinking of doing the same, you may want to look up their  suggestions on where to eat, including the “obligatory” Wheelers Oyster Bar, as well as The Sportsman, which was awarded a Michelin star.

But I’m here primarily to check out Frank, a former oysterman’s cottage on Harbour Street housing all manner of gorgeous British-made crafts, design and homewares. I’d heard some exceptionally good things about the shop, which is the brainchild of illustrator Mary Claire Smith and photographer Rob Weiss.

It’s the type of place that crafty-peeps only dream about, and people on a gift-buying mission will not be disappointed. On my visit I was greeted by a (very appropriate) bird display in the window, featuring Hannah Turner’s retro-style ceramic birds (from £28), Hannah Waldron’s vibrant canary prints and Abigail Brown’s super-sweet Matchbox Tweeters.

There are goodies crammed into every corner and hanging from every nook, but it has an overall feeling of space and airiness, befitting its breezy harbour-side location. It’s hard to pick favourites, but you might like to keep an eye out for Becky Crow’s copper fox brooches, Claire Fletcher’s handpainted children’s tambourines, and Cornelia O’Donovan’s softies made from Whitney vintage blankets.

If you’re after some locally-made handcrafts, make a beeline for Kate Erbe’s handknitted angora dogs (£19.50), Keith Brymer-Jones’ milky-toned hand-thrown ceramics (from £7.70 for a jug), and Heidi Butter’s laser-cut jewellery.

There are more surprises to be found in the garden out the back, where you’ll find potted succulents in teacups amongst a range of outdoor decorative items.

And upstairs there’s a very cute holiday flat for rent – ideal for a sunny weekend or mid-week getaway by the sea. But if you can’t make it to this lovely wee corner of the world, some of the loveliness can be found on their online shop.

Frank
65 Harbour Street
Whitstable, Kent CT5 1AG
Tel. +44 (0) 1227 262 500

Opening hours:
Monday-Friday 10.15am-5pm
Saturday 10.15am-5.30pm
Sunday 11am-5pm