Wee Birdy

Wee find: Tatty Devine's Pearlies

Loving the Pearly pieces from Tatty Devine's AW09 collection, Button Up, which pay tribute to the East End's royal dynasty of Pearly Kings and Queens. Reflecting the hand-crafted and emblematic hallmarks of a traditional Pearlie's costume, there are hand-stitched buttons adorning heart brooches, anchor necklaces and bow earrings, starting at £18.

If you love all things Pearlie, then you might want to check out this incredible exhibition of Pearlie portraits (see top and below) by photographer Harry Dutton. It's currently on show in Tatty Devine's Brick Lane store. Just look at the detail in those costumes!

Tatty Devine are donating £1 from every sale of a Pearly King brooch or necklace to charity through the Pearly Kings and Queens Association. Gorgeous graphic jewellery - and a perfect London souvenir!

Tatty Devine
236 Brick Lane
London E2 7EB
Tel. 020 7739 9191
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Sunday 11am-6pm
Nearest tube: Liverpool Street

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Going, going ... Walking in My Mind

The wonderful Walking in my Mind exhibition at the Hayward Gallery closes on Sunday, so you might like to take advantage of tonight's late night opening (until 10pm) to check it out.

Yayoi Kusama's lifelong obsession with polka-dots is realised on a grand scale at the Hayward, with giant blow-up sculptures taking over one room and spilling out on to the sunny terrace. The red and white globules are dotted around the hyper-real green astroturf like super-sized ladybirds. Such a brilliant view (and an exceptionally nice place to park yourself for a bit of a gallery break)! 

But most delightful, perhaps, is the sight of Yayoi's polka-dot emblazoned trees, lining the promenade along Southbank like a joyously infectious pox.

I was also excited to see Yoshitomo Nara's little shed/bedroom/drawing room in all its creepy-kawaii-cuteness. It was a fascinating and voyeuristic insight into his world of sweet-and-sinister characters - not to mention an opportunity to peek at his awesome collection of kitsch figurines.

The other artists in the exhibition include Charles Avery, Thomas Hirschhorn, Bo Christian Larsson, Mark Manders, Jason Rhoades, Pipilotti Rist, Chiharu Shiota and Keith Tyson.

Walking in My Mind: Adventure into the artist's imagination
Hayward Gallery
Until 6 September 2009
10am-6pm (late night Friday until 10pm)
£9 adults
Nearest tube: Waterloo

Yoshitomo Nara My Drawing Room 2008, bedroom, (2009 installation), copyright the artist. Photography by Roger Wooldridge. Courtesy of The Hayward Gallery, 200

Pretty in Print, Part 1

It’s print-mania over at Liberty right now, with the heritage department store kicking off a month of festivities to celebrate their iconic print. I managed to nip over at lunch time to take a few photos and to check out the exhibition, Prints Charming. And just look at what they’ve done to their Carnaby Street wall:

Bedecked in Betsey fabric, Liberty is looking extremely pretty in print. Oh my! Here are some more pics of the window displays:

But the fabric fun doesn’t stop there, with the lifts and stairwells also getting the Betsey treatment. Upstairs at the exhibition, there’s a whole line-up of one-off and limited-edition items that have been rendered in various Liberty prints, including a chaise longue, wardrobe and Skeppshult bike. There was also an art student's Wendy House installation swathed entirely in panels of Liberty print, which I may just have to move into.

The latest exciting news is that Liberty is hosting a ‘Fash Mob’ tomorrow evening from 6pm. Turn up in your best Liberty prints for a photo shoot and prizes for the ‘best-dressed’…

Check back tomorrow for Pretty in Print, part 2, and the latest Liberty print goodies (including the fantastic Artist fabric collaborations).

What to take home: Thames pin

This wee wriggly worm is actually a limited edition, gold-plated pin, shaped like the river Thames. Designed by Kit Grover exclusively for the London Design Museum shop, it is also reflective of the folkloric bent pin, which has been used as votive offering in many cultures. Thousands of bent pins have been found on the Thames foreshore and down hundreds of London's holy wells, which were thrown into the water to grant wishes or to allow a safe crossing. Great value for a unique London souvenir.

Thames pin, £5, limited edition of 100 by Kit Grover for the London Design Museum shop.

Going, going … Hats at the V&A

This weekend is your last chance to catch the very fabulous Hats exhibition at the V&A, which is a collaborative effort between London milliner Stephen Jones and the museum. Jones has scoured the V&A’s extensive archives to showcase not only the changing fashions in headwear over the past 17 centuries, but to throw light on the workmanship, creativity and inspiration that goes into each individual piece.

Challenging my own (rather bad) habit of visiting must-see exhibitions ‘til the final days, I caught Hats back in March, and was enthused by Jones’ clearly passionate curatorial role, which also provided many professional insights.

Personal highlights included Jones’ mod-ish Underground roundel hat for AW08, a horsehair and silk bonnet worn by Queen Victoria, and a 17th century leather jester’s cap adorned with tiny jingle bells (and not a lurid velour version in sight!). I also really loved Hussein Chayalan’s wooden egg helmet (’98), Christian Dior’s plastic cubist pillbox (’66) and Adolfor’s mushroom hat (’65). And then there’s the Norman Hartnell evening hat worn by Margot Fonteyn, and the Cecil Beaton bonnet worn by Audrey Hepburn during the Ascot scene of My Fair Lady.

The centrepiece of the exhibition is a voyeuristic glimpse into the inner sanctuary of a milliner’s studio, which Jones accurately describes as “half-Aladdin’s cave and half-artist’s studio”.

Keep an eye out for some of the choice goodies on offer in the museum shop, like these cloche hat brooches and reasonably-priced paper hats.

Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones
Closes Sunday 31 May 2009
£5 adults, £4 concessions.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL

Nearest tube: South Kensington

All images courtesy of the V&A Museum.