Wee Birdy

Wee find: Merci Liberty collection

Oh, how I wish I was in London right now. I've got loads of things to tell you since arriving back in Sydney (I'm just starting to thaw out after Britain's coldest winter in 30 years), but right now I've got my eye on - where else? - lovely, lovely Liberty. Right on the back of the rather clever Liberty for Target collection comes the sublime limited edition Merci Liberty collection for spring.

Designed by Parisian concept store Merci's creative director, Marie France Cohen, the super-pretty collection features a bouquet of Liberty's most iconic floral prints. With an emphasis on what Merci does best (homewares and children's ware), stand-out pieces include the old-school mini suitcase covered in Liberty print, long print aprons, as well as reasonably priced cushions from £20. 

Stationery nerds will rejoice in the sublime range of printed tapes, notebooks and assorted papery delights (I really love the old-school brown envelopes with a posy of Liberty florals peeking out from the lining).

Tell me - have you picked up anything from the Liberty for Target collection? Have you had a peek at the new Merci collection? Go on, give me my London fix.

p.s. I snuck in a wee trip to Paris (and a visit to Merci) during my last week in London, so a shop tour will be coming soon!

Liberty
Great Marlborough Street
London W1B 5AH
Tel. 0207 734 1234
Nearest tube: Oxford Circus
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Wee find: Nathalie Lete puppet theatre

 

Here's the latest in French artist Nathalie Lete's painterly goodness: a children's puppet theatre from Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop. I'm just re-discovering this marvellous Covent Garden-based independent toy boutique, which also has a brilliant new online shop and blog.

It's so easy to forget about some Londons' speciality shops, particularly if they're located in the touristy part of town. Pollock's is a real little gem, with all sorts of traditional toys for kids and puppet theatres for less than a tenner. Nice antidote to all the mass-produced, high street tat around.

I'm also a little bit in love with this miniature puppet theatre (below), which at £6.50 is a very good buy AND (wonders of all wonders) it fits in the palm of your hand! Super-sweet.

Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop
44 The Market
Covent Garden
London WC2E 8RF
Tel. 020 73797866
Nearest tube: Covent Garden
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening Hours:
Monday to Saturday 10.30-6pm
Sunday 11am-4pm

Shopping in London: V&A shop

Over the past couple of years I’ve posted quite a lot about my favourite bits and pieces from various London museums and galleries, but I’ve never delved into any great detail about the actual shops themselves. So naturally, that’s about to change…

It’s a given that any gallery-goer’s journey will end in the designated shop space – in fact their presence (and the promise of a toy dinosaur) has been used as the proverbial dangling carrot to get many a child through the tedium of an exhibition itself. But some of the world’s greatest and most-loved museums and galleries (New York’s MoMA, London’s Tate Modern, Design Museum and the V&A) have evolved in such a way that their shops are a retail (and tourist) destination in their own right.

I must confess that I’ve been guilty, on more than one occasion, of making a specific gift-buying dash to the V&A shop, without so much as a peep in at any of the permanent collection galleries (I know, shameful behaviour!). But that’s because the V&A, in particular, offers up an expertly-edited line-up of gifts, accessories, books and children’s toys – all perfect candidates for being packaged up and sent away to friends and family far away.

There's also a dedicated bookshop, with subjects spanning the worlds of design, art, fashion, textiles, jewellery, photography and architecture. And they always have an extensive range of the most gorgeous cards:

The website is also an excellent source for all manner of design-led products and accessories, and autumn/winter’s new collection has just arrived online. I’m loving the cherry brooch by Francoise Montague, squirrel ring box by Jonathan Adler, and chirpy cicada brooch.

There's also a really lovely selection of luxe hairbands and headpieces, like this little pleated beauty ...

The shop is also particularly good when it comes to accessing a clever range of kids’ toys, games and activities, starting at pocket-money prices. I’m particularly fond of the vintage-style wind-up tin toys, like this circus elephant, and these Clifford Richards cat and fairy notebooks.

The V&A also have a brilliant prints service, where you can order any print from their vast collection in the size, format and paper of your choice.

Also keep an eye out for pieces from the Cherry on a Cake collection, a brilliant line of limited edition designer collaborations, making them perfect (read: non-crap) souvenirs for tourists and London newcomers alike. Inspired by the museum’s extensive collections, you can take your pick from a stunning Grayson Perry doll (at a super-cool £4000, wow) or a Concise Book of Patterns necklace by Comfort Station. Art and history has never been so wearable.

The V&A Shop
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL
Tel. 020 7942 2687
Nearest tube: South Kensington
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Monday to Sunday 10am-5.30pm
Late night every Friday until 9.45pm

Shopping in London: Courverture & the Garbstore

Courverture & the Garbstore is a rather charming concept store on Notting Hill’s Kensington Park Road, offering a carefully edited selection of womenswear, menswear, homewares, gifts, toys and childrenswear over three enticing levels. Open since April 2008, it brings together Emily Dyson's shop Couverture with Ian Paley’s cult men’s brand the Garbstore.

I was immediately drawn to the back of the store, where rows of super-cute childrenswear labels hang next to shelves of Japanese and Scandinavian wooden toys and beautifully designed treasures. There’s also a rack of fanciable dressing-up clothes sourced from around the world. The kids’ dressing room is also quite at treat, decorated with a vibrant vintage wallpaper.

It’s worth taking the time to explore the racks of clothes up the front of the store, which feature New York designers such as Lyell, Rachel Comey, as well as denim from Jean Shop. There’s also netural cotton jersey pieces by Dutch label Humanoid, knitwear by former Paul & Joe designer April May, and streamlined designs by Indress (think of a grown-up A.P.C.). There’s also a good selection of (Wee Birdy favourite) Belle by Sigerson Morrison shoes.

Head upstairs and you’ll find a light and bright level of more womenswear, as well as hand-picked vintage items and homewares. A cabinet of vintage Sasha dolls – still in their pristine boxes – sits next to Scholten & Baijings’ brightly woven Dutch table linen. It’s all been expertly edited, and although the pieces have been sourced from around the world, they all share a similar mid-century/Scandi aesthetic. Keep an eye out for the magnificent vintage patchwork quilts, as well as Spanish ceramics and Japanese glassware. I love the hand-stitched cushions and throws by Parisian homewares brand Caravane, which use reissued vintage fabrics and have an almost hand-painted feel to them.

Moving downstairs to the basement Garbstore, you’ll find vintage-inspired and Japanese brands exclusive to the UK, such as Bedwin & the Heartbreakers, General Research, Naval Research and Mountain Research. There’s also a wall of Garbstore’s own-brand denim jeans, which boasts 19 different classic styles that were inspired by ‘40s and ‘50s cuts. Look out for Australian’s Rittenhouse t-shirts, as well as Han Kjobenhavn sunglasses. I also found a good selection of vintage tie pins and clips from from £5 (especially hard-to-find clips for skinny ties!). And don’t miss the line-up of vintage Action Men, with prices starting at £45.

Now is a particularly good time to visit, with a store-wide sale on both current and last season’s stock. Or plan a trip on Saturday, when they’ll make further discounts of up to 70 per cent.

UPDATE: Just got news of some of the discounted goodies to expect in store: Belle by Sigerson Morrison ankle strap sandal for £199 (from £299), Rachel Comey chartreuse skirt for £139 (was £349), Ann-Sofie Back crepe fitted blazer for £225 (from £559) and Michelle Lowe-Holder printed silk blazer for £90 (was £229).

Couverture & The Garbstore
188 Kensington Park Road,
London W11 2ES
Tel. 020 7229 2178
Nearest Tubes: Notting Hill Gate and Ladbroke Grove
Click here for a Wee Birdy map

Opening Hours:
Monday to Saturday: 10am-6pm
Sunday: 12 noon-5pm (December only)

Click here for more Wee Birdy shop reviews in Notting Hill.

My Secret London with Imelda Burke

In the latest instalment of My Secret London, I caught up with Marylebone's organic beauty queen, Imelda Burke, owner and founder of Content Beauty/Wellbeing. She opened up her little black book to share some of her secret London gems...

Best for a books?
Books are an ongoing obsession – our house is covered in them. We’ve got everything from art and photography books to medical encyclopaedias - it’s quite an eclectic collection. I go to Donlon Books for the hard-to-finds. It has the best photography and art collection and books on subculture. It’s now got two stores - one in Bethnal Green and one in Broadway market.

For books to give your brain a workout, I love The School of Life. Their faculty have read their way through thousands of books to bring you a carefully edited selection. They have the best categorisation of any bookshop I’ve been to. Shelves are organized in the following topics:

How to turn over a new leaf
How to know you’re in love
How to be green on the cheap
How to be more creative
How to enjoy your own company
How to make the world a better place
How to find pleasure in everyday things
How to understand your childhood
How to survive melancholy
How to find a job you love
How to think deeply about life
How to get on with other people

Charlotte Mann's hand-drawn walls at The School of Life.

Best for vintage?
The Peanut Vendor, a mid-century furniture shop based in Newington Green in Islington. It’s filled with wonderful, previously-loved pieces of furniture and homewares as well as design classics. Look out for G-Plan and Ercol classics.

Best for interiors and gifts?
Rob Ryan’s store on Columbia Road, Ryantown, would have to be my favourite. From tiles to prints, glassware and now cushions – we decorated the treatment room at CONTENT BEAUTY/WELLBEING with his ‘No other planet could be as beautiful as this one’ print.

Best for stationery?
I love a notebook and the best come from www.o-check.net. Their ‘Another Day, Cloudy Memory’ notebooks are sometimes available from twentytwentyone. Made from old-school heavy newsprint paper, numbered and fabric-bound.

I also love their cards, especially the ‘Spring Bird’.

Others I love are from the Monocle shop in Marylebone. Great linen-backed notebooks designed by the Monocle team in London and produced in Germany by Brandbook.

Best for kids?
Jabberwockie in Islington has the best clothes, gifts and shoes for kids. Great for presents, skincare and quirky Japanese ranges. Don’t bother with the mainstream.

Best for beauty/skincare?
That would be my own shop, CONTENT, of course! A selection of the best organic brands such as Dr Alkaitis and Pai Skincare and established near-natural brands like Ren and Nude. We also have one of the most extensive collections of natural perfumes and hold CONTENT wellbeing evenings once a month, which include food and wine tastings and tips for keeping healthy from our team of naturopaths.

Best London souvenir?
I think the best thing to take home from London is an appreciation for the diversity living in a large city brings and the energy it creates.

Best place to eat?
Saf vegan restaurant in Curtain Road.

Click here for a Wee Birdy map of Imelda's secret addresses.
Click here for more Secret Londons.