Wee Birdy

Top 10 London Christmas gifts

1. Fortnum and Mason biscuits

A tin of biscuits may be a bit of a Christmas cliché, but Fortnum’s Piccadilly Biscuit Selection, £13.95, is a particularly elegant option, with a pretty tin of butter biscuits in six different flavours (golden crunch, date & walnut, lemon curd, ginger, macadamia nut and chocolate pearl).

2. Colour-changing umbrella

I’m fascinated by this umbrella, which features a white London skyline on a black background. When it rains, the water turns the skyline a rainbow of colours. Genius. £30 from Squid London at Beyond the Valley.

3. Shepherd’s diary

Hand-bound in Shepherd’s London bindery in a range of decorative Japanese papers. The slim-line pocket diary is £19.50 and available from the Rochester Row & Southampton Row stores, as well as Liberty. 

4. Ormonde Jayne’s Tiare fragrance

Bypass the department store perfume box sets and head to Ormonde Jayne for the exquisite new Tiare fragrance, which features mandarin, orange flower and Sicilian lime in the top notes, with a ‘heart’ of Tiare, freesia, water lilies, jasmine, orris and ylang. £68 for 50ml Eau de Parfum.

5. Pigeon hankies

Brilliance in a hankie, by London-based designers Thornback and Peel. £18 from Liberty.

6. Alex Monroe bird ring

Wonderfully detailed and delicate work. Alex is a South-Londoner, too. £132 from Alex Monroe.

7. Grayson Perry Tate Modern scarf

Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry has turned his attention to the Tate Modern in this beautifully illustrated silk scarf. (Thanks to Kate Wilson of Little Doodles for the tip!). £63.61, from the Tate Modern shop.

8. Mimi leather purse

This 'Merlin' leather purse is by East London designer Mimi, and features gold foil stamping by Lucky Bird. £37, from Mimi.

9. Rococo Chocolates

I love Rococo as much for their distinctive blue and white packaging as for their delicious chocolates – and this box of rose, violet, lavender and geranium creams (so very English) is a winner for under a tenner. "Fiori e Cioccolata" 8 flower fondant creams, £9.95.

10. Mittens necklace

Toasty mittens to hang around your neck, £63, by Tatty Devine.

Bird is the word: A week of giveaways

It’s day three of A Week of Giveaways at Wee Birdy, and Penhaligon’s has joined the blogiversary celebrations with a complete set of four fragrances from their limited edition Anthology Collection, at a total retail value of £380.

These new fragrances have been brought back from the Penhaligon’s archive, which has a long heritage of perfumery in Britain, dating back to the 1870s when William Penhaligon first moved to London from Cornwall and started creating fine fragrances for discerning gentlemen.

Since then, the brand has collected Royal Warrants from The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh, and has produced some of Britain’s most iconic and historic fragrances. The boutiques, meanwhile, still capture some of the old-world charm and sense of history of the brand, complete with dark wood panelling, glass cabinets, and collectable silver trinkets.

The four new fragrances from the Anthology Collection are the sharply sherbet Extract of Limes (1963), the subtly aromatic Eau de Verveine (1949), the playful Gardenia (1976) and the dark and heady Night Scented Stock (1976). 

For your chance to win the complete set of four fragrances from the Penhaligon’s Anthology Collection, valued at £380, simply leave a comment telling me about your favourite nostalgic scent. Don’t forget to include your email address so I can contact you if you win!

Entries close for all giveaways on Friday 24 July at 6pm (British Summer Time). Winners will be announced on Monday 27 July, 2009.

Thank you Penhaligon’s! If you love the look of these fragrances, you might like to:
- check out the Penhaligon’s website;
- read about their iconic Bluebell bath oil here;
- or visit one of their beautiful boutiques here.

Wee Valentine’s finds: The perfume

 

I know … a bottle of perfume isn’t the most wildly original or personal Valentine’s Day gift. That’s why the department store counter is probably best avoided at this time of the year. However, the extremely clever people at Ormonde Jayne, arguably London’s best-kept secret perfumery, have got Feb 14 all wrapped up with their genius engraving service.

What I wouldn’t do for a hand-blown glass flacon of their signature parfum with my initials engraved onto the exquisite gold and glass stopper … heaven! And I’d happily settle for Ormonde Woman, which was described as “truly great” and awarded five stars by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez in their recently-published fragrance handbook, Perfumes: The Guide.

But it doesn’t come cheap. A bottle of parfum with personalised engraving will set you back £130. Allow five working days for engraving and delivery in the UK and two weeks for international post.

Ormonde Jayne
12 The Royal Arcade
28 Old Bond Street
London W1S 4SL
Tel. 020 7499 1100
Nearest Tubes: Piccadilly and Green Park.
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 10am – 6pm

For more shops in Mayfair, click here.