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: Tatty Devine's new lacy designs

Tatty Devine's turned to old-school romance and girlish charm for spring this year with their 'Sundae Best' collection.

The lacy scalloped edges lend themselves beautifully to a range of necklaces, rings, cuffs and headpieces, and you can just about picture Tatty's lovely girls reaching across the jam-smeared paper doily for the very last crumbs of the Victorian Sponge.

The heart-shaped ring is excellent value at £15, and would make a rather lovely Valentine's Day gift, but I'm also quite taken by the cupid's arrow brooch, £27. Gotta love those Tatty girls, they get it right all the time.

Sneak peek: Liberty of London for Target

It has to be the cross-Atlantic collaboration of my dreams: Liberty and US mega-store Target have joined forces for the very first time to deliver those divine heritage prints to the masses. 

 

Kitschy 60s-style Liberty prints are splashed across a range of super-affordable wares - from bicycles and piggy banks to stationery and flip flops. However, the strength of the collection really lies in the marvellous melamine kitchen and picnicware, like the cheery £25 cake stand and £5 cereal bowls, and the china tea pot is also rather lovely.
 

UK shoppers will be able to snap up pieces online from Liberty's website from 12 March, whilst Londoners can shop the collection instore at Liberty's Carnaby Street shop space from 29 March, which will coincide with an international ad campaign boasting photography by Tim Walker. (Can you just imagine? Dreamy colour-saturated flower-power Liberty prints emblazoned across London's buses and tube stations. Ohhhh...) 

 

Liberty Best of British Open Call

Just wanted to give you a heads-up about Liberty's open call for new British designers and creative talent. They're holding an open call on Saturday 6 February, where designer-makers can present their ideas to a panel of experts including the Liberty buying team (and they promise it won't be anything like Dragon's Den!). The best ideas and designs will have their wares snapped up and sold at Liberty. For more info, including registration details, click here. Good luck, everyone!

In other Liberty news, the store is returning to its Arts & Crafts heritage with a new dedicated department on the fourth floor. Curated by Arts & Crafts expert Patch Rogers, the department will feature original furniture, metalwork and textiles. Look out for a full Wee Birdy report...

Sneak Peek: Tracey Neuls + Sanderson shoes

Chintz has never looked so chic since London shoe designer Tracey Neuls got her hands on Sanderson's reissued vintage textiles.

This somewhat surprising collaboration between the British heritage wallpaper company, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, and one of London's more avant-garde shoe designers will coincide with London Fashion Week next month.

Neuls' gallery-like Marylebone Lane shop (read my shop tour here) will be transformed into an eccentric English tea party, complete with a large-scale installation by sculptor Nina Saunders. And apparently birds will be involved - I await with baited breath!

Admittedly, I've got a soft spot for Neuls' rubber-soled shoes, as her mid-height heels are about as high as I can go with my rotten old arthritic toes. It hasn't been easy finding anything attractive I can actually wear, with season after season of increasingly vertiginous heels. So I can't wait to see what she's done with Sanderson's prints - her signature sculptural silhouettes combined with her penchant for dramatic contrast piping will give the chintzy florals a quirky edge. 

'Most Curious'
Footwear from Tracey Neuls
Sculptural installation from Nina Saunders
To celebrate Sanderson's 150th Anniversary
From 17 February 2010 to 30 June 2010
Tracey Neuls
29 Marylebone Lane
London W1U 2NQ
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Click here for more Wee Birdy shop reviews on Marylebone Lane.