Wee Birdy

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.

Birdy pick of the week

Hans Bølling's wooden duck (£64) and duckling (£34), from the Design Museum shop. The story behind the inspiration for the pair is pretty cute, too:

"In Springtime Copenhagen, 1959, a policeman stopped the traffic in order to let a young family of ducks cross the street. The moment was captured by a photographer and created such an impression that all the newspapers published a now famous photograph of the ducks, which encapsulates the Danish attention to nature, detail and the ability to appreciate small everyday miracles."

London must-eats: Raclette at Borough Market

There’s much to love about living so close to London’s Borough Market. It’s become our little Saturday morning ritual, where we take it easy and wander around the stalls, check out the new produce, and make a beeline for Konditor & Cook for a “real” coffee (because Monmouth's always too busy). But sometimes? I’m not quite sure how living in such close proximity to cheesy heaven, aka Kappacasein’s raclette stand, is advantageous for my arteries.

The premise for a Swiss raclette is ridiculously simple: a white carb celebration of melted Ogleshield cheese, new potatoes, baby gherkins and pickled onions. But it’s also ridiculously delicious – and the long queues are a testament to this fact. The plus side of the waiting time is that you get to watch the whole mesmerising raclette-making process, which involves scraping hot, bubbling cheese onto your pile of potatoes and gherkins. Oh lordy!

I especially love the acidic, crunchy baby gherkins, which contrast beautifully with the creamy, cheesy potatoes.

They also make the most unbelievably good toasted cheese sandwiches with Montgomery cheddar, onions, leeks and garlic on Poilâne sourdough.

Kappacasein is at Borough Market on Fridays 10am-6pm and Saturdays 9am-4pm, and can be found just opposite Southwark Cathedral.

Borough Market
8 Southwark Street
London SE4
Nearest tube: London Bridge
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Shopping in London: G Baldwin & Co

Cross the threshold of this unassuming South-East London shop and you’ll catch a whiff of the old-fashioned herbal remedies that made it London’s leading apothecary in its Victorian heyday. 

And whilst they no longer peddle bottles of the extremely popular Touch & Go (for “Warts, Corns and Hard Skin”), you can still purchase a refreshing pint of Sarsaparilla for 30p.

In 1969, G Baldwin and Co moved from 77 Walworth Road to its present location at number 171, but the shop retains much of its charm and original features including a long counter, apothecary wooden drawers and glass jars.

Today the family business is divided into two stores: an excellent health food shop on one side, and the traditional herbalist next door. I was given a sneak-peek behind the scenes, and discovered the fragrant oils room where all of the bottling is done on-site, as well as a thriving mail-order business.

Part of the attraction of Baldwin’s these days is its affordable range of essential oils, natural products and aromatherapy products. I swear by their organic Rosehip Oil, a total steal at £7.99, which I use as an inexpensive glow-giving face serum at night. Rosehip oil can be found as an ingredient in many major beauty brands' more expensive anti-ageing products, due to its high levels of anti-oxidants and collagen-boosting Vitamin A. It's also excellent for healing blemishes and acne scars.

I also love their range of old-fashioned amber bottles and jars, which come in a variety of sizes that would look gorgeous lined up on your bathroom shelf (in manner of Aesop chic). In fact, Baldwin’s is an excellent source for all sorts of crafty DIY beauty ingredients, including bulk packages of dead sea bath salts and silicone soap-making moulds.

Each visit reveals interesting new finds (Stuff in a Tub icecream; English honey cappings; Dr Bronner's soap) and budget buys (luxury handmade soap for £2.89) – making Baldwin's one of London’s true hidden shopping gems.

G Baldwin & Co
171/173 Walworth Road
London SE17 1RW
Tel. 020 7703 5550
Nearest tube/rail: Elephant & Castle
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 9am – 5.30pm

For more shops in South East London, click here.

My Secret London with Alex Monroe

London-based jeweller (and Wee Birdy favourite) Alex Monroe is renowned for his delicate, whimsical (and Valentine's-worthy) creations. So when I had the opportunity to ask him about his secret London destinations, I jumped at the chance. Here's what he had to say ...

"Warning! Don’t forget that although I make particularly feminine jewellery, I am a bloke! Which means that I have a whole different relationship to shops and shopping to women. Bear this in mind and forgive my sins ..."

Best for a bargain? 
"Guilty secret: I love cheapie shops like Uniqlo, Hennies and Gap. And they’re all over the place! I sometimes pop into town with my eldest daughter to buy piles of skinny jeans (for her not for me!). The kids grow out of things so fast, which isn’t a problem when they’re cheap. We always have a bit left over for Hot Chocolate at Leon, and a treat lunch in Sakura (on Hanover street). I’m afraid I’m not much of a bargain-hunter, except for my bi-annual purchase of John Smedley pull-overs from London Fashion Week-end. Oh, and the odd spree at The White Stuff."

Best for vintage?
"I only ever buy vintage bikes and crockery. I don't know how many bikes I have - Holdsworths and Hetchins from the 1960s. Ahh. Bliss. Herne Hill bike jumble if you’re a ‘Classic Lightweight’.
Never drink out of a mug. I get my cups, saucers, tea-pots, etc from car boot sales. Now friends buy me bits and bobs whenever they see something. There’s a handy car boot sale in Battersea on Sunday morning, or check out Bermondsey Market on a Friday morning."

 

Margaret Howell's spring/summer 09 collection.

Best for fashion?
"Margaret Howell, mmm! Or Old Town Clothing, they rent a showroom in Dickensian East London once in a while. You have to get in touch and make an appointment. And John Smedley. For browsing, stroll from Angel tube station through Camden passage and along Upper Street. Don’t forget to stop for a coffee and treat in Ottolenghi!"

Old Town Clothing.

Best for jewellery?
"Ha! Me, of course! But seriously ... Liberty are re-doing their jewellery department for Valentines Day, it should look great. Harrods have a fab department. Sweet Pea in Primrose Hill is lovely, as well as Kirt Holmes in Camden passage. It's harder work, but it's really exciting to see the St. Martin’s degree show exhibition in June, or New Designers in Islington in July."

Alex Monroe jewellery.

Best for interiors and gifts?
"For gifts, head to Burlington Arcade. Lovely macaroons from Laduree, tea from Luponde, or smellies from Penhaligons. Anything extra, pop over the road to Fortnum and Mason (and get afternoon tea while you’re there!). Petersham Nurseries are fab. They have a lovely nursery, cafe and wonderful shop in the old greenhouses. Lovely gardening pots, strings, and gadgets all on a dry mud floor intertwined with jasmine and honeysuckle. It’s heaven. Great furniture, too."

 

Best for stationery?
"Smythson of Bond Street. (Save up for it though, it’s not cheap!)"

Best for kids?
"My kids are out-doorsie so we love Nunhead Cemetery and Dulwich Woods."

Best for beauty/skincare?
"I’m a bloke! But my wife is an aromatherapist at Neal’s Yard in Marylebone. She does natural facial rejuvenation which is fantastic."

Number one London shopping secret?
"The Neal’s Yard Dairy cheese shop in Borough Market. I love it!"

Best London souvenir?
"Cheese of course!"

Best for food?
"Depends if you’re feeling poshy, or noshy. For Posh I love a long lunch at Roussillon in Pimlico. The wine is perfect and the food - well, try it for yourselves. It’s a taste-bud treat from heaven.

For Nosh there’s only one place, The Anchor and Hope in Waterloo. I’m a real fan of great British food, and that’s what they serve. Crab on toast, mackerel with pickled cucumber, potted shrimp and beetroot salad. All washed down with a lovely Kentish beer. It doesn’t get much better than that. The freshest of local ingredients at a great price. I go there every week to catch up with my big brother. We have a chat, a drink and some grub. It’s lovely."

For all addresses and a Wee Birdy map of Alex's secret London, click here.

Click here for Alex's jewellery and blog.