Wee Birdy

Top tea sets: Willow by W2

Willow Black and Yellow Cake Stand, £30, by W2.

Willow Black and Yellow small tea pot, £20, by W2.

Willow Black and Yellow tea cups, £35, by W2.

Loving this modern take on the traditional Willow tea set by London-based design company W2, the same people behind the popular Pantone mug range. Available to purchase online or from their flagship shop on South Bank.

W2 shop
1.22 Oxo Tower Wharf
Barge House Street
London SE1 9PH
Tel. 020 7922 1444
Nearest tubes: Waterloo and Southwark
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 10am - 6pm

Last chance: Tim Walker

I managed to squeeze in time on Friday afternoon to see Tim Walker's superb exhibition at the Design Museum in London. It closes tomorrow (Sunday) so you've got one day left to see his photography in all its colour-saturated glory. I particularly loved seeing his scrapbooks and 'thinking' behind some of his more spectaclar shoots - so inspirational.

I'm also keen to check out Eglingham Hall in Northumberland one day - has anyone been? It's interesting that he returned to this English manor house time and again for so many shoots - and fully utilised the grounds as well as the interior. It's hard to imagine it now without a mass of coloured balloons tumbling out of the front windows.

I made it to the museum with one hour to spare at 4.45pm, which was actually quite fortunate as I picked up a 'last hour' ticket for £5 (down from the usual £8.50 for adults).  Something to keep in mind ...

Design Museum

28 Shad Thames

London SE1 2YD 

Tel. 020 7403 6933

Opening hours:
Daily 10am - 5.45pm
Last admission at 5.15pm

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

p.s. his kitsch pastel kitties reminded me of one particular wedding from my bridal magazine days where the bridesmaids marched down the aisle with matching dyed poodles in pink, lemon, blue and mint.

Wee finds at TK Maxx

I can count on one hand the amount of times I've set foot inside a TK Maxx store.

When I first arrived in the UK, I made a beeline for this shop. It was, apparently, where "savvy shoppers" head to unearth a designer gem. Heck, I thought, I'm a savvy shopper. So off I toddled, dedicating a decent amount of time to digging around in a bid to bag a designer bargain [note to self: go easy on the alliteration]. But after a few visits yielded zero startling finds, I gave it up as the stuff of legend.

But there I was this afternoon, back at my local Lewisham branch, trawling the racks in desperation for a bikini. I know. It's the end of the season. I've missed the boat. BUT, I'm flying off to Sardinia next month and I have a bad habit of leaving bikini buying 'til the last minute. That's because it's a demon task from hell. Still, I thought I had nothing to lose and dutifully made my way around the shop floor.

Not surprisingly, there was zilch in the way of swimsuits BUT, I did end up in the scarf section (yep, miles away from bikinis) and found a rather choice selection including a See by Chloe cotton print scarf (£19), a striking orange and black silk McQ by Alexander McQueen scarf (£99 - down from £500), a dancing Olivia red silk Moschino scarf (£15) and a woolen tan and cream scarf by Michael Kors (£19). I also discovered a bunch of pretty Calvin Klein and Elle McPherson bras for around £6 over in lingerie. Cheep cheep!

What to take home Wednesday: Blue Plaques

W2 are the London-based design team behind the clever Pantone mugs (oh, how I desire one in every colour) and they're also the the official licensees of English Heritage, who are responsible for the iconic blue plaques posted on buildings around the capital. The plaques mark the historic home or working place of a Very Important Londoner (VIL).

Blue plaque tea towel, £6, by W2.

The girls at W2 have produced a fabulous collection of Blue Plaque tea-towels and fine bone china mugs, which includes such VILs as Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, Enid Blyton, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx. I only have one question: is it an oxymoron to hanker after the suffragette Pankhurst women tea-towel as well as the Enid Blyton?

W2 shop
www.w2products.com
1.22 Oxo Tower Wharf
Barge House Street
London SE1 9PH
Tel. 020 7922 1444

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 10am -6pm

Nearest tubes: Waterloo and Southwark

Design Museum: Designs of the Year

Two new things I learnt about London over the weekend:
1. It snows in spring, not winter; and
2. Marks & Spencer Hot Cross Buns and Cadbury Crème Eggs are key items for holiday survival.

Fighting the urge to hibernate under the duvet, I headed over to the Design Museum with some friends on Easter Sunday to look at the 100 works nominated for the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year. This year’s decision to change the title from “Designer of the Year” to “Designs of the Year” was inspired as it really opened up the competition to new and innovative design from all disciplines.

Amongst the iPhone, Nintendo Wii, and a cheap and energy-efficient laptop for children in developing countries (Yves Behar’s One Laptop Per Child was the winning design), I was particularly (and predictably) taken by the Hussein Chalayan LED dress from his a/w 2007 Airborne collection. Encrusted with Swarovski crystals and 15,600 LEDs, multi-coloured patterns flickered across the fabric as if lit by psychedelic fireflies. Quite beautiful.

Also up for nomination in the fashion category are Pierre Hardy’s fashion accessories from s/s 2008; Giles Deacon’s s/s 2008 collection; Uniqlo’s cashmere project with Pantone; Issey Miyake’s innovative Dyson vacuum cleaner dress (complete with male and female parts) and Osman Yousefzada’s a/w 07/08 collection.

My other favourites include Anthony Dicken's clever interpretation of the classic Anglepoise Fifty lamp, Marigold’s genius (and nomadic-friendly) Make/Shift shelving, and the Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions (for dazzling new illustrated covers like a comic-strip version of Lady Chatterley's Lover).

The museum's shop is a must-see (and worthy of its own post), especially if you fancy design-led products and books. In fact, some of nominated products are available to purchase in the shop (as well as online), including the Anglepoise Fifty lamp (£39.50), Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions (£12.99), Make/Shift shelves (£120 for a set of two), and Naoto Fukasawa's calculator (£25.95).

Design Museum
www.designmuseum.org
Shad Thames
London SE1 2YD
Tel. 0870 833 9955

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Tickets: Adults £8.50; Concessions £6.50; Students £5; Under 12s free

Opening hours:
10am - 5.45pm daily (last admission 5.15pm)

Nearest tube: London Bridge