Wee Birdy

Buying cashmere in London

As I mentioned in a previous post, the streets are awash with the soft, soft touch of cashmere.

If you’ve ever thought about investing in a quality cashmere piece, now is the time to make your move, with the winter sales currently in full swing.

And while all cashmere is luxurious, some cashmere is more luxurious than others (apologies to Orwell). Here’s my pick of the best places to buy the good stuff in London:

N.Peal
Founded in 1963, N.Peal is one of the luxury cashmere brands located in the historic Burlington Arcade, with separate men’s and women’s stores. The knitwear is made and designed in Scotland, using Mongolian and Chinese wool. Cashmere scarves are currently on sale for £79 (down from £99), with certain lines reduced by up to 50 per cent.

www.npeal.com
37 and 71 Burlington Arcade
Mayfair
London W1
Tel: 020 7499 6485

Berk Cashmere
One of London’s more traditional cashmere specialists located in the Burlington Arcade. Think classic cashmere twinsets, sweaters and cardigans. House-brand cashmere scarves start at £99.75.
46-49 Burlington Arcade
Mayfair
London W1
Tel: 020 7493 0028

Brora
This Scottish brand is renowned for its high quality cashmere and classic investment pieces. Cashmere scarves start at £45. If you’ve got your eye on a cashmere sweater or cardie, hold off ‘til 16 January, when the sale starts.

Loving the adorable cashmere baby range:

www.brora.co.uk
344 Kings Road
London
SW3 5UR

186 Upper Street
London
N1 1RQ

81 Marylebone High Street
London
W1U 4QJ

66/68 Ledbury Road
London
W11 2AJ

17 High Street Wimbledon
London
SW19 5DX

Pringle of Scotland
One of Britain’s leading luxury knitwear brands, Pringle started knitting cashmere in 1871. The argyle cashmere sweater is a Pringle classic staple.

Check out the cute kids Autumn/Winter capsule collection for argyle au go go:

(Cashmere aside, here a couple of my favourite looks from their younger and more directional 1815 collection for Spring/Summer 2008:)

Head to Pringle now for 50 per cent off selected items.
www.pringlescotland.com
London stores:
141 Sloane Street
London SW1
Tel: 020 7881 3060

112 New Bond Street
London W1
Tel: 020 7297 4580

High Street picks:

Marks & Spencer
Excellent range of everyday cashmere pieces at reasonable price points, starting at £20 for a cashmere scarf, and £39.50 for short-sleeved sweaters. Sale on now.
www.marksandspencer.com
Find stores here.

Uniqlo
The fun marketing campaign featuring cashmere-clad sock puppets has been hard to miss on London Tube escalators in December, and so is this Japanese brand’s ultra-affordable prices and huge range of fashion colours.

Prices start at £39.95 for cashmere tops. Sale on now.
www.uniqlo.co.uk
Flagship Store
311 Oxford Street,
London,
W1C 2HP
T: 020 7290 7701

170 Oxford Street,
London,
W1D 1NQ
T: 020 7307 9671

Cashmere Clinic
If your cashmere gets moth holes or needs to be repaired, send it to a cashmere specialist. This place is the best in London.

The Cashmere Clinic
www.cashmere-clinic.co.uk
Flat 5, 53 Redcliffe Gardens
London
SW10 9JJ
Tel: 0207 584 9806

Last minute Christmas treats

If you haven't started already, now is the time to start digging into all the seasonal goodies. There's nothing cosier than watching all those ultra-cheesey Christmas specials on TV by candlelight, whilst feasting on some warm Christmas pud. Here, my favourite sweet treats in London:

Ultimate Christmas pudding, £32.95, from Harrods. Packaged in a black ceramic basin and matured for six months.

Brandy butter, £3.95, from Harrods.

Meg Rivers Christmas Cake and tin, £38, from Cath Kidston. £5 of the proceeds from every sale of this award-winning cake goes to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Hope and Greenwood suitcase, from £24.95, from The Conran Shop. Each suitcase is filled with a selection of nostalgic English sweets.

And I'll be heading to Konditor & Cook this weekend to pick up some of their infamous handmade mince pies. Apparently Nigella fancies them very muchly. Merry yum yum!

Stockists:

The Conran Shop
www.conranshop.co.uk
The Conran Shop Chelsea
Michelin House
81 Fulham Road
London SW3
Tel 020 7589 7401

The Conran Shop Marylebone
55 Marylebone High Street
London W1
Tel 020 7723 2223

Harrods
www.harrods.com
87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge, London SW1

Cath Kidston
www.cathkidston.co.uk
Click here for store locations.

Konditor & Cook
www.konditorandcook.com
Waterloo:
22 Cornwall Road
London SE1

London Bridge:
10 Stoney Street
London SE1

Chancery Lane:
46 Grays Inn Road
London WC1

Curzon Soho Cafe:
99 Shaftesbury Ave
London W1

The Gherkin
30 St Mary Axe
London EC3

The best crackers in London

OK, so I could start this post with a dodgy pun on crackers, but I'll try to restrain myself. Instead, just check out the best crackers for 2007.

Holly/Ric Rac Christmas Crackers, £10 for a set of six, from Cath Kidston.

Christmas Tree Crackers, Blue and White, reduced to £10 for a set of 12, from John Lewis. Each cracker contains a gift, motto and hat. The gifts include a shoe horn, compact mirror, playing cards, screwdrivers, address book, tape measure, pad lock, bottle opener, tweezers, travel chess, photo frame and pen.

Fiesta Christmas crackers, £45 for a box of six, from The Conran Shop. Each cracker contains a hat, joke and a gift.

Nine mini crackers, £5, from Paperchase.

Eight premium crackers, £13, from Woolworths.

Sergeant Major and Sugar Plum Fairy Crackers, £40 for a box of six, from Fortnum & Mason. Each cracker contains a wooden toy or instrument.

For an eco-friendly bang...

Ethical Christmas crackers, £25, from Made. Crackers are handmade in Africa using back issues of Grazia and other recycled materials. Each cracker contains a gift made from recycled items, as well as a Grazia party hat and teaser.

Berry Eco Christmas Cracker, £4.50 each or six for £25, from Biome Lifestyle. The wrapping around the cracker is handmade from seed paper, so you can plant the paper after Christmas and grow some pretty wild flowers. Each cracker is filled with an eco-tip and a small gift like a charitable donation or a fair trade keyring.

And don't forget your dog...

Polka Pet Crackers, £15 for one, from Fortnum & Mason. Contains a diamante pet collar charm.

If money is no issue ...

Traditional Christmas crackers, £499 for six, from Harrods, 2nd floor Christmas World. The crackers are hand-crafted and contain silver gifts.

Ballroom flock Christmas crackers, £299 for six, from Harrods, 2nd floor Christmas World. Each cracker is hand-crafted and contains a silver gift.

Or, have a go at making your own...

Check out this post at Meet Me at Mikes, which includes some links to some fab online tutorials. Also, check out Paperchase for their nifty DIY cracker kits, complete with snaps and paper.

And go out with the biggest bang of all...

Exploding chocolate bomb £85, from The Conran Shop. The bomb is filled with enough chocolates and gadgets for 15 people.

Stockists:

The Conran Shop
www.conranshop.co.uk
The Conran Shop Chelsea
Michelin House
81 Fulham road
London SW3 6RD
Tel 020 7589 7401

The Conran Shop Marylebone
55 Marylebone High Street
London W1U 5HS
Tel 020 7723 2223

Paperchase
www.paperchase.co.uk
Click here for store locations.

Harrods
www.harrods.com
87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7XL

Fortnum & Mason
www.fortnumandmason.com
181 Piccadilly
London W1

Biome Lifestyle (online only)
www.biomelifestyle.com

Woolworths
www.woolworths.co.uk
Click here for store locations.

John Lewis
www.johnlewis.com
Click here for store locations.

Cath Kidston
www.cathkidston.co.uk
Click here for store locations.

Made (online only)
www.made.uk.com

A wee birdy in a pear tree

Forgive me for indulging my passion for all things ornithological, but following a year where birds emerged as a major decorating trend, the interest hasn't let up for the festive season. So without further ado, here's a wee birdy or two for your tree. I've sourced these various feathered folk from London shops and my fave online stores. See the bottom of the post for stockist details.

Bird decorations, £29.95, for a set of eight, from Dotcomgiftshop.

Large tin bird, £13.58, from VVRouleaux.

Multi-coloured glass parrots hanging decorations, £8.95 for a set of three, from Dotcomgiftshop.

Swarovski owl decoration, £16.95, from The Conran Shop. Tel. 020 7589 7401

Robin Christmas tree decoration by Vivi, £7.75, from Not on the High Street.

Gold sequin bird, £3 for a set of three, from Woolworths.

Gold glitter wire bird, £2, from John Lewis.

Personalised handpainted fine china bauble in robin design, £9.95, from GettingPersonal.co.uk.

And I'll just sneak in a few fave birdy cards, as well:

Elle and the Snow Dove Postcards, US$16 for a set of 8, from BelleandBoo’s Etsy shop.

Pear Tree cards, US$10 for a set of four, from BlueSnailPaper’s Etsy shop.

Season’s Greetings cards, US$6 for a set of four, from EnfinLaVoila’s Etsy shop.

Top bird tip: if you click on the link to an Etsy product and it has sold out (they tend to do this quickly as they are one-offs), make sure you click on the link to the actual shop as they will often have the exact item listed again.

London stockists:

VVRouleaux
54 Sloane Square
Cliveden Place
London SW1W 8AX
Tel: 020 7730 3125

VVRouleaux
102 Marylebone Lane
London W1U 2QD
Tel: 020 7224 5179

The Conran Shop Chelsea
Michelin House
81 Fulham road
London SW3 6RD
Tel: 020 7589 7401

The Conran Shop Marylebone
55 Marylebone High Street
London W1U 5HS
Tel: 020 7723 2223

John Lewis
Oxford Street
London W1A 1EX

John Lewis
Brent Cross Shopping Centre
London
NW4 3FL

A Very Cath Kidston Christmas

Check out the endearing new Christmas range from Queen of Twee Prints, Cath Kidston. I'm totally loving the cheery holly print in Kidston's signature colour palette.

Holly print cake tin, £8, from Cath Kidston.

Holly print napkins, £15, from Cath Kidston.

Holly print double oven glove, £10, from Cath Kidston.

Holly print apron, £18, from Cath Kidston.

Wool sheep decorations (including the requisite black sheep of the family), £16.50 for a set of five, from Cath Kidston.

Enamel Christmas badge, £4.50, from Cath Kidston.

Cath Kidston
www.cathkidston.co.uk
Click here for store locations

Cath Kidston - Covent Garden
28-32 Shelton Street
London WC2H 9JE
Telephone: 020 7836 4803
Nearest tube: Covent Garden

Cath Kidston - Chelsea
12 Cale Street
London SW3 3QV
Telephone: 020 7584 3232
Nearest tube: Sloan Square and South Kensington

Cath Kidston - Kings Road
322 Kings Road
London SW3 5UH
Telephone: 020 20 7351 7335
Nearest tube: Sloan Square

Cath Kidston - Fulham
668 Fulham Road
London SW6 5RX
Telephone: -20 7731 6531
Nearest tube: Parsons Green

Cath Kidston - Marylebone
51 Marylebone High Street
London W1U 5HW
Telephone: 020 7935 6555
Nearest tube: Baker Street