Wee Birdy

Wee Christmas finds: Beautiful fresh wreaths

Back in 2008 I did a countdown to the top 10 wreaths in London, but many of the wreaths I loved then are still around now. This Christmas I just can't go past The Real Flower Company's glorious collection of fresh scented wreaths. With two farms in Hampshire and Kenya, the UK-based company offers the convenience of ordering flowers online, as well as a shop in Selfridges' food hall.

The Real Flower Company's signature scented garden roses dominate this year's Christmas collection of door wreaths, garlands, table wreaths and bouquets, while traditional red and green arrangements feature bountiful sprigs of thyme and rosemary combined with rose hips, ivy leaves and silver grey senecio. I particularly love the addition of a romantic Odile hurricane lamp to the centre of each table wreath.

The last delivery before Christmas is Thursday 23 December, but to ensure delivery orders need to be placed by Friday 17 December.

The Real Flower Company

Wee Christmas finds: Gifts for wee kids

This one was super-difficult to edit down into one post - there is just so much good stuff online for little kids. Hope my picks help with the wee ones.

1. Indie Rock Coloring Book by Yellow Bird Project, £5.27, from Wee Birdy's UK Amazon shop. (or US$9.95 from Wee Birdy's US Amazon shop). Both stores ship internationally.

2. Handmade cotton Socks the Fox, US$46, from Blabla (ships internationally).

3. Plastisock short sleeve 'Peace Please' T-shirt in yellow, US$24, from Vyssan Lull (only ships within the US.)

4. All About Heidi handmade leather summer shoe, available in a rainbow of colours, $39.95, from My Messy Room (ships internationally).

5. Wooden Solar System, £16.95, from Muji.

6. The Small Object Thumbprint Notecard Set by Sarah Neuburger, US$11.53, from Wee Birdy's US Amazon store (ships internationally) and £6.39 from the UK Amazon store (ships internationally).

7. Hip Stuff Groovy Maracas in blue spot, AU$12, from The Hip Infant (ships internationally).

8. 'Alphabet favourites' print, £20, from Made with Love by Mrs Booth (ships internationally).

9. Press out Giraffe, £3.95, from Muji.

10. Doggie booties, US$27, from Blabla (ships internationally).

11. Duktig 15-piece breakfast set, AU$10.04, from IKEA.

Wee Christmas finds: Jonathan Adler's tree decorations

I'm yet to own a precious piece of Jonathan Adler's modernist animal ceramics (one day, one day I shall start my collection) but his holiday collection of animal tree ornaments isn't a bad place to start.

Each unglazed white decoration starts at US$24, and is beautifully presented in a blue gift box, making them fantastic presents for those few people on your list who have left you stumped. As well as the squirrel, dachsund and cat (above), there's also a hippo, owl, elephant, poodle and seahorse.

I'm also loving the new pop menagerie ornament collection (see below), featuring a lovely lion with bright splashes of geometric colour, stylised peacock with golden swirls and an elephant adorned with a turquoise paisley design. Each glossy white piece comes in an utterly gorgeous matching gift box and is priced at US$28.

Sydney shopping: Finders Keepers market

Phew. I'm a bit puffed. We moved into our new place last weekend and I've been trying to conquer the seemingly expanding mountain of boxes (I think they're breeding) while dealing with a 27-week baby bump and an ever-growing list of utterly mad pregnancy maladies.

But I was so delighted to take a break on the weekend and finally delve into some Australian independent design, in the form of the brilliant Finders Keepers market at Eveleigh's CarriageWorks.

It was my first visit to CarriageWorks and my first real foray into Australian independent design since returning from London. And after covering so many design markets in London (including Bust) and seeing the best of UK talent, I wasn't really sure what to expect. After all, when I left Sydney in February 2007, there wasn't an awful lot happening with local design and craft, but the scene has really taken off since then.

And joy, oh joy, Finders Keepers was an absolute treat! I was not only impressed by the high standard of work but also the diverse and beautifully collated line-up of 75 exhibitors, spanning furniture, fashion, ceramics, textiles, jewellery and stationery. The carefully considered mix of designers offered a new surprise at every turn (my head was just about spinning), neatly avoiding the trap of 'samey-ness' that can sometimes plague design markets.

CarriageWorks itself is a wonderfully cavernous and light-filled industrial location to hold a busy Christmas design market on a humid Sydney weekend, complete with an excellent bar and cafe.

Here are some of my Finders Keepers highlights, with more posts to come over the week. Overseas readers can also purchase some great Australian design by clicking on the websites, which link through to contact details, blogs and online stores.


Super-sweet rabbit characters adorn The Storybook Rabbit's collection of vintage plates.


Loved the 'Noice' biscuit tea-towel at Materialistic's stall.


Sophisticated simplicity from Mr & Mrs White's range of homewares and furniture.


Charming handprinted stationery at Write to Me features adorable vintage motifs.




Cory Child's beautifully pleated fabric necklaces.


Loving Bride and Wolfe's Scandi-inspired circle wall shelves - perfect for collectables and displaying children's figurines.


Vintage fabric and a whimsical timber panel illustration combine to make a gorgeous and unique handbag at Oktoberdee.


The Missing Piece's handcrafted stools feature beautiful organic design and unexpected pops of colour.


The most splendid pre-loved vintage books have been repurposed as journals, photo albums, diaries and sketchbooks at Rebound Books.


'Scratchie' cards, advent calendars and beautiful graphics at TMOD.

Adorable handcrafted creatures (think pugs, owls and foxes) and whimsical embroidery at Cat Rabbit. (Nice website, too.)




Lox+Savvy's brilliant installation of a paper metropolis and eye-popping collection of stationery.

Finders Keepers markets are bi-annual events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Visit their website (and check out their brilliant blog) for more information about the next event.

For more photos, click here for my Flickr set.

Birdy (and Xmas) pick of the week

Just found some more Christmas stocking (and birdy) joy by way of South-east London design company Roddy & Ginger's range of homewares, bags and prints. Scandi and folksy-inspired birds and owls are hand screen-printed across a collection of the loveliest natural linen homewares, including tea-towels, cushions and Christmas stockings. Beautiful and affordable gift ideas!

From above, large Roddy the Owl Christmas stocking, £16, Bird Christmas stocking, £12, Happy birds cushions in teal and turquoise, £25 each, adult's apron in blue or pink, £20, owl cushion in yellow, £25, and pink bird cushion on white linen, £26, from Roddy & Ginger's online shop. 

You can also purchase from their Etsy shop, and read their blog here.