London shopping: MarMarCo

As regular Wee Birdies may already know, I’m rather fond of shopping on Cheshire Street. It’s rarely crowded, not far from where I live, and it offers the best line-up of independent boutiques in London. MarMarCo is one of its wee gems. This small shop at number 16 specialises in contemporary homewares and gifts, mainly of European and British design.



There’s also a whole lot of Scandi-love going on here, thanks to Danish co-owner Marianne Lumholdt. Pick up Danish goodies such as undyed felt slippers (£47.50), Kähler striped ceramic vases (£19.50-£49.50) and Randers water-resistant leather gloves (£37.50). I dig the delicate hand-made porcelain jewellery by Louise Kragh and the collection of baby clothes by Danish label Holly’s Baby (socks for £4 and onesies for £20).



The shop is particularly good at offering a wide range of items that tick all the right boxes in terms of beautiful design at good price points. And I’m never disappointed when I'm on a mission for finding The Perfect Gift. Right now I’ve got my eye on the modish spherical birdfeeder (£34.95), multi-pin candlesticks (which give the illusion of candles floating on air, Hogwarts-style, £27), and the surreal gold and silver plant-like spoons (from £13).




It also stocks an excellent range of Vynil Domestic’s decorative wall stickers (from £25) and laser-cut mirrors (from £45). Other highlights include the Bolivian Fairtrade Cashlama throws, scarves and shawls (from £75), Höganäs Keramik’s range of dinnerware (for the prettiest coloured glazes) and Cecilie Manz pendant lamps (£98). Oh, and did I mention that Sarah Jessica Parker is also a fan?



Mar Mar Co
16 Cheshire Street
London E2 6EH
Tel. 020 7729 1494

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Friday and Saturday 1pm - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm
(Other times by appointment)

Nearest tube: Liverpool Street
For more shops in East London, click here.

What to take home Wednesday: Mimi purse

The Gracie leather purse, £40, by East London handbag designer Mimi Berry, is a classic design and comes in a range of beautiful colours like antique gold, ruby red and burnt orange. Berry, a Central Saint Martins graduate, has built a reputation for quality leather handbags that marry practicality with understated style.

Mimi
40 Cheshire Street
London E2 6EH
Tel: 020 7729 6699

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Saturday 10.30am-6pm
Sunday 11am-6pm

Nearest tube: Liverpool Street

For other shops on Cheshire Street, click here.

London shopping: traditional Christmas decorations

If you love traditional European folk art decorations, make a beeline to East London right now.

Head to Shelf on Cheshire Street for their endearing range of hand-carved Christmas decorations from the Erzgebirg region in Germany. These traditional wooden folk art decorations, otherwise known as Erzgebirgische Volkskunst, are highly collectable and come in a variety of scenes and figures. I love the wooden spinners, which are generated by lit candles, as well as the ornately carved trees and the tiny wooden figurines. Best to get in now because Shelf has reduced the price on these decorations by 40 per cent.







Shelf
40 Cheshire Street
London E2 6EH
Tel: 020 7739 9444

Opening hours:
Friday afternoon by appointment only
Saturday 1pm-6pm
Sunday 11am-6pm
Nearest tube: Liverpool Street

Nearby on Shoreditch High Street, you can pick up some adorable traditional Swedish decorations from art supply store Cowling & Wilcox, starting at 75p for a mini red horse. The store’s owners have Swedish roots, and the handmade decorations are all based on traditional folklore.

The decorations are also available in their Soho and South London stores. If your tree is already full (although, there’s always room for one more, yes?), tie on a wee Swedish star or angel to your Christmas parcels. Brown wrapping paper with red ribbon would look ace.

Traditional Swedish Christmas decoration, £2.25, from Cowling & Wilcox.

Cowling & Wilcox
West London:
26-28 Broadwick Street
Soho, London W1F 8HX
Tel: 020 7734 9556
Opening hours:
Monday-Friday 9.30am-6.30pm
Saturday 10am-6pm

South London:
8-12 Orpheus Street
Camberwell, London SE5 8RR
Opening times:
Monday-Friday 9.30am-6.30pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm

East London:
112 Shoreditch High Street
Shoreditch London E1 6JN
Tel: 020 7033 3685
Opening times:
Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Late night Christmas shopping in London

With Christmas just 20 sleeps away, there are a host of late night shopping events coming up for London readers.

I took a friend along to “Sparkling Thursdays” night at Selfridges a couple of weeks ago, and we had a rollicking good time scoffing Lindt balls, downing free glasses of champagne whilst checking out all the limited edition holiday ranges (I love Dior’s shimmering new eye palette) and having makeovers. We also scored some cool freebies from Korres. Too much fun. The next Sparkling Thursdays night is on Thursday 6 December and Thursday 13 December at the Oxford Street store from 4pm to 9pm. Click here for more information.


Selfridges
400 Oxford St
London
W1A 2LR
Nearest tube: Bond Street.

Otherwise, head to East London for two of the coolest street shopping nights.

Columbia Road’s shops are normally only open on Sundays for the Flower Market, but they're opening for special late shopping nights on Wednesday 12 December and Wednesday 19 December, from 5pm to 9pm. There will be carols, mulled wine, Santa and mince pies.

While you're there, keep an eye out for my fave Columbia Road shops like Treacle (at no. 110-112) for the sweetest and sparkliest cupcakes, Vintage Heaven (at no. 148) for fabulous vintage finds, Supernice Limited (at no.106) for Blik wall decals, Openhouse (at no. 152) for furniture and accessories for the house and garden, Angela Flanders Perfumes (at no. 96) for bespoke fragrance, Bob and Blossom (at no. 14) for gorgeous children’s toys and clothing and Fred Bare (at no. 118) for cool hats.

Got to www.columbiaroad.co.uk for more information.
Nearest tube: Old Street, Liverpool Street and Bethnal Green.


And nearby on Cheshire Street (just off Brick Lane), the stores are getting festive tomorrow night, Thursday 6 December from 6pm to 9pm. Read all about my fave Cheshire Street stores here. Head to Dragana Perisic for some festive mulled wine, as well as 20 per cent off all full-priced items.
Go to www.cheshirestreet.co.uk for more information.
Nearest tube: Liverpool Street.

Updated: Shelf

I've just updated my post about Shelf, the fabulous shop in Cheshire Street in East London, to show you some of the amazing Russian Doll designs from Melbourne stitch-n-bitch collective, Kreative Kraft Kuties. Aren't they clever birds? You can buy the unpainted raw wood dolls from Shelf.

London shopping: Dragana Perisic

Perisic’s range of garments, jewellery and bags carry her trademark attention to detail and this season’s collection is all about ultra-feminine whimsical pieces with a tactile edge. Take the transparent black dress in the window: a collection of organza “puffs” that are delicately hand-stitched like a dark spider web – a feature that recurs throughout Perisic’s designs.


This careful craftsmanship is reflected in the amazing book-cut sculptures by artist Su Blackwell, which are currently on show (and for sale) in the shop. Blackwell literally brings books to life, with hand-cut butterflies escaping from the pages of an old book, and a forest of paper trees growing wildly from the pages of another tome.




Both designers’ creations work well together to provide a visual treat and a lot of fun. Don’t miss Perisic’s hand-stitched rope dress and her vintage-style tees with a Deco motif.

Dragana Perisic
30 Cheshire Street
London E2 6EH
Tel. 020 7739 4484

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Friday to Sunday 11am-6pm

Nearest tube: Liverpool Street

For more shops on Cheshire Street, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.

London shopping: Shelf

Some shops just seem to sum you up in one go. You love everything in it. You want to spend many, many minutes in it. You feel inspired by it. Heck, you even want to buy it. For me, Shelf is the ‘it’ place.


Another little sparkling gem on Cheshire Street in East London, Shelf stocks an exciting collection of unique products that have a strong illustrative/folk/craft element, combined with a touch of vintage aesthetic. They are sourced from local craftspeople as well as from abroad.


One of the hero products is their amazing collection of vintage enamel white letters, as well as reproduction letters from a collection the owners sourced in San Francisco. Apparently they were used as signage and titles in silent movies in the 1930s and 1950s. The letters proved so popular that the original versions ran out, so Shelf has designed a range of vintage reproductions, with an unusual and distinctive font.


Other delights in store include German laser-cut wooden wall designs, cloth-bound notebooks in vintage and illustrative fabrics, and traditional hand-carved unpainted Russian dolls. I love the graphic simplicity of the “naked” wood grain, but you can also get creative and paint them yourself. Check out the amazing designs created by talented Melbourne stitch-n-bitch collective, Kaotic Kraft Kuties, here, here, here and here.


Another thing I like about Shelf? Apart from great design, they like all things ornithological. Combine the two, and here at Wee Birdy, that’s a very fine thing indeed. In fact, birds are a recurring motif throughout the store, with ceramic versions by Masahiro Moria for Hakusan, Danish 1950s wooden birds by Vedel, Robert Ryan bird prints and cushions, and minimalist screenprints of birds by Berlin artist Frerk.




Other fabulous finds include tiny wooden lambs on wheels (£3); rolls of packing tape with a London double-decker bus design; and “ephemera packs” (kinda like a grown-up lucky dip) stuffed with bits and bobs like stationery items, twine, tags and labels (£8). But the “most unique” award would have to go to the lichen-covered twigs with crocheted mushrooms growing out of them.


Shelf
40 Cheshire Street
London E2 6EH
Tel. 020 7739 9444

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Friday afternoon by appointment only
Saturday 1pm-6pm
Sunday 11am-6pm

Nearest tube: Liverpool Street

For more shops on Cheshire Street, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.

London shopping: Ella Doran

I have to confess that I have a soft spot for flower boxes in windows. It’s a distinctly British tradition where many a dodgy pub is adorned by a carefully colour-co-ordinated explosion of pansies and cascading ivy. But it’s also an inviting, fresh and homely feature, and I’m pleased to discover that Ella Doran’s store has a couple of bright pink boxes of geraniums in the front window.


A well-known UK-based commercial designer, Ella Doran has collaborated with various brands and retailers, such as John Lewis, to develop a range of products featuring her trademark photographic prints.


Her images are typically a colour-saturated visual treat, whether it’s a row of coloured pencils, London’s iconic Routemaster buses, or an idyllic green meadow spotted with wildflowers. Her products range from made-to-order blinds to cushions, wallpaper, tableware, china and children’s products.


I love Colour, the kids’ book that Ella collaborated on in conjunction with Tate Enterprises. It’s visually exciting and a whole lot of fun. Her melamine range of products combine practical with cool, and I love the kooky “Vintage Plates” tray – perfect for breakfast in bed – and the cute kids’ apron in a vibrant cut-out paper dolls design.

Ella Doran
46 Cheshire Street
London E2 6EH
Tel. 020 7613 0782

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 10am-6pm
Saturday 12pm-5pm
Sunday 11am-5pm

Nearest tube: Liverpool Street

For more shops on Cheshire Street, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.

London shopping: Russell Roberts

This quiet, unassuming storefront on buzzy Cheshire Street in East London is home to a carefully-edited selection of modernist 20th century furniture, art and collectables. For those who like their mid-century designers, there are chairs by Eames and Wegner, Italian lighting and English Ercol chairs. A psychedelic late 1970s Peter Max (Beatles’ Yellow Submarine artist) ice bucket wearing sunglasses adds a quirky and fun element to the store, as well as the selection of cup-holding ‘80s robots.


I like the rosewood 1950s Danish sideboard by Arne Vodder and a USM Haller red steel office storage unit which could be used as a modular sideboard.

Russell Roberts
8 Cheshire Street
London E2 6EH
Tel. 020 7613 3355

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Thursday, Friday and Saturday 12noon-6pm
Sunday 11am-5pm

Nearest tube: Liverpool Street

For more shops on Cheshire Street, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.

London shopping: The Shop (no.3)

You know you have to be prepared to sift as you step inside the cosy vintage nest that is The Shop (at no.3 Cheshire Street). But it’s worth being patient as there are many treasures to be found, including graphic ‘50s barkcloth fabric and vintage silk scarves (from an overwhelming collection of 500). Spanning the 1930s to the 1980s, The Shop stocks vintage clothes, accessories, jewellery, fabric, trims, ribbons, buttons, laces, linen and curtains. There is also a small selection of vintage childrenswear.


I can't help feeling I’m in someone else’s house as I rummage through dresser drawers stacked with doilies, sheets and white linen tablecloths. But it's a nice, comfortable "no-pressure" feeling. The Shop also has a sister store at no. 7 which focuses its collection on vintage women's and menswear. Well worth checking out.

The Shop
3 Cheshire Street
London E2 6EH
Tel. 020 7739 5631

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Wednesday to Saturday 11am-6pm
Sunday 9am-5pm

Nearest tube: Liverpool Street

For more shops on Cheshire Street, click here.
For more shops in East London, click here.