Introducing our children’s collection

Great news - seeing as Christmas is quite literally round the corner - we just launched our brand new, rather lovely children’s collection. With lots of things to choose from, including a wonderful patchwork floor cushion, we thought we’d share a few of our favourite pieces.

for play

Let these magnetic animals, complete with speech bubbles to write on, inspire your child’s limitless sense of make-believe.

Magnetic Art Board by Sian Zeng £135

for feeding

Nadia Sparham, an interior designer and ceramicist, hand-crafts fun creations for children and the home. We love her kid’s bone china plates and mugs, illustrated with the charming owl named ‘Wol’.

Nadia Sparham's Ceramics from £12

for comfort

Banimal, the curious part-monkey; part-croc; part-dog creature, will keep little ones company whether at rest or play.

See all of Nadia Sparham’s designs, here.

for the nursery

Hang up one (or more) limited edition prints from Woop Studios. We’re currently obsessed with the penguin family design!

just because

What’s not to love about an oversized, homespun-style cushion?  

Giant Patchwork Cushion £220, by Big Birds Boutique

A peek at our new-in collection

As autumn settles in, so too does our newest collection. A few highlights...

Exclusive chopping boards from Bojje, a designer and chef duo whom craft beautiful, yet functional kitchen accessories right here in the U.K.

Giant scissors cushion - both quirky, and comfy.

Hand-poured candles from Matruska. Choose from three heart-warming scents.

Earthenware expresso cups with smidging of gold and a cool, contrasting dove grey inner.

P.S. Our website has just had a bit of a makeover - you’ll find brand new and ultra-clear navigation alongside bigger images, and a broader range of items; including our newly fledged children’s collection - more on that next week. It truly is a season of change!

A place for coffee lovers

More and more quality coffee shops are springing up across London and one we were keen to try out was Liberty of Norton Folgate close to Liverpool Street. 

Blink and you’ll miss it though – this café is tucked into a tiny slice-of-a-space on the side of a Bishopgate office block, en route to Shoreditch High Street.

The space itself is pristine white with menus swinging from each exhibition-style table. We ordered a flat white and a serving of plum and vanilla cake, which was nothing short of heavenly – and the coffee was top notch too. Stop by and try it for yourself.

What to plant in autumn

As the first crisp leaves hit the ground and the frost is still at bay, it’s the perfect time to channel your green-fingered goddess and sow seeds for next year. From vegetables to fruits and flowers, here are a few ideas to get you going, some of which are surprisingly easy to plant.

Garlic
Take cloves from a bulb you already have and scatter them about 5cm deep. Come spring, you should have your own home-grown crop. Simple!

Broad beans
Sow the seeds 5-7.5cm down, in single rows and about 15-23cm apart. Keep an eye out for weeds which you’ll want to keep the beans free from. With a little soaking (should there not be enough rain) you should be able to harvest the pods as soon as you see them swelling.

Raspberries
Plant summer-fruiting raspberries from now until November. Try growing yours in small containers with multi-purpose compost and using a small wooden cane, guide the plants as they grow. A little slow-release fertiliser in early March will make for juicy, delicious fruits come June.

Tulips
September into early October is prime-planting-time for tulips. Make sure you bury them about 15cm deep (measured from the bottom of the bulb) and space them about five inches apart. Water and a little straw mulch from now and then will see them through to flowering

Seats for sun-seekers

Intermittent sunshine, sporadic rain showers - what's the British weather if not unpredictable? 

As we race towards the end of summer, many, if not all of us will be clutching onto the last bits of warmth with all our might. So when the sun does beam it's last few rays upon us, we're thinking about grabbing light, portable furniture and heading to the garden - move over shade! Here are our top five grab-and-go seats for sun-seekers.

1. The Deck chair - a hard to beat classic.

2. Habitat's adorable fold-down Rosso table (a snip with nearly 50% off in the sale). 

3. Quite the modern chairs to match - shhh, they're from Ikea!

4. French-inspired vintage love seat - arrives flat and can be easily flattened again to store.

5. Remember these? A kid's-classic and an utter steal at 99p from eBay, too.

Smart space-saving

Doesn't it always seem as if there's never enough storage? Bedding, towels, and toys all need a home - but where to put them? We spotted some ingenious ideas for saving on space that are suitable for all sizes of homes. Take a look...

1. Wall art, if you like, that's wholly functional, too. A wonderful idea from German industrial designer  Yi Cong Lu. 

2. Don't be fooled into thinking this is just your ordinary (rather tidy) linen cupboard - the sheets have been neatly folded and placed into their matching pillowcases to flatten things down. More space and a pretty shelf, too!

3. Ok, so this one's more decorative, but it's such an adorable idea, we just had to include it. Great for bookworms!

5. What a clever use of space - this above-door-shelf proves that being inventive with the room you have can lead to both aesthetically pleasing and functional results.

Things to do with feathers

Look at the beautiful feather picture we found. Isn't it a delight? We spotted it here and it's spurred a few ideas of things to do with loose feathers - the first one taking its inspiration from this very image...












1. Pick a frame that complements your choice of plumes and room - (they can be found, or bought from your closest haberdashers, whichever you prefer). Trap a trio of plumes between a sheet of quality card that's cut to fit your frame. Place the card inside the frame and trap it between the glass.A tiny dot of glue behind each feather will ensure they stay in place. 

2. From a collection of feathers, or those you've bought, try making your own wall art by gently placing them onto a freshly painted piece of stretched canvas. Playing with scale gives the best results. Finish with a thin layer of spray mount to fix your newly created masterpiece.

3. Embrace your inner artist and try your hand at a watercolour feather portrait! Tiny paintbrushes, delicate strokes, and the way that the colours bleed into each other mean that this medium lends itself perfectly to its subject.

4. Make gift tags by cutting out feather silhouettes in card and attaching them to brown string. Simple, yet ever so effective. 

Do let us know how you get on if you try something!