SHOPPING: Members-Only Sale Shops

IF THERE’S a shopping trend that will come to define 2012, it must be that of the members-only, pop-up sale shop - online, flash sale stores that are increasingly competitive, beautifully-designed and full of things you actually want to buy.

Like Orla Kiely bedlinen (a recent LittleBig editor steal via Achica), Falcon Enamelware (on LLUSTRE this week), and gorgeous Agatha Ruiz de la Prada tees on Half-Pint Chic. The idea is you can grab yourself a bargain but with greater security (and the usual retail protections) than chancing eBay and the like.

Here is a run-down of our current favourites:

1. Dalani Home & Living - www.dalani.co.uk. Selling the likes of Alessi, Richardson Sheffield knives, bedding plus great artwork suitable for children’s rooms, Dalani has recently taken on the ex-decorating editor of Elle Decoration UK, Emilio Pimentel-Reid, as their new creative and editorial director, so expect interesting things from this shopping / editorial site. Read the rest of this article

Posted 25 April 2012 in Shop Watch

TOP SHOP: 2oldschool

PROOF THAT vintage furniture works as well in an architect-designed space as it does in a shabby chic cottage comes via new eshop 2oldschool owner Judith de Hart. As a trained architect the chief influences on her work range from Le Corbusier to minimalism kings John Pawson and Tadao Ando. “I love clear and straight-forward layouts brought to life by means of pure materials like concrete, wood and glass,” she says.

And yet there’s a warmth and friendliness about her own home in the southern Netherlands (see below and bottom). It fulfils Judith’s own architectural creed that “natural, well-functioning” family spaces should “be determined by the requirements of their inhabitants.” Which means she believes that “kids should have their own part in the home. It comes in handy if this space is also a nice place for parents to be in, because small children play where you are. It is equally important to create spaces in the house where kids are free to move, but which are not centred around them.” Read the rest of this article

Posted 7 March 2011 in Lifestyle + Interiors, Shop Watch

TOP SHOP: Custard

CUSTARD. WONDERFULLY EVOCATIVE WORD. Unbeatable dessert for kids (and adults). Iconic cartoon cat of the 1970s. Great new online clothes and accessories boutique for children.

Custard is the brainchild of Charlie Bailey and Tracey Beard, mothers to Jessica 6, Emelia, 3 (Charlie), Dexter 6, and Perdy, 2 (Tracey) who were driven by their desire to dress their children as individuals and not like every other child they spotted at their local playground.

They have succeeded. What we love about Custard is not just that it makes us feel hungry for pudding, nor the incredibly cute graphics on the opening page, nor just the clear layout of the clothing / accessories, where you can buy from Summer or Winter selections (which is great for those of us who like to Read the rest of this article

Posted 13 June 2010 in Shop Watch

TOP SHOP: Shak-Shuka

SOMETHING WEIRD has happened in the world of online children’s boutiques in the last 18 months. All of a sudden there’s a lot of repetition and a whole load of same label brands.

So, it’s genuinely refreshing to come across the Netherlands-based Shak-Shuka - and not just for its eco credentials (everything in the boutique is environmentally-friendly). The e-shop is full of a whole load of brands, decor objects, genuinely covetable and useable toys and organic clothes and jewellery (for kids and mammas) you seldom see elsewhere - many we’ve never even heard of before.

Owner Joslyn Oppenheimer has searched globally to find the likes of English Muffin prints, Think Baby bottles, Read the rest of this article

Posted 3 May 2010 in Shop Watch

TOP SHOP: Present & Correct

SURELY WE CAN’T be the only ones obsessed with retro stationery, desk tidies and midcentury graphic children’s books. Which is why we are frequently found window shopping at our current favourite original stationery and graphic goods’ shop Present & Correct.

In a bid to find out more and fuel the stationery obsession fire, we spoke to owner Neal Whittington, 29, (pictured above), a designer and illustrator, who is also a fan of “a good rummage, fun knitted jumpers, making cakes and cutting up paper” about this love of all things papery.

LittleBig: Did you just get bored one day and decide to open a shop?
P&C: Since I left college I made things and sold them in other people’s shops, but in the back of my mind I guess I was working towards having one - in some shape or form - of my own. A real life bricks and mortar store would be a dream come true, something I have always wanted to do and one day hope to have. The online store was the next best thing, and to be honest it reaches a far wider audience than a London based shop would, and of course the overheads are a lot smaller!

LB: Why are there so many (retro) stationery (and the like) obsessives out there?
P&C: It’s amazing isn’t it! I think one of the big reasons is that it is reminiscent of school and college (not always a good thing!), but also because on the high street, in the UK especially, it is quite hard to find cool, original stationery and so people put more effort into seeking out the old and unwanted. The design and feel of the older things is so nice, and hard to emulate. I think most designers love stationery of all shapes and sizes - we were the ones at school with the pristine exercise books and a different pencil case for every term and season. Stationery, to me, makes me think of birthday gift vouchers from WHSmiths - this was a time when a £5 voucher would go a long way. You could get some nice rubbers in cases, a notebook or two, some stickers AND have enough for a copy of Smash Hits! Read the rest of this article

Posted 14 July 2009 in Shop Watch