broadway market

its an awful rainy day, but it didnt put us off going to broadway market today – robert had never been and although it was not a great weather day to take him he really loved it.   unfortunately they are digging up half the road, so some of the stalls have moved to the side road, but there is still an amazing choice of street food to taste.  we had some lovely mexican tacos that we bought and ate inside the pub adjoined to the stall.

still loved the 1930′s tiles of F.Cooke’s original pie and mash cafe – its beautiful interior still intact and kept up to perfection – i loved everything about it, the tiles, the benches, the way the napkins were displayed – but as the owner said, people like myself dont eat pie and mash and eels – we all go for the cupcakes and the other delicacies on offer!    its a shame, because places like this ought to remain in areas like this, but they only survive if we go in and support them – so i guess i need to start eating some jellied eels.

walking along we passed rebel rebel florists – a lovely selection of flowers, lucky bird – a lovely stall selling foil pressed cards and other stationary items, alice gabb with her collection of paper goods all beautifully displayed,   andrea garland with her selection of cosmetics – some decanted in vintage compacts, which would make a great gift for the girl who has everything,  delicious hand smoked salmon by hansen and lydersen and the most beautiful decorated cup cakes by violet.   these interesting stalls were dotted amongst the various food stalls.  aligning the street are the shops, such as our patterned hand – a fabric and haberdashery shop, selling some vintage fabrics, patterns and buttons – i love the way that all these fashionable essential shops are appearing with all the basics of simple crafts, such as sewing, knitting and haberdashery.  in my days, these shops were run by grannies in the back of a post office selling mainly nylon wool – today they are beautifully presented and the choices are more selective and modern.  absolutely love donion books with its interesting array of foreign, art, vintage and design books.   noticed a new fishmonger – fish and flounder – just what every high street needs – with its lovely interior it really draws you in to buy some fish for dinner.

we stopped for coffee break in Climpson and Sons which was nice enough and the croissants were tasty and light.  stella blunt is a cute vintage shop selling furniture and accesories – retro glasses, metal letter stencils, chairs…  so all in all its a good morning out for a saturday and you can bring home lots of good food to cook – a lot of the same stalls from borough market are also at broadway market.

dont forget to pop into the school yard market, a little extension of broadway market, with more choices of great food and vintage, including a great stall selling vintage cycling badges and books.  there is even a pizza man with a portable wood burning stove on wheels – what a great idea for a party!

i dont look at all the you tube links that people send me, but you will love this one about street markets – narrated by sid james its a perfect end to get you into the swing of all the street markets around london.

love the shop window of cooke’s pie and mash

candle in a tea cup

love this candle that maude made me for mother’s day.  somebody had bought her a candle making kit for xmas and as she had no money left – she is now starting to use her savings to buy odd trainers and brothel creepers – she went to the local charity shop, bought the teacup and saucer for a £1 and then made the candle – she did use some of my precious rose oil which makes it smell beautiful ( i had no idea that they were so costly and my jaw dropped when i went to pay for the bottle at neales yeard).  what a clever and innovative present though.

i didnt help her at all, but i would say, be careful of the candle wax on your pans, it did take a bit of scraping off after!

beautiful chandeliers

what a wonderful idea - madeliene boulesteix cleverly designs these beautiful chandeliers from old kitchen utensils and tea cups.   how resourceful and how original!  they are so delicately put together, intricate designs but classic to look at – i am still looking for a perfect spot to put one in my house!

old cotton spools

if you are like me and love the beauty of simple domestic objects, then here is another idea to pretty up a table top.  buy lots of old spools of threads and throw in a wooden bowl.  you can buy spools like this from the cloth shop in Portobello road, or at the cloth house in berwick street.  they are different companies, but both have stock of lovely fabrics, including old linens , ribbons and buttons. www.theclothshop and www.clothhouse.com.

our patterned hand – a fabric and haberdashery shop on broadway market, sells some vintage fabrics, patterns and buttons – i love the way that all these fashionable essential shops are appearing with all the basics of simple crafts, such as sewing, knitting and haberdashery.  in my youth, these shops were run by grannies in the back of a post office selling mainly nylon wool – today they are beautifully presented and the choices are more selective and modern and definitely more inspiring (or is it i am getting more like the grannies in the back of the old post office?  I reassure myself that the girls who commission me to photograph all these crafts books are young and enthusiastic!).

on a friday, just outside the portobello shop there is a great stall selling wooden spools of gold and silver thread – these will certainly make your bowl glisten and are much cheaper.

gentle art of stitching

just finished photographing jane brockets‘ next book, all about stitching – beautiful ideas from traditional japanese sashiko to simple cross stitch ideas.  whenever i work with jane, i go straight out to a haberdashery, buy lots of embroidery threads – in the hope of starting something new.  well at least it gets packed into my holiday bag of things to do when it rains…….

we shot in the wonderful atmospheric princelet street, apparently the location used in the new film-  great expectations.   going into those old georgian houses is very nostalgic and makes you wonder how life was in the 18C.   you can read all about life in spitalfields too .

vintage covered boxes

this wonderful collection of vintage chocolate boxes and stationary boxes makes a sculptural addition to a dull corner!  or if you are feeling creative, you could cover a few plain stationary boxes from somewhere like muji with vintage fabrics. you can find a collection of vintage fabrics from vintage fabric market   or when your favourite dress or top has finally given way, cut up and reuse to cover a box that keep your favourite mementos.   i have a bad habit of using old chocolate boxes to store cards, drawings and photos.

sewing and just about make anything courses

i bought a second hand sewing machine last year from our local shop chapmans  that specialises in hoover repair and sewing machines – its a 70′s bernina and they gave me 10 years guarantee on it too, just to reassure me that this machine will go on and on and is trustworthy.  at first it was something to help me quickly take up the kids hems, maude likes things so short these days, the boys need their trousers reinforcing in places and my poor bedding gets so worn out in places that i decided to repair and restore, rather than throw away.  i must admit, i was partly inspired by Jane Brocket and her recycling and sewing bug- she in fact buys everything that people have discarded and turns them into wonderful works of art.   i did discover a cute little vintage shop in didsbury, manchester though, that recycles vintage clothes and makes new clothes out of old fabrics – junkshop ,  in fact the little tartan dress that maude was wearing on xmas day was from that shop, at a fraction of top shop’s prices!  i notice that they also do sewing classes, which i will one day sign up for!  ray stitch is another recommended place for haberdashery, ribbons, fabrics  and sewing classes – looks lovely and there are a wide range of classes available from absolute beginners up – its a great gift idea to give to that person who has never sewn in their life!!   the make lounge also looks like a very interesting place – you can do a 3 hour workshop in embroidery, knit some gloves,  make your own candles in a tea cup, sew a tote bag – basically, anything you might want to ever buy, you can learn how to make yourself!!

so with your ever growing list of things to do in the new year, you can add sewing classes – it may never happen, but at least the intention was there!

bunting

if you are looking to decorate a room for a party or special occasion, or just cheer up a dreary room, then just adding a line of bunting can make the difference.   usually i find that its very expensive in shops and not very long, so what a relief to find the cotton bunting company, who sell so many varieties in long lengths at reasonable prices too.  or you could get creative and knit your own!!!  gentle art of knitting shows you how easy it is, even i could knit a triangle!!

knitting

love the way the models kept themselves busy on my last shoot while waiting for their slot!  so you see knitting is not just for grannies – it can be glamorous too!! see jane brockets super blog on crafts and get her knitting book (which i was lucky enough to photograph) -  on easy things to make.

basket shop vejer

There isnt much to buy in Vejer, except the wonderful olive oil and tortas biscuits – the rest seems to be a collection of moroccan crafts .  But if you do get to Vejer you must go to the basket shop which is behind the house, on the road around the town with the view, Juani Marchain, Trafalgar 7 – you can see them weave the baskets there.  Not everything is home crafted, but you will find a lovely collection of containers, hats, and tableware.   Also you must pop into the electrical shop again behind our house, on the road parallel, Calle Juan Bueno, just up from the Pizza Posta.  Its where we get our lightbulbs and kettles, but the owner has an amazing collection of radios there – ranging from the early 1920’s up wards – he must have at least 100 in the shop – worth the visit just to see the collection.  you may be able to pick up one of the hand painted fans that he sells very cheaply too.