Top tea cosies: Birdy style
3 CommentsLook, a wee birdy! Bird tea cosy, hand-made by Samantha Stas using recycled woollens and vintage linens, with hand-dyed crochet trim and ric-rac, £25, from Not on the High Street.
Look, a wee birdy! Bird tea cosy, hand-made by Samantha Stas using recycled woollens and vintage linens, with hand-dyed crochet trim and ric-rac, £25, from Not on the High Street.
Blaue Blume dessert stand, £128.50, from Hidden Art Shop.
Blaue Blume teacup, £32.95, from Hidden Art shop.
Blaue Blume milk jug, and
Tina Tsang’s perfectly eccentric Blaue Blume ceramics
range is just what the Madhatter ordered for his tea party. The British
designer’s range developed from casting rare one-off pieces of vintage lace to “solidify
the texture of lace on ceramics”. With saucy legs serving as handles, the range
quite literally turns the very British practice of prim ladies taking afternoon tea on its head. The dessert stand is brilliantly mad and is just crying
out for some delicate iced fancies, scones and finger sandwiches. Available from Hidden Art Shop.
I quite like the idea of wearing a wee ceramic tea cup around my neck, which looks like it's been snatched from a doll's tea party. These miniature tea pot, milk jug and tea cup necklaces are the work of British jewellery designer, Louise Buchan. Prices start at £30 and are available from jewellery gallery @Work in East London and Pimlico.
@Work
156 Brick Lane
London E1 6RU
Tel. 020 7377 0597
Nearest tube: Liverpool Street
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 11 – 6pm
Sunday 10.30 - 5.30 pm
Click here for more shops in East London.
How gorgeous are these vintage-style tea-cosies? They're hand-knitted in Northumberland, pom-poms and all.
Pom-pom tea cosy, £25, and Mad-cap tea cosy, £39, from Re-found Objects.
Small Tea Pot by Patricia Urquiola, £75, from the Design Museum.
Cup and saucer by Patricia Urquiola, £25, from the Design Museum
Sugar Bowl by Patricia Urquiola, £35, and Creamer by Patricia Urquiola, £30, from the Design Museum.
I love the amazing new ceramic tea range by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola for Rosenthal, which is currently on show at the Design Museum. The exquisite detail on the handles is evocative of the almost honey-comb pattern of the open holes in lace or paper doilies. So very suitable for partaking in an avant-garde afternoon tea. Ship in some clotted cream from Devon and away you go! The range is available to purchase from the Design Museum shop. Perfect for Christmas presents, too.
Patricia Urquiola – Purely Porcelain
10 October – 25 January 2009
The Design Museum
Shad Thames
London SE1 2YD
Tel. 020 7403 6933
Nearest tube: London Bridge
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
Tea without biscuits is unthinkable (and just plain mean). So imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this tea-set themed tin of biscuits from UK-based biscuit company, Biscuiteers. Relevant, much? I love the pretty vintage-inspired iced designs on the teapots and cups.
Tea for Two tin, £36.50, from Biscuiteers.
You may have noticed a new addition to the Wee Birdy nest, in the form of our very first advertiser, Radici.co.uk (cue wild applause and much whooping). With a seriously gorgeous line-up of hand-crafted gifts sourced from around the world, I couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate sponsor.
Hand-finished stainless steel brooches, clockwise from top left, Yellow scribble, Claret waratah, Green flower, Turquoise wool, all £45 each.
Silk wool felt handmade rose scarf, £140.
The stories (and people) behind the products are also pretty interesting. Take Canvasco, a German company that hires female prisoners to make bags as part of a community-based rehabilitation project. The bags have a utilitarian graphic simplicity about them that I love, and they’re made from recycled boat sails or woollen Swiss army blankets from the ‘60s (ticking all the design, eco and ethical boxes).
Urban Swiss Girl bag, £110.
With Christmas just 44 days away, here are my top 5 gift picks:
Hand-knitted Fritz, £45.
Claret flower brooch in hand finished stainless steel, £45.
Stitched strelitzia Perspex cuff, £85.
Teacup birdbath or feeder, US$20, from Ohthepollybilities’s Etsy shop. (Thanks to Paintergirl for the tip).
I do love a good cup of tea, so I thought I would dedicate a whole week of Wee Birdy to London's favourite beverage. I've been collecting all sorts of tea-related bits of pieces, including my favourite London spots for a nice cuppa (and a crumpet), the latest in teapot designs, and the prettiest cups and saucers. Let the stirring begin!
I’ve rediscovered the bargainous joys of Ebay recently, prompted by my friend C’s winning bid of 40 quid on a stunning Balenciaga blazer. I guess one of the reasons Ebay is so good right now is because everyone is flogging the contents of their wardrobes in a bid to make some cold hard cash. Good news for those looking to make one those fabled ‘investment’ purchases, be it a new winter coat or a new pair of designer ballet flats – all going for high street prices.
I’ve been watching some auctions over the past few weeks, and have been astounded by some of the winning bids, like the Miu Miu three-tone ballet flats for £18.01, See by Chloe dress for £41, Marni dark grey trousers for £31, Marni dress coat for £62, A.P.C dress for £51, and Alaia black sandals for US$54.
With that in mind, here’s my round-up of the best Ebay auctions right now. Be quick - some of them are ending soon.
Balenciaga blazer, UK size 12, current bid £49.
Isabel Marant shoes, size 37, current bid £16.87.
Vanessa Bruno black coat, UK size 14, current bid £70.
Marni wool jacket, UK size 8-10, current bid £29.99.
Alaia black top, UK size 10-12, current bid £50.
Marni tweed skirt, UK size 8, current bid £15.
Erdem black coat, UK size, 8, current bid £99.
Miu Miu black dress, UK size 10, current bid £11.
Marni leather and seagrass belt, current bid £30.
Marni ballet flats with a buckle, size 36.5, current bid £30.
London, music and art, what’s not to love? That's the thinking, anyway, behind The One Ton Show, with 100 artists, illustrators, graphic designers, print-makers and photographers presenting works based around the theme of London Lyrics.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what they come up with, considering the fun you could have with the wealth of songs written about London. It’s also a perfect opportunity to sniff out and invest in some affordable art, with prints and original works up for sale. Wee Birdy friend and Australian artist, Gemma Jones, will also be participating (think dreamy pop-art sixties girls meet swingin’ London town!).
I would find it really difficult to pin down just one song to illustrate, so with that in mind, here’s Top Bird’s Top 10 London Lyrics:
1. “Dirty old river, must you keep rolling
Flowing into the night
People so busy, makes me feel dizzy
Taxi light shines so bright
But I don’t need no friends
As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset
I am in paradise”
Waterloo Sunset – The Kinks
2. “The wine will be flat and the curry’s gone cold
I’m down in the tube station at midnight”
Down in the tube station at midnight – The Jam
3. “She studied sculpture at St Martin’s College
That’s where I caught her eye”
Common People – Pulp
4. “London calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared - and battle come down”
London Calling – The Clash
5. “Panic on the streets of London
Panic on the streets of Birmingham
I wonder to myself
Could life ever be sane again?”
Panic – The Smiths
6. “Mornington Crescent
I think of you
Rain in the southeast
Men feeling blue
Men with their bowlers
Kids with their spats
Ladies with chauffeurs
Dogs wearing hats and jackets
Rich apartments
Old punk posters
Tartan garments
I love the exquisite array
I love the camp as camp parade
The possibilities suggest themselves to me
I'm feeling free”
Mornington Crescent – Belle & Sebastian
7. “There's only one place we can go.
It's around the corner in Soho,
where other broken people go.
Let's go.”
Bar Italia – Pulp
8. “And when he does his little rounds,
round the boutiques of London town,
Eagerly pursuing all the latest fads and trends,
cause he’s a dedicated follower of fashion.”
Dedicated Follower of Fashion – The Kinks
9. “Academia girl;
her life's a gas, she loves the trash inside his world.
Can't find his way there,
got the cash, feeling flash in Leicester Square.”
He’s on the Phone – St Etienne
10. “‘Oranges and lemons’ say the bells of St. Clement's
‘You owe me five farthings’ say the bells of St. Martin's
‘When will you pay me?’ say the bells of Old Bailey
‘When I grow rich’ say the bells of Shoreditch”
Oranges and Lemons
So... what's your favourite song about London?
The One Ton Show
Thursday 4th - Sunday 7th December 2008
The Basement
Shoreditch Town Hall
380 Old Street
London EC1V 3ET
I was rather chuffed to find that British Vogue included Wee Birdy in its Secret Address Book, which supplemented the December issue that went on sale today. I'm planning to sit down with my copy later tonight and check out the other "secret addresses" that made the cut.
In the meantime, I couldn't resist flipping straight away to the stunning Tim Walker shoot in the main book, with Tim Burton, Helena Bonham-Carter (looking spectacularly nutty) and Karen Elson assuming various Roald Dahl roles. The shoot features some trademark fantastical Walker-isms including lots of super-sized blow-up props, a rambling English country residence (complete with indoors crocodile, natch), vintage floral wallpaper, fields of wild flowers and topsy-turvy furniture. What a treat!