Thursday 26 December 2013

New Discoveries

One of the things I missed the most about living in a small city in the middle of nowhere in Greece was access to independent brands, as well as secondhand and vintage, a concept that is still very new there.  There was a small local craft movement, but none of the (very lovely) crafters made anything that was particularly my cup of tea, and I resigned myself to shopping on the high street.  So now that I'm back in London, I'm really pleased that most of my purchases have not come from Topshop/H&M/Zara, but from ebay, charity shops and indie designers I've come across both online and in person.  Today I stumbled entirely by accident on the Hackney Flea Market, a monthly market with stalls full of both handmade and vintage bits and bobs.  And for once, I actually bought a couple of things, and discovered some seriously talented people.  

Illustrator Sandra Dieckmann produces the most amazing animal prints, and I look forward to filling up the walls of my (future) flat with her work.  In the meantime, I consoled myself with this mirror, because clearly the image of a curled up red panda could make even fixing my smudged eyeliner on the bus a much more cheery experience:



I think In With the Old might just be one of my favourite shops, if their stall today was anything to go by.  They're based on Amwell Street in Islington, and stock 57 independent makers of everything from prints to jewellery to handmade children's clothing.  I really wanted some coasters made from vintage tiles, and one of Mike Hall's London Borough map prints, but as I'm writing this from amongst the clutter of someone else's attic, where I'm currently living, I made do with this initial necklace:


And finally, a brand I've actually been wanting to write about for a while, which I discovered whilst randomly trawling ebay, Amelia May.  I've been obsessed with rings lately, and their selection is possibly the best I've found, at any price point.  And, as a bonus, all designs are  available either as traditional rings, or in midi versions, and most of them come in brass or silver.  I bought the Crescent Moon Knuckle Ring Set, the Aztec Petal Ring, and the Cobalt Moon Glow Knuckle Ring, but I don't imagine I'll be stopping there...


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