Indie of the Week #27: Blodwen

Denise Lewis describes her online shop Blodwen as a “Welsh Ralph Lauren” and it’s an easy shorthand to explain what she’s trying to create. With a keen eye for reinvention - and presentation - she’s transformed traditional Welsh crafts into chic, contemporary items which include farmhouse-style furniture, blankets and homewares. Her Heritage Blanket Collection resurrects an almost forgotten 18th century pattern, while her bold enamelware range (pictured above) incorporates the familiar 'Caernarfon' pattern found in traditional tapestry blankets. Blodwen is about building a community and working together, employing local people and using local resources - "bringing the craftsman's way of life to your way of living" goes the strapline. You may not be surprised to learn that this rural-chic comes at a price, but it's one that feels more justified than most. 

Who are you? Denise Lewis founder of Blodwen.

Where can we find you? Online only at www.blodwen.com

Describe your store in five words: Hand-crafted luxury homewares from Wales

What makes you different? Blodwen is all about preserving and reviving traditional rural skills by designing collections that fuse together age-old craftsmanship with contemporary style and utility. All our collections are handmade in Wales and all our packaging is bilingual: Welsh and English

How you decide what makes the cut? I design collections that are iconically Welsh - in other words pieces which are rooted in Welsh rural life and then give them a modern twist. Quality is also paramount, I work with a selection of hand-picked master craftspeople and artisans who  bring to life my designs with the best possible skill and attention to detail.

What were you doing before you did this? I spent  20 years in the telecoms sector, most recently eight years as Global Director of Corporate Affairs for Orange, the mobile phone company.

If you were starting again what advice would you give yourself? Don't think it's easy!

What are you most proud of? I'm proud that in only three years my collections are now showcased at Liberty's of London, The Conran Shop, Heal's, SCP and other high-end retailers around the world.

Do you have a favourite thing in the store right now? My current favourite Blodwen product is the Heritage Blanket Collection - a new collection of blankets, throws and cushions resurrected from a Welsh weaver's pattern book dating from 1782. Having discovered the archive I worked with the local museum and local textile college to revive the most beautiful textiles which would otherwise have been lost in time. It’s been a real community initiative - and a gift for lovers of textiles everywhere.

What's hot for 2014? For me 2014 is about textiles and wood. With the Heritage Blanket Collection, I'm trying to re-establish the tradition of giving textiles as gifts and heirlooms. Precious tokens which can be handed down through the generations, much as they have been in Wales through the centuries. I'm passionate about the 'Pinwheel' and 'Hiraeth' (meaning longing) blankets which are unique and very beautiful.

The Werin (meaning peasant) Furniture Collection is based on traditional farmhouse furniture and has a wonderful Welsh Dresser and flip-top trestle table and bench all made from Welsh oak. [In rural Welsh farmhouses the tables were always flip-tops as one side was painted white, for high days and holidays, whilst the other was in the natural wood for day to day domestic use].

Every Wednesday 'Indie of the week' celebrates the best independent stores around. These places sell interesting and varied collections of design-related things you don't see everywhere else. They may support young or local designers or be great at finding unique things from around the world. By thinking a little more creatively about what they stock they are fighting the bland homogenisation of so much of the high street. And since I'm down with the realities of modern life, online only stores count too, because a beautiful and easy to use website is just as delightful an encounter in cyberspace.

Do you you have a favourite store?  I'd love to hear from you.

From This Day Forward

I'm a big fan of James Brown (...the London-based printmaker) and his thoughtfully conceived screen-printed posters. I bought one of his This Is Where The Magic Happens prints WAY before Jamie Oliver's restaurants did, thanks very much.

His latest print titled 'From This Day Forward' is exclusive to the fab V&A Shop and would make a good wedding pressie. [And a really good card too, not that I think he does greetings cards, but if he did I'd send one]. Personally, I'm reaaaaally looking forward to getting a tin of beans from my other half next year :\

Indie of the Week #26: Article

“It’s all about having the right product and keeping it fresh”, says John Adams of Article in Dublin. And he should know. With a 20 year retail career behind him - including being operations manager of Habitat in Ireland, until it closed in 2008, and before that working for David Mellor in London - he had all the right experience to set up his shop in 2010.

Despite opening in a recession his decision to be in the centre of the city has paid off with around 30% of passing trade being tourists. The shop is located an elegant Georgian townhouse which was once home to a Viscount, and is now a (considerably nicer than your average) shopping centre with lots of independent traders. “It’s a nice adaptation of a historic building”, he says of the Powerscourt Centre which has retained the generous proportions of the era and original features such as a beautiful rococo ceiling (see below) which dates from 1780. Article sells lovely things for your home which while not always cheap are good value for what they are. 

Who are you? John Adams owner of Article

Where can we find you? Inside an 18th Century townhouse in Dublin - Powerscourt Townhouse, South William St, Dublin 2; www.articledublin.com

Describe your store in five words: welcoming, inspiring, colourful, useful, edited.

What makes you different? It's a personal collection that changes regularly, I don't try to have something for all tastes, I focus on what will work in a home together.

How you decide what makes the cut? I ask myself would I have it in my house and is it worth the money.

What were you doing before you did this? I've spent 20 years in homewares retail, across a range of functions.

If you were starting again what advice would you give yourself? Go bigger from the start!

What are you most proud of? Taking the risk to invest my savings to launch a business in Ireland after the economic crash and growing a loyal customer base and business.

Do you have a favourite thing in the store right now? Contemporary Irish linen napkins embroidered by Jennifer Slattery.

What's hot for 2013? I think copper items will continue to be a trend through to autumn/winter.

Every Wednesday 'Indie of the week' celebrates the best independent stores around. These places sell interesting and varied collections of design-related things you don't see everywhere else. They may support young or local designers or be great at finding unique things from around the world. By thinking a little more creatively about what they stock they are fighting the bland homogenisation of so much of the high street. And since I'm down with the realities of modern life, online only stores count too, because a beautiful and easy to use website is just as delightful an encounter in cyberspace.

Do you you have a favourite store?  I'd love to hear from you.

Stay the Night: Baixa House, Lisbon

"Hotels offer many things, but in cities the rooms are notoriously compact..." my review of Baixa House in Lisbon from this weekend's Independent on Sunday. I stayed [and paid] there on my trip to the city in April and it converted me to the idea of serviced apartments over hotels. I'll admit my enthusiasm mainly centres on the fact you don't have to fit into a hotel's breakfast schedule, but also - as you can see from the pics above - these apartments have been so beautifully designed you feel like you're in photoshoot from Elle Decoration.

In the hills

It's been one of those weeks where no sooner have I tackled the 100 un-read emails in my inbox... it starts filling up again. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling slightly disappointed when that modest sense of achievement is so quickly deflated.

When information overload strikes, my preferred route out of madness is to take to the hills, so here's a post that's not really about design as such, but more about inspiration. I don't know about you but I tend to come up with my better ideas when I'm outside. It could also be a post about perspiration as I was on my bike :) 

I took these pics last weekend, around where I live, when the sun was shining and the English countryside was looking very green, and very pleasant. Sigh. 

Indie of the Week #25: Places and Spaces

I used to live round the corner from Places and Spaces so I'm possibly slightly biased about this week's indie. This little shop has been in Clapham, South London, for years - it was here way before most people had cottoned onto the idea of 'design' and possibly before the rest of us had really got to grips with the concept. It stood out - and still does - by selecting items from interesting brands which offer an alternative aesthetic to mainstream interiors. The shop window has never failed to attract my eye with its colourful and engaging displays. It's run by a husband and wife who also offer an interior design service for domestic and commercial clients. Long may it continue.

Who are you? Laura Rippington of  Places and Spaces.

Where can we find you? 30 Old Town, Clapham, London, SW4 0LB.

Describe your store in five words: Colourful, friendly, diverse, a definitive style.

What makes you different? We offer customers the opportunity to find pieces that really work for them. Applying our extensive product knowledge and matching requirements with our friendly manner we can source and supply inspiring interiors. The end result is repeat custom - and that’s what we like: great design and happy customers. 

How you decide what makes the cut? We often follow a theme which can be a colour reference, a material, a look, maybe a statement or a phrase. A product can be chosen to be in store for any reason we see as valued even if just to question or entertain. What is value anyway? Mostly a piece has to have a sense of presence - whatever that might be.

What were you doing before you did this? Fashion mostly and having fun.

If you were starting again what advice would you give yourself? Stay ahead - hunt for the makers and brands the bigger stores are slow to pick up on. Invest online earlier and design and make your own collection.

What are you most proud of? What people say to us about us. A book I wrote that is now in paperback and sold in over 5 languages even though it was written about design products and processes over 6 years ago.

Do you have a favourite thing in the store right now? I tend not to have favourites but to like everything in store. I guess if I really have to then the Catellani & Smith eco light: an LED is set into a lens that projects an immaculate sphere on the wall. It is not just a light - it’s art. Also a pretend taxidermy white owl in a glass cloche and maybe the cute home desk that seems to float out of the wall it is fixed to.

What's hot for 2013? The brand Droog has been busy designing products and re-defining its design prowess. Lots of great new happenings within this cult brand. Also Roll and Hill lights are just extraordinary both in their design and crafted quality. In gifts, well I am very into Puebco from Japan for the best of traditional austerity and Japanese Englishness.

Every Wednesday 'Indie of the week' celebrates the best independent stores around. These places sell interesting and varied collections of design-related things you don't see everywhere else. They may support young or local designers or be great at finding unique things from around the world. By thinking a little more creatively about what they stock they are fighting the bland homogenisation of so much of the high street. And since I'm down with the realities of modern life, online only stores count too, because a beautiful and easy to use website is just as delightful an encounter in cyberspace.

Do you you have a favourite store?  I'd love to hear from you.

Follow The Butterfly

Here's something to think about over the weekend: are you living a positive consumer life?

We all know we live in a consumer society and while there's nothing inherently wrong with buying stuff, increasingly people are wondering where does this stuff come from, how was it made, and where? After the recent tragic Bangladesh factory collapse I certainly felt pretty sick at the thought of my stuff having come from there.

Step forward Positive Luxury an award-winning website which offers "the first and best consumer guide to positive living". Scroll through their list of brands to see who is and isn't playing fair. The brands are meticulously vetted on an annual basis for their social, environmental and philanthropic efforts. The good ones get awarded the blue butterfly, such as Nike and H&M - proving cheap doesn't have to = made by children. 

I'm all for a bit of consumer transparency - follow the blue butterfly and put your money where your mouth is. What do you think?  

Indie of the Week #24: The French House

The French House has been online for the past ten years, but since 2010 they've been on Lamb’s Conduit Street - that brilliant little enclave of interesting indie shops in central London. It’s the right location for this shop run by Susanna Housden as she specialises in well-crafted, timeless, authentic goods. Items are sourced in France and the surrounding countries and over the years the company has formed relationships with artisans and small manufacturers, whilst also creating new lines. You’ll find classic rise and fall lights, blankets, hand-turned pottery, copper cookware, pewter ware and vintage finds from fabulous French brocantes.

Who are you? Susanna Housden of The French House.

Where can we find you? 50 Lamb's Conduit Street, London, WC1.

Describe your store in five words: Artisan, Quality, Unique, Delicate, Wrought.

What makes you different? It is our products that make The French House brand so unique. Our buyers have spent years hand-picking artisan suppliers who are making high quality hand-made products to our own designs, often using techniques passed down for generations. Our buyers also regularly visit antiques markets to gather great one-off pieces for the shop. 

How you decide what makes the cut? We focus on quality of materials, great craftsmanship, and simplicity. Over the years we have developed a house style, which above all shuns anything too fussy as we believe good design is generally simple and uncluttered by superfluous embellishments.

What were you doing before you did this? I have worked extensively in public relations for a variety of clients. 

If you were staring again what advice would you give yourself? For a time we outsourced our order fulfillment to a specialist warehouse and call centre. This soon proved unsatisfactory as our customers did not get the personal service they were expecting and the staff had little product knowledge. Bringing it all under one roof has been the best decision as no one else can represent our brand better than our own team, and we should have done it from the beginning.

What are you most proud of? I feel proud when we receive a call or message from an impressed and happy customer. People are often pleasantly surprised when they can actually phone us and talk to a human being, so I am proud that we are able to offer such a personal service.

Do you have a favourite thing in the store right now? I am very fond of our new Portuguese milk soaps; they smell amazing and make your skin really soft. I also have my eyes on one of our new pastel pink merino wool blankets, and our new French Violet scented candle. 

What's hot for 2013? It's always hard to guess trends, but we are observing a trend to spend money in a more considered way. This is where one quality item can make the difference. People are doing more home entertaining again and our ranges of beautiful glassware, table linen and ceramics are proving very popular at the moment.

Every Wednesday 'Indie of the week' celebrates the best independent stores around. These places sell interesting and varied collections of design-related things you don't see everywhere else. They may support young or local designers or be great at finding unique things from around the world. By thinking a little more creatively about what they stock they are fighting the bland homogenisation of so much of the high street. And since I'm down with the realities of modern life, online only stores count too, because a beautiful and easy to use website is just as delightful an encounter in cyberspace.

Do you you have a favourite store?  I'd love to hear from you.

Who should be on the £5 note?

The stats to date of people who have been featured on the £5 note (except the Queen, who is exempt because didn't get there on merit) are 15 men : 2 women. Caroline Criado-Perez is running a social media campaign (#banknote) through her website The Women's Room to try and prevent the Bank of England making it 16 : 2. 

Why does it matter? Because it will mean that no English banknote will have a female face on it despite women representing half the population. And if no-one says anything then it's another patriarchal footprint on history; not all the significant figures from the past are white and male. 

My vote is for Rosalind Franklin, for her vital research into the discovery of DNA, read her galling wiki page here. My hall of residence at university (KCL) was named after her and on my first day I remember looking up at the name and thinking: "Who's she?" If she'd been on a banknote perhaps I'd have been more clued-up.

Feeling a stirring sense of injustice? Sign the petition here. 

The Independent on Sunday ran some good alternative fiver graphics on this story over the weekend. Although technically the face needs to be of someone who is dead, in the future why not the artist Bridget Riley or fashion legend Vivienne Westwood. 

​

An afternoon in Amsterdam

I've been in Holland visiting my in-laws. Got caught in an epic thunderstorm in Amsterdam yesterday, one of those ones where your jeans are so soaked through they stick to your legs. We hid from the rain for a drink in Cafe Van Zuylen and dinner at Cafe Brix

I was delighted to see that cycle path... which was a source of contention during the 10 year renovation of the Rijksmuseum. Locals were not keen on this short cut, which runs under/through the museum and is used daily by thousands of cyclists, being temporarily closed. The museum tried and failed to close it for good, thankfully - it's brilliant.

Inside the Rijksmuseum Rembrant's Night Watch is proving popular. The whole museum was very busy, but it's well worth the trip for the beautiful interior architecture (love the dark grey walls), the way everything is displayed by era and not type which keeps the eye/brain interested, and of course the epic paintings.

Stunning lights in the historic and cavernous Cafe Americain ​where we stopped for a coffee.

​Classic Amsterdam with my current favourite Instagram filter Earlybird. 

Clerkenwell Design Week 2013

Clerkenwell Design Week ​took over the EC1 area of London for three days last week. Now in its fourth year it is gaining in popularity and becoming a not-to-be-missed event in the design calendar. It's also free, and open to anyone, you can just register on the day. The pink signs dotted about the place signify where, when and what is going on (see above).

Centred around the Victorian-era Farmiloe Building on St John Street, which is a temporary home for new products in contemporary design, the show works in partnership with local design showrooms (of which there are many in this area) and is hosted in two other excellent historical venues: the spooky House of Detention and the ecclesiastical Order of St John. Here are a few of the things I saw.

The Swing Bench by Duffy London looks like the kind of thing you might find in Google's HQ. And guess what? The designer (in the background, seated, holding a coffee) has already sold one to the Swiss office.

​Looking down onto a striking bronze sculpture of a Jaguar (who sponsor the event) inside the Farmiloe Building on St John Street, where most of the action takes place.

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There was a great indie retailers section on the first floor of the Farmiloe Building which - as a fan of indie shops - I liked a lot. These items are all from a new online design shop called Clippings.com

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Emerging designers were located in the moody subterranean confines of the House of Detention which was once a Victorian prison. Behind the bars you can just make out pieces by Latvian company Sampling. There was a lot of buzz around Donna Bates's Parlour Lighting. 

These looked fantastic up close - the angular, cork-covered Tetrasheds which won an Elle Decoration Award last year and have been sold for use as home offices, bars, an extra room and even a pool house.

J Conran

Yesterday I checked out the new look Conran Shop on Marylebone High Street which has been given a bit of love and attention by Sir T's son, Jasper Conran, who became chairman of the company last year. So what's different? Well... it's incredibly welcoming, I was drawn in off the street by the fab window displays and greeted by a burst of spring colour from the (obviously) immaculate new flower shop. There's a new Conran Kitchen too which serves coffee and sandwiches, a cheerful children's shop, a music section and chic gifty things. In short it's setting the gold standard for enviable lifestyling (is that even a word?)  

Up on the top floor you may quite fancy just moving in as they've created what is called the 'Ultimate Conran Apartment' and as you can probably imagine it's flooded with natural light, beautiful furniture, both new and vintage, and original art. Walking back downstairs in a wantonly materialistic haze I passed elegant table settings I'm unlikely to recreate at home. Apparently Jasper wants it to be "a beautiful, small department store", and I'd say he's succeeded. As the nice PR girl said to me, "I could bring my boyfriend here, but I wouldn't take him into John Lewis".

Indie of the Week #23: Pitfield London

Pitfield London is the kind of place that could probably only happen in East London. It's half shop and half cafe and when it launched last year it was immediately popular. It's as much of an example of slick lifestyle branding as it is of shop-keeping; it's rapid growth has come about through a combination of good location, fun concept, smart use of social media and genuine enthusiasm by the owners who bring with them decades of design experience.

You'll find a joyful mix of feather dusters, re-uphostered 70s furniture, ceramics, vintage glassware and an exhibition space at the back to support new designers. I heard a talk by the owners Shaun Clarkson (who appeared on The Apprentice last week) and Paul Brewster at Decorex last year where they explained that they'd only planned to open a shop underneath Clarkson's interior design studio and that the cafe was a late addition to the plan. The cafe proved to be such a big draw that it took over to the point where they've had to get someone else in to run it. 

Who are you? Shaun Clarkson of Pitfield London.

Where can we find you? 31-35 Pitfield Street, London, N1 6 HB (5 mins from Old St) www.pitfieldlondon.com; www.blogpitfield.com 

Describe your store in five words: eclectic, colourful, experimental, curious, quirky.

What makes you different? We are an eclectic mix of new, old, invented and re invented. We build fantasy environments and you can buy a tiny price of the dream, or the whole look.

How you decide what makes the cut? We try to build stories inspired by one object, or idea, and run with it.

What were you doing before you did this? Hotelier and interior designer (Clarkson) and textile designer (Brewster).

If you were starting again what advice would you give yourself? Get a bigger space - and more stuff. 

What are you most proud of? The fact that the shop has so quickly positioned itself in the market. We invented a cool brand.

Do you have a favourite thing in the store right now? A midnight blue velvet buttoned wingback chair. It's sexy!

What's hot for 2013? Parrots, dogs and yellow.

Every Wednesday 'Indie of the week' celebrates the best independent stores around. These places sell interesting and varied collections of design-related things you don't see everywhere else. They may support young or local designers or be great at finding unique things from around the world. By thinking a little more creatively about what they stock they are fighting the bland homogenisation of so much of the high street. And since I'm down with the realities of modern life, online only stores count too, because a beautiful and easy to use website is just as delightful an encounter in cyberspace.

Do you you have a favourite store?  I'd love to hear from you.

The foodie's infographic

There was one tea towel at Pulse London I did like... it's called The Food Guide and it shows which foods contain which vitamins and minerals. Fun, informative - and in tasteful monochrome - it makes drying up a darn sight more interesting. 

Pulse London - a few things

I went along to Pulse London last week which is a trade show for homes products. It's at Earl's Court and it's pretty massive - with over 600 exhibitors - so I concentrated on an area called Launchpad which focuses on newer talent. In amongst all the cards and tea towels (of which there were a LOT) were a few crafty things that caught my eye.

Clockwise from top left:  Dove Street Pottery - earthy, tactile and very easy to live with |  Sabina Savage whose beautiful hand-drawn silk scarves won Best New Product at the show | Blodwen - lovely handmade homewares, textiles and furniture from Cardigan Bay in Wales | Emily Bucknell's black & white hand screen printed designs were very appealing and not at all twee.

Indie of the Week #22: Utility

Anyone can sell sexy, but how do you sell sensible? At Utility in Brighton, Martha Tiffin and her crew have landed on a way to make shopping for traditional no-nonsense goods for the home more fun than it should be. First there’s the music - anything from a bit of C&W, to Bowie, Gerry Rafferty, Supertramp - which reflects the era of the products and Martha's own upbringing. Then there’s Colin, a straight-talking gentle rockabilly loved by customers, who has been with them from the beginning. And then there’s the product - solid, well made, inexpensive (£3 for a glass jug) - that's more traditional than retro. A shop like this could be a bit humourless, but by engaging enthusiastically with customers (who keep asking for a mixtape) and possibly by channelling a friendly Americana vibe (25% of their stock is from the USA) they have, in the past four years, grown a loyal following. (And they don't ALL come from London). 

Who are you? The shop is called Utility. I'm Martha Tiffin and I run it with my other half and my brother-in-law, and with the excellent help of Colin, Lee and Jerry.

Where can we find you? In the North Laine of Brighton - 28a North Road, BN1 1YB; the website is www.utilitygreatbritain.co.uk.

Describe your store in five words: An excellent household goods store!

What makes you different? We stick to our guns.

How you decide what makes the cut? Do we like it?  Do you need it? 

What were you doing before you did this? Allsorts: I was a cleaner, a signpainter, I worked in floristry, horticulture, in shops, offices - just like everybody else, I guess.

If you were starting again what advice would you give yourself? The best advice in the world is "Turn up on time, and do your best."  

What are you most proud of? I was asked this once before, and no doubt the proudest moment for me was when my Dad (who was a huge influence) saw the shop for the first time, and "got it".

Do you have a favourite thing in the store right now? I am in need of new plates so I have my beady eye on the Dudson crockery.

What's hot for 2013? When you stock really traditional things, there aren't really seasonal trends (hurrah!). But actually HOT, would be the Tennessee-made Lodge cast iron skillets and Dutch ovens. It's getting to that outdoor-y time of year and they are great on a camp fire or at home. We're also very excited about our own brand enamel range.

Every Wednesday 'Indie of the week' celebrates the best independent stores around. These places sell interesting and varied collections of design-related things you don't see everywhere else. They may support young or local designers or be great at finding unique things from around the world. By thinking a little more creatively about what they stock they are fighting the bland homogenisation of so much of the high street. And since I'm down with the realities of modern life, online only stores count too, because a beautiful and easy to use website is just as delightful an encounter in cyberspace.

Do you you have a favourite store?  I'd love to hear from you.

Spot the design classic

The Design Museum has teamed up with Swiss design company Vitra this summer for what appears to be a game of spot the design classic. Housed in the museum's Thames riverfront display area - aka 'The Tank' - from today is a pop-up garden with an array of furniture and accessories by Vitra designers including Jasper Morrison, the Bouroullec brothers, Barber Osgerby, the Eames's and Verner Panton. Stroll down the South Bank, grab a bite in the Design Museum's Cafe and then - let's assume it's a sunny day - relax on the seating area around the tank and play the er, game. Ten points if you can pair the designers with their designs. The pop-up will be popped-up until 3rd June. 

Indie of the Week #21: Aram Store

​All photos by Paul Raeside

It’s a biggie this week: Aram Store - the original independent design store. It's owned and run by the Aram family, and has been for the past 49 years. Founded by Zeev Aram, it was the radical home of shiny, sharp, modern design when it first opened on the King's Road in 1964 - a few months before Habitat. People didn't really know what to make of it. But we've all caught up with this 'futuristic' vision of furniture now and the existence of this shop is in part why.

Aram Store holds the global licence for Eileen Gray designs (E1027 table, Bibendum chair) because it was Zeev who approached her, when she was in her nineties, rescued her designs from near obscurity and put them into production. Gray is considered one of the central figures in the history of 20th century furniture design.

Zeev and his daughter Ruth's continued enthusiasm for the new is evident in the shop's current Covent Garden location where they host regular exhibitions. This cavernous four-storey warehouse on Drury Lane is a must-visit for design fans seeking inspiration and a gawp at the most comprehensive collection of modern furniture around. Standards (and prices) are high, but this is an indie - albeit a big established one - and as such is rightfully celebrated here. 

Who are you? Ruth Aram, of Aram Store

Where can we find you? 110 Drury Lane, London WC2; www.aram.co.uk

Describe your store in five words: Huge, inspirational, welcoming, carefully curated, ever changing.

What makes you different? Every top end furniture brand wants to be represented in our store because throughout our fifty years we have upheld our core values: to offer the best quality modern design, manufacture and customer service.

How you decide what makes the cut? We have many criteria on which to judge product under consideration such as originality of design, functionality, reliability, value for money, sustainability…the list goes on. On top of that is good old fashioned gut instinct.  

What were you doing before you did this? I was a newly qualified landscape architect.

If you were starting again what advice would you give yourself? Great product is not enough – you also need effective marketing and a good location.

What are you most proud of? Customers want an enjoyable retail ‘experience’ when they visit and I have worked hard to create this whilst still respecting my father’s original vision.

Do you have a favourite thing in the store right now? My favourite thing is the Kaleido collection of trays for Hay.

What's hot for 2013? The Bell tables, launched to much acclaim by ClassiCon last year, have been updated using copper - and a range of pendant lights with interchangeable diffusers, by the same designer, has been added to the collection.

Every Wednesday 'Indie of the week' celebrates the best independent stores around. These places sell interesting and varied collections of design-related things you don't see everywhere else. They may support young or local designers or be great at finding unique things from around the world. By thinking a little more creatively about what they stock they are fighting the bland homogenisation of so much of the high street. And since I'm down with the realities of modern life, online only stores count too, because a beautiful and easy to use website is just as delightful an encounter in cyberspace.

Do you you have a favourite store?  I'd love to hear from you.

Wabi-Sabi

Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, by Leonard Koren

This is a great philosophical little book (lent to me by my dad) which explores the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi.

“Wabi-sabi is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. It is a beauty of things modest and humble. It is a beauty of things unconventional,” says the author Leonard Koren.

But it's something the Japanese struggle to explain, they don't really have the words for it, yet it occupies roughly the same position in the Japanese "pantheon of aesthetic values" as the Greek ideals of beauty and perfection. It's a particular type of beauty, the closest English word is probably "rustic".

He goes on to describe it as being related to "the more emphatic anti-aesthetics that invariably spring from the young, modern, creative soul: beat, punk, grunge, or whatever it's called next". And he compares it to Modernism, which was a radical departure from 19th century classicism and eclecticism, suggesting that: "wabi-sabi was a radical departure from the Chinese perfection and gorgeousness of the 16th century and earlier". But while Modernism is seamless, polished, and smooth; wabi-sabi is earthy, imperfect, and variegated. Got that?

As is the nature of these things, while I'm pondering this information what should pop into my inbox but the latest work from London-based Japanese ceramicist Reiko Kaneko. New to her Drip Tease range is the Egg Cup which makes a feature of the goop that drips down the side of a boiled egg, and there's also the excellently titled Crack of Thunder Mugs, worth a purchase for the name alone, with it's crack marked in gold. Apparently, in Japan broken china was always glued back together and the crack gilded to accentuate the flaw. Wabi-sabi? Bingo.

Since reading this book I've found myself thinking about how when things are a bit too perfect they just don't feel quite right, I'm currently at the point and shout "wabi-sabi" phase, eg. crumbling tiles on Lisbon buildings? "Wabi-sabi". Five star hotels? "No wabi-sabi!" Etc.

The complete Drip Tease range in fine bone china ​

​The Drip Tease Egg Cup with gold or platinum drips

The excellently titled ​Crack of Thunder mugs

Indie of the Week #20: Cow&Co

To Liverpool this week where Nicola Holroyd and her husband Benji run Cow&Co. It’s a tiny shop that you are unlikely to find unless you know about it, but that’s not really a problem as most of their customers are already loyal fans. Cow&Co started out life as a Tumblr looking at nice products from emerging designers. Within six months they’d got 1,000 followers and thought "hmm there might be something in this" - and there was. In December 2010 they flipped the blog into an online shop and launched the physical shop in July last year. Most people who come in know who they are and love the brand already and they’ve found their customers like to actually feel the products, and get a bit more knowledge, rather than googling and hoping for the best. Death of the high street? Think again people. This is shopping 2.0

Who are you? Nicola Holroyd, co-founder, Cow&Co

Where can we find you? 15 Cleveland Square, Liverpool, L1 5BE or online at www.cowandco.co.uk

Describe your store in five words: Design. Superstore. Magnifique. Shop. Now.

What makes you different? Online and instore we're stocked to the hilt with the most unique products from around the world, from limited edition prints to knitted jewellery, lighting and stationery to magazines and books, gifts, vintage, garden and kitchenware - if you can name it we've probably got it.

How you decide what makes the cut? We search endlessly for products that show a high level of design and craft. Some of our products are fun others are practical but they have all been made with real passion and a mutual love for great design.

What were you doing before you did this? We also run a brand & ideas agency, SB Studio (sb-studio.co.uk) which is where Cow&Co was born. It's a labour of love more than a business venture; a hobby that has grown into a business and something we're very proud of.  We used to collate a lot of nice products we'd find online and on our travels — things that were not accessible to everyone, or tucked away in the depths of the internet, so we setup a blog, gained a surprising amount of followers and then flipped the blog into a shop. SB (the agency) work with like-minded ambitious brands large and small, and a lot of our values cross over, so the process of setting up shop has been an organic one.

If you were starting again what advice would you give yourself? Write a business plan. 

What are you most proud of? Our shop and brand and customers! We have a very loyal following and have always said we're keen to develop a customer service that's long forgotten on the high street. We care about the little things, the space between letters, the sharpness of a fold - those sorts of things. Because in the end, anything big is made up of big details, so if you look after those you look after everything. 

Do you have a favourite thing in the store right now? My personal favourite is definitely the songbird mobiles, Simple, bright and fun.

What's hot for 2013? Lighting is very popular at the moment, the Strand Lamps proving our most popular and most recent addition. What's hot for the rest of 2013? A lot of new products will be on the shelves within the next month. Think BIG, BRIGHT, SHAPES.

Every Wednesday 'Indie of the week' celebrates the best independent stores around. These places sell interesting and varied collections of design-related things you don't see everywhere else. They may support young or local designers or be great at finding unique things from around the world. By thinking a little more creatively about what they stock they are fighting the bland homogenisation of so much of the high street. And since I'm down with the realities of modern life, online only stores count too, because a beautiful and easy to use website is just as delightful an encounter in cyberspace.

Do you you have a favourite store?  I'd love to hear from you.