Monday 14 December 2009

drink. shop. do.


There is a lovely pop up shop on the Cally road in Kings Cross which you all must visit if you get a chance. It is only open for three weeks in December and next weekend is the last, so get down there quick smart!

I came across Drink, shop, do when Kirstie and Coralie asked me to do some workshops there. It is a collaboration of two school friends with different interests and backgrounds, producing an ecclectic yet harmonious mix of design and activities within the shop.

Sugary sweets in old fashioned jars are placed beside contemporary jewellery by local designers and the well stocked cocktail bar sits comfortably in the main room packed with members of a knitting class or crafty workshop. The concept is to sell unique, beautifully made products, both by artisan makers and crafts people alongside vintage and secondhand finds from flea markets and antique stalls, while entertaining, feeding and watering the customers. From the subtle, welcoming waft of mulled wine as you enter to the flickering candles and colourful wall art, the shop is a haven of calm informality and relaxed creativity. The glut of juxtapositions seem to work very well within this space, making it very inviting and I can see it working extremely well in the long term, which is exactly what the girls hope to do in the new year.
As for me, I thoroughly enjoyed teaching the lovely folk I met there, more of which you can see over at my workshop blog very soon and I also succumbed to the temptation to buy.


I bought this beautifully tactile rabbit necklace from me me me. Regular readers and lovers of my mr rabbit toy will know I cannot resist anything rabbit and this particular necklace really reminds me of one of my favourite stories; Watership Down, especially the 1978 animation. The weight and subtle shape is so beguiling, I just cannot wait to wear it!



My other favourite item from the shop is a beautifully kitsch nude tapestry (who'd have thought these existed!) embroidered in a fabulous seventies muted colourway. Coralie dragged this back from a flea market in France after falling for it as much as I did. I just wish I had the wall space for it...

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