Worry Will Vanish, or A Christmas Shopping Respite

London is so immense, so dense, that sometimes it feels impossible to tease out individual strands of fabulousness, be it a play, a pop-up, an exhibition or even a new pair of shoes, from the sheer weight of all the stuff that's going on.

Last week, I had a whole morning of that teased out fabulousness in a small corner of Mayfair.  It began with a wander around Marlborough Fine Art full of Maggi Hambling's intense monotypes redolent of waves, water and Hokusai.

Upstairs Joao Onofre's extraordinary take on John Cage's classic 4'33, involving pianos, pianists and fire...

and walking through  his wind chimes tuned to D.E.A.D. was charming.....

A quick trot around the corner to Nelson Street and up a flight of stairs to  the House of Voltaire,

the ultra-chic temporary shop full of limited editions, specially commissioned pieces of homewares, clothing and accessories all by leading contemporary artists and designers.

 Particular favourites, Craig and Karl for Waterford's 'Crystaleyezed' vase

Karen Kilimnik for Chloé's broderie anglaise, sweet top

and a neon donkey light.

And then, to a show of painterly photographs at Pace Gallery's showing of Hiroshi Sugimoto: Still Life.  Large images of wildlife and wilderness are captured from the dioramas within Natural History museums. I loved them - reminiscent of American artists Andrew Wyeth and Anselm Adams. and somehow deeply alluring...

Up Savile Row to Hauser and Wirth, and there, I entered the world of Pipilotti Rist, 'And Worry Will Vanish'...we obediently took our shoes off, and walked behind the denim curtain, lay down on a thick duvet, and ...my worries vanished.  Try and allow at least 15 minutes for this...the best feel-good, (free!) pick-me-up in London now.

Christmas shopping 0.  Spiritual sustenance, 10.

Summertime

The roads empty, a seemingly miraculous number of parking spots open, reservations at hot restaurants can be had at a moment's notice (well, a week perhaps) - it can only be summer in the city.

I left behind the steaming hot streets of London to be able to dive into the salty loveliness of this

in the early hours of the morning, which brings a pleasurable shiver of contrasting delight from the cool of the freshwater Ladies' Pond on the Heath that I normally help populate several times a week.

I had had just about enough with the diminishing racks of summery pieces both on and off line, not to mention the constant onslaught of Autumn/Winter '14.  London in July was a toasty 30 degrees for goodness' sake!  A different city, a different vibe  - a change is as good as a holiday, and when you can combine the two...

First stop, Ground Zero for Lulu Lemon, 2133 W 4th Avenue, Vancouver....

There is a reason that Lulu Lemon has become a familiar sight on the streets of cities around the world. Super fit, fabric and cut has made even the greenest of green yoga converts dip just that bit further into their downward dog.  Walk down any Vancouver byway and it seems every tan limb (mine included) is rocking a Lulu Lemon legging - no surprise, since this is the birth place of the brand.  Walking into the original 4th avenue  store is just fun....

then 10 minutes to downtown, a quick skip past the Vancouver Art Gallery showing Douglas Coupland's  exhibition...

to Holt Renfrew (owned by the Westons, who also run Selfridges)  perennial Vancouver shopping favourite, where I picked up these cute Cavalli trousers from the sales racks, perfect for a cool summer's evening out...

and then back up to my patch of Vancouver, Point Grey, where you can find what is possibly the world's most perfect museum, the Museum of Anthropology, with something for absolutely everyone, even totem poles....

Finish off a perfect, blue-sky summer's day sitting at the bar at West with what is, I swear, the finest cocktail I have ever had, a Papa Doble, so good, not sweet.  Pretty bar, truly excellent bartenders...

It seems not only is a change as good as a holiday, this holiday was as good as a change.

Eastward Ho

It is no news to anyone these days that the unseen centre of hipness in London has been steadily moving eastward for some time.  However, I was still flummoxed to find what appeared to be a fully formed street of beautiful shops that combined the achingly hip with actual covetable items,  not ten minutes from where I live, on Wilton Way, E8.

I have to admit a vested interest in the area:  I had been asked to take part in a pop-up shop on the street by Rosie Harkness of Rose Tinted PR, who is showcasing some London creatives (jewellery, photography, clothing, accessories, home furnishings) in a lovely space at 79A Wilton Way for the summer months.

So I went to take a look....

and found a collection of pretty shopfronts, with just the right amount of grit to keep their character. (This photo still from Monocle's short video on the same, worth watching for a more in-depth view, and a much better pic than the one I took.)

First off, Violet Cakes, run by Alice Ptak (formerly pastry chef at Alice Water's Chez Panisse) which for anyone with a leaning towards sugary carbs is essentially heaven. Here a close-up of the some of the goodies courtesy of Violet Cakes....

Mayfield's,  'neighbourhood dining room' with a deeply charming exterior.  A peek at the menu confirmed this as a 'must eat here'  location...

Borough wines, where a question about Spanish wines led me to a rare grape and delicious bottle. They also have a serve yourself option where you can re-fill a bottle with a decent red, white or rose, the whole beautifully laid out.

Here is the tag from the bottle that came home with me...

There is plenty more to see with Broadway Market just around the corner, so the next sunny day you have, brace yourself for a high beard and skinny jean count, and make the journey yourself.  Pick up a few cakes from Violet's, a bottle of wine from Borough and wander around the corner to London Fields where they have planted a wild flower meadow, and enjoy a happy foray into East End cool.

ps. Here's a little sign I saw as I was leaving...if anyone knows what it might be, I would love to know.

xeileen

Dress Stress

This rather blurry pic was taken on a whirlwind weekend away in France, at what was possibly the perfect party, (one of the Phly Boyz behind,) with me looking utterly relaxed without a whisker of the dress stress that had haunted me in the build-up to the day.

It started with an deliciously intriguing Paperless Post invite ( is it sad that I still love the bit when the envelope opens itself?)

Two parties, one weekend, the South of France - does it get any better?

Until, when innocently prodding for some details beyond the 'glamourous' dress code, I began to hear rumours of multiple dress changes, serious accessories, and then the one that tipped the balance:  'Dolce, with a train'.

If that doesn't strike fear into your hearts, dear reader, then you are made of stronger stuff than I.

So, I thought I would start small, with my bag. A bright silver clutch that felt both evening and summery.  I lined it with matchy silver....

followed by a hurried trawl through the wardrobe(s), which delivered a back-up possibility, vintage Nicole Farhi silk chiffon apron dress, down to the ankle, very strappy and perfect for a warm summer's night.

A trudge through Selfridges only underlined the fact, that when you are looking, you never find - though I struck gold at the shoe bazaar with some silver birkenstock style flatties from www.kurtgeiger.com just right for pootling around the Matisse Chapel and the food markets in Vence....

A last minute finger-swiping frenzy led me to Matches,  but ended with a frustrating no-show of a dress the day before we were due to leave.  I  console myself with the fact it would most definitely have been too long...but it was very lovely....

So I sedately packed my silver Jimmy Choo's (I know I constantly name-check JC, but definitely the most comfortable high heels around) for the night,

and some seriously reliable wedges to slip into from Pierre Hardy's ancient collaboration with Gap for the last few hours of dancing

and my floaty chiffon wrap with 'destroyed' silver flowers to keep off a midnight breeze, and gave up on finding 'The One' and slipped  the vintage Nicole Farhi into the case.

After an evening of meticulously executed brilliant deliciousness in every direction,  a serenade by Eliza Doolittle and the final hours on the dance floor, the dress stress melted away, leaving only the feeling that perfect parties are a rare but wonderful breed, and sometimes, something old can be the new new.

Hampstead Heath and that rare, elusive creature - a balmy June evening in London formed the perfect mix for the first ever GROW London event.

We went to the Charity preview as  guests of Simply Roses Company, whose beautiful stall was almost hidden to view by the crowds surrounding it. I did manage to get a few pics...

Met the talented Julia Clarke who sculpts pleasing organic shapes from willow

This is the one that came home with us....

Found some sweet seedboms which turn your garden into a meadow....

I loved these giant felt pebble cushions for the garden...

and these simple, beautiful pots....

The whole event felt carefully curated, with some very lovely things and some nice English bubbly to go with it.  It was a far cry from the opening day at Chelsea, where the gardens are the main draw (that and the French bubbly at the Moet garden) but none the worse for that.  There were some similarities in that any garden event calls for wedges not heels, and this being North London, my pale green zip Paige jeans from Trilogy, favourite jeans store...

instead of an Erdem frock. Still there was room for a little bit of bling with my new ear cuff from Ryan Storer, it can never be too casual for a rhinestone or two....

Six Degrees of Separation....

Life sometimes seem to mimic a giant Venn diagram hastily drawn by a team of toddlers.  Overlaps and connections, hidden and then suddenly revealed, these  came to the fore again and again this week.

It all started when the beautiful artist, Sarah Pickstone and her husband came over to have dinner with some friends a few weeks back.  

Perhaps inevitably, a hidden join was revealed and just like that, a whole slew of new connections bubbled to the surface.

 This week, the launch of her new book, Park Notes 

which combines Pickstone's paintings with the writings of artists and writers centering around London's Regent's Park,  was held at the  Daunt bookshop in Marleybone. Delectable writer Ali Smith and  gorgeous Irish actor Lisa Dwan were there giving readings....

and yet more dormant connections were laid bare.

It seems within certain spheres, the whole idea of six degrees of separation is excessive and one degree would be just fine....

It made me realise how successfully the whole Venn diagram/Six Degrees can be applied across our personal universes.  It works seamlessly within the world of inanimate objects and a clear trail can be laid between the ridiculously lovely printed leathers from The Deep Print Movement 

to the waterfall of sequinned fabric I bought in a little shop on the Seven Sisters Road a few days ago,

to the wonderfully named Supermend,

 my  magic go-to glue powder for making delicate, metallic lace overlays on my chiffon scarves, this one silver on grey...

and black on violet chiffon

to the practically perfect new J choos I bought for this weekend....

I suppose the real wonder would be discovering someone or something with whom you have nothing and nobody in common with, when the Venn became a sad set of individual spheres -   surely not possible.  Or is it?