Brick Lane, London

Every now and again on a Sunday, for inspiration, we go up to the Brick Lane area of East London. Our usual route starts off at Columbia Rd flower market, for coffee and horticultural bargains, then down to Cheshire Street (via many quirky independent little shops) and onto the wonderful melting pot that is Brick Lane. Then, after taking in the beautiful old London architecture on the way, it’s a little further and we arrive at Old Spitalfields market. Here you’ll find pretty much any kind of cuisine, from anywhere in the world at one of the many food stalls. Really reasonable prices too. In the old market itself there are literally hundreds of stalls/shops selling anything from jewellery to clothes to vintage industrial furniture. Many of the stall holders are designer/makers on the first rungs of the ladder, so you don’t have to look too hard to find some original pieces. Anyway, during the day we’re always looking for the not so obvious photo opportunities. Here’s a few we took…..

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Papillon Rouge Candles.

There’s a lot of scented candles out there these days, varying in price from £5 to £50 (also varying in quality). As far as we’re concerned a good scented candle should, most importantly, have an exquisite scent, and a nice even burn – without leaving a ‘circle’ of wax around the outside, and a wick that’s slowly disappearing down a hole! Great packaging is also vitally important these days, for a candle to stand out from the crowd, especially in the gift market…..

….so with that in mind, when we were in Paris earlier in the year, we discovered Papillon Rouge Candles. Made entirely in France, Papillon Rouge are a family run business, with a passion for home fragrance. They use exclusively 100% vegetable wax  (paraffin free) and their candles delicately scent your home with the most wonderful scents….

 We have a small selection of their scents that include: Orange Blossom, Cedar wood, Black Iris, Fig Tree Leaf, Woody Rose & Seashore. They come in handmade glass vessels in Black, white or Red (the red glass is a one off scent called ‘Love Addicted’ and Virginie at PR tells us you can only smell it if you are in love!)

Papillon Rouge are at the higher end of the candle market so consequently you will pay a little more (£35 each) but they are truly exquisite. Trust us!!