Cotswolds (in a day) Pt.2

Posted on September 23, 2012 by attic. Furniture & Fine Things

On the way back from our trip to Cowley Manor, a few weeks ago, we had a quick whistle-stop tour through the Cotswolds. We had never really been to this part of England before, so we thought seeing as we were down there anyway, it would be rude not to explore, at least a little!First stop on the way to Oxford, (where we were staying for that night) was Stow on the Wold, a pretty market town that centres around the market square at the top of the hill. As i’m sure most of the thousands of tourists that visit Stow every year would agree, there are plenty of photo opportunities…

After a couple of hours in Stow, we headed off to Burford, another popular destination in the Cotswolds. Again, a beautiful town with the typical Cotswold stone built buildings and quaint English charm….

Although the whole town is lovely, particularly worth a stroll down is ‘Sheep Street’ off the main high street. This is where we took the majority of the photos. A street with as many beautiful cottages and houses would be hard to find…

In 2009, Burford was ranked sixth in Forbes Magazine‘s list of “Europe’s Most Idyllic Places To Live”. Not hard to see why….

Merci.

Posted on September 16, 2012 by attic. Furniture & Fine Things

If you’re looking for inspiration in Paris, then Merci, on Boulevard Beaumarchais on the edge of the Marais, is always worth a visit…The brainchild of Marie-France Cohen & her husband (founders of children’s brand Bonpoint) Merci is a concept store, that since opening in 2009, has in a few short years, gained quite a reputation amongst interiors & lifestyle journalists and bloggers. And with good reason!Set in an old factory, set back from the main road (sorry Boulevard!) Merci has 15,000 sq ft of the very best in contemporary furniture, lighting & accessories, mixed with exquisite vintage & antique pieces…There is also a whole floor of exclusive designer clothing and accessories, with many pieces designed exclusively for Merci, by Stella McCartney, Paul Smith and Isabel Marant – to name a few. There is also a library/café where you can slow down and maybe browse or buy the books while you sip your green tea! It’s also worth mentioning that Merci donates all it’s profits to Women’s foundations in Madagascar. But the thing that stands Merci apart, is the innovative visual merchandising and displays that are implemented throughout the store… That and the little vintage Red Fiat 500 Cinquecento that stands in the courtyard ready to greet you as you enter….Merci, indeed.

Cotswolds, Pt.1

Posted on August 27, 2012 by attic. Furniture & Fine Things

As a reward to ourselves for all the work we put into launching our new website, we took a few days off last week, and headed off for a few days, in and around the Cotswolds. We stayed two nights at the wonderful Cowley Manor, a contemporary country house, boutique hotel & spa in….well, Cowley!Just outside Cheltenham in the Cotswolds, Cowley Manor has been a Hotel & Spa since 2002 and has been recognised as pioneering a new wave of country house hotels.On arrival, the first thing that struck us about Cowley Manor (apart from the obvious beauty of the building itself) is the view from inside the hotel, looking out onto the lakes and lawns. Breath-taking…The interior is cool & contemporary with an abundance of modern artwork and sculpture throughout the beautiful old building and its grounds.Old & New has always been at the core of everything we do, so we weren’t disappointed.The staff are friendly and the service is what you would expect of a hotel of this calibre – top notch! They even had a selection of multicoloured Hunter Wellies to borrow….. For us though, the jewel in Cowley’s crown, is the 55 acres of grounds. Its famous gardens include, parklands, woods & meadows, as well as a series of lakes and Victorian cascades…Rain or shine (and we had both) the grounds are truly beautiful. As we explored the gardens and land surrounding Cowley Manor, it was great fun discovering the many pieces of sculpture by post-graduate students from the Royal College of Art….…made all the more striking, seeing modern art & sculpture set in the traditional setting of an English landscaped garden.By the way, local history states that Lewis Carroll regularly visited Cowley village. During his stays, it is said, he drew inspiration for his best known book ‘Alice in Wonderland’, from Cowley Manor and it’s grounds. Croquet anyone?

New Website Goes Live!

Posted on July 31, 2012 by attic. Furniture & Fine Things

So after nearly four months of designing, selecting, photographing, editing, uploading & writing content, our new website is now live! Here’s a few images from it. Do check it out if you get the chance. We’d love to hear what you think!

Four days in Florence (Pt.2)

Posted on June 20, 2012 by attic. Furniture & Fine Things

Thought it was about time we posted some more photos from our recent trip to Florence. Seems a shame not to share them really……..

Four days in Florence (Pt.1)

Posted on May 23, 2012 by attic. Furniture & Fine Things

At the beginning of May we managed to get away for a long weekend. So we headed to the beautiful Tuscan city of Florence, (Firenze).

Over the years, so many people have told us that we would love it.

Well they weren’t wrong.

We were also told it never rains in Florence. That is untrue. When we arrived on the Saturday it was chucking it down. Really, really chucking it down.

It didn’t bode well for the trip, but luckily the next few days were… well, perfect really. Warm and sunny, but not too hot.

Anyway, to sum up Florence in a few words: Architecture, culture, wine, style, great coffee, friendly waiters (on the whole), old narrow streets, museums, old shop/restaurant signage, historic pharmacies, wonderful handmade paper/stationery shops, and oh yeah, great front doors!

That last one’s a bit unusual i know but go with it.

Anyway,we’ll let the photos do (most) of the talking…

The fabulous Riva lofts, where we stayed. Lovely staff and free bikes to borrow!

Quite a treat………

Wonderful old Kodak branded gift shop…..

Abandoned cinema……….

We were really struck by the cool old signage everywhere in Florence…..

The shutters and aged patina of the walls……

Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella, absolutely stunning skin care & toiletries packaging…

We became a little obsessed with apartment block entrances and antique brass doorknobs. I know. A bit odd…..

Stand alone photo booth…..

View from up at the Giardino Della Rose – is simply stunning. Bit of a walk though!…….

Old entrance door buzzers are everywhere……

Most wonderful artists supply store ‘Zecchi’. Has been there for years and has supplied some of the old masters over the years…….

Brick Lane, London

Posted on April 14, 2012 by attic. Furniture & Fine Things

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…..

Papillon Rouge Candles.

Posted on April 5, 2012 by attic. Furniture & Fine Things

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!!

Rocks, Bullets & Spoons

Posted on March 23, 2012 by attic. Furniture & Fine Things

So, our new stock has started trickling in over the last few weeks and now Valentine’s and Mother’s Day is behind us we can start to feature some of the more exclusive things we’ve had in. The following photos are pictures of Rosy Maddison’s new jewellery. Rosy hand makes them all individually. Every piece is unique, made from ‘found’ pieces – including antique spoons and brass bullet casings (discarded from a shooting range in L.A.) All the stones used are semi precious stones, including Amethyst, Citrine, Clear Quartz, Pyrite and Black Tormelene.

Rock & Bullets Necklaces £32

Antique spoon necklaces, £32

Stone Earrings £12

Stone Necklaces with vintage details. £32

Paris – New York (Pt2)

Posted on February 6, 2012 by attic. Furniture & Fine Things

It’s gotta be said, normally when we visit Nyc, one of the down sides is, it’s usually freezing. I mean really freezing. However for this trip, the weather couldn’t have been better. Blue skies, bright sunshine and really mild temperatures. Like spring time in England. Perfect really. Little did we know however, what was waiting for us when we got back….. Anyway, we kind of thought after Paris it would be hard to beat, but no, it was as good. Better in many ways. The reasons being in no particular order: (1) The hotel was fantastic; a new hotel that borders Soho, West Village & Tribeca. It made getting around to the parts of the city that we love, easy. (2) The weather, the light was amazing for taking photos. (3) The flea market finds we bought and filled our suitcases with. (4) The food/new restaurants. If you’re ever anywhere near The Ace Hotel, stop by The Breslin and have lamb burgers. Awesome. Very cool place indeed.(5) Lastly, the trade show was fantastic too. We weren’t expecting to buy much, but we found such great stuff this time we couldn’t help ourselves! We’ll let you know more about that over the next few months. Meanwhile here’s some snaps we took…….

The hotel…