Laduree

Whilst Laduree are not strictly a UK based company, they are independent, and have a number of outlets across London for us British to access. The company have three patisseries/tea salons in the capital, one based in the Burlington Arcade just off Piccadilly, one in Harrods, and of course their newly opened premises in Covent Garden. Laduree are starting to take pockets of the UK by storm, and it’s easy to understand why, with their intricate, luxurious and very, very French style of desserts and patisseries.

Laduree was established in 1862 in a prestigious area of Paris, and quickly attracted the custom of Parisian high-society. Initially purely a patisserie, Laduree evolved into a tea salon, which offered a sit-down, restaurant-type feel to afternoon tea and cakes. Laduree salons now feature in each of their outlets, which are luxuriously adorned with plush velvets, opulent silks, golden brocades and gilding, all in a classically Parisian palette of rich navys, pale pinks, absinth greens and deep blacks. This aesthetic theme has continued on from the literal walls of each Laduree location to the packaging of their cakes, available in gorgeous boxes and cases you’ll be desperate to find a use for long after you have scoffed all your cakes away.

Laduree take traditional French cake and pastry recipes and elaborates on them greatly, to create diverse, extravagant, exciting and experimental new culinary inventions. Typical concoctions include pain au chocolat with chocolate and pistachio cream, a chocolate mini-gateaux with morello cherry jam and gold leaf whisps, rose raspberry, violet and caramel-mango profiteroles, and Laduree Saint-Honores – towers of puff pastry with fruit, cream, chocolate, nuts and a flavoured sugar-glaze.

Laduree are best known however for their sandwich macaroons, which were actually invented by the company back in the 1800s. The simple base macaroon recipe of ground almonds, eggs and sugar with a ganache filling is livened-up by their huge diversity of flavours. As a simple taster, they currently have flavours of cherry kirsch and chocolate, mint and strawberry, lily of the valley, orange blossom, rose and orange and granny smith apple, amongst numerous others on their shelves. What was a simple treat is instantly made into a rich indulgence.

Laduree’s X-factor is found in the combination of excellent, quality baking, a huge variety of innovative flavour combinations, the literal beauty of the cakes and the sumptuous surrounding you can eat them in. A Laduree take away is the perfect treat for yourself, or a special person/special occasion. A box of macaroons starts from £11, and you can buy individual patisseries from £3.95. A trip to the tea salon is a guaranteed winner for a special date, especially for a lady you want to spoil, or really make a real impression on. 

http://www.laduree.fr/

Tatty Devine

Tatty Devine make bold, artistic jewellery with lashing of wit and whimsy. Their signature items are typically made out of brightly coloured acrylic plastic, but many of collections also feature pieces made out of textile, wood, leather, metals and veneers. All Tatty Devine jewellery is handmade in the UK, and their full collection is available online, as well as at their two shops in Covent Garden and Brick Lane. They make a whole host of broaches, earrings, necklaces, rings, belts and hair accessories.

Rosie Wolfenden and Harriet Vine created Tatty Devine in 1999, and since then their brand has developed a huge cult following in both the art and fashion worlds. As well as having collections developed specifically for the Tate Modern and the V&A museum, the company has featured in Vogue, and TD also get involved in London Fashion Week every year. The girls also develop special projects with artists and bands, from Camera Obscura and Belle & Sebastian to Antony Gormley (the artist behind The Angel of the North).

Tatty Devine release two seasonal collections a year, and their Autumn/Winter range has just been released. Entitled “Come Foraging”, this season is very nature based, and is full of acorns, berries, leaves, foxes and owls, with reds, ambers, mustards, golds and deep ivy greens as the colour palette. TD also have a permanent collection available, which features more general themes such as bows, anchors, plectrums, dinosaurs and various birds such a magpies and swallows. The brand are also famous for their “Name Necklaces” – bespoke items which can be tailored exactly for the name or words you want, with five different font choices, 28 different colours, four attachable charms, and chains available in gold, black or silver. The name necklaces have become very popular with celebrities, with Jamilia, Girls Aloud and Kelly Osborne all seen sporting their own in the past.

Tatty Devine’s jewellery offers a beautiful slice of art and luxury, with special and everyday piece so cool they will always stay in fashion. As well as jewellery, the company also offer clothing from time to time, and often have crafts from other independents, including cards, magazines and badges. Tatty Devine also have the release of their first book coming up, which focuses on how to make your own jewellery. The book is due for release on 6^th October 2011, and will certainly be going on my wish list, along with a whole host of their new season’s collection.

http://www.tattydevine.com/

Rough Trade East

The Rough Trade story should be fairly familiar to those even vaguely interested by the independent music industry, but as a quick recap: the first Rough Trade shop was opened in Notting Hill in 1976 by Geoff Travis selling imported US music. The shop quickly became the home of Rough Trade Records, established in 1978, signing the likes of The Smiths, The Slits, and Scritti Politti amongst many others. Although the label and the store spilt into separate entities in 1982, both Rough Trade incarnations have remained closely linked, and the Rough Trade name has now become synonymous with all that is good in UK indie music culture.

My first experience of Rough Trade was in the spring of 2007 at Rough Trade West, just off Portobello Road a few months before Rough Trade East first opened for business, and I must say, I was initially not particularly impressed with the experience. I was obviously familiar with the Rough Trade name, but found the experience of this cramped, tiny store, filled with vinyl and aging music snobs a bit of a turn off. A few months later however I checked out the newly opened Rough Trade East and fell in love. For me, RTE is the perfect music shop experience, bar none.

This 5000 square foot haven of independent sounds has quite literally everything any music lover could ask for and more, creating a marvellous vibe which encourages graze and unearth new things. This is a more personal, more idiosyncratic form of organic musical experience, rather than overt, simplistic consumerism. Whilst the store still stocks DVDs and chart CDs, it also offers obscure imports, and fantastically innovative new concepts, such as the album badge (a badge based picture of the album cover, with a chip inside that contains the whole album to listen to in MP3 form).

Inside the shop there is a plethora of services to nurture and encourage musical exploration and a pleasant general experience. Rough Trade East contains a fair-trade café, a snug seating area, a tech booth and electronics store filled with interesting desks and effects units, listening stands with Rough Trade in store information on each release, a book and magazine section, an old fashioned photo booth which gives you four unique picture for only £3, and a huge section of vinyl and CDs. They even have in-store gigs on a regular basis, with a well set-up stage, dedicated techie and 200 person capacity.

A visit to Rough Trade East is always an enjoyable experience, which for me can last hours. There are so many levels to RTE that make it work so well – the sheer amount of services on offer, the knowledgeable and friendly staff, the hippest of locations and the history of the company. The shop does have a bias toward post-punk, alternative and underground music, so it might not cater as well for urban music junkies, though there is a moderately good collection of all music genres to be found within its four walls. The music is cheap as well – when I last visited the store during their sale a month ago I came away with four CDs for under a tenner! I purchased music I would have never stumbled across on i-tunes, and paid a lot less than what I would if I had. 

You can buy or download items from Rough Trade online, but it is the experience of visiting Rough Trade East that is key here. If you consider yourself any type of muso whatsoever then get yourself down to Dray Walk, Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London. E1 6QL., and discover how good a music shop can be.

http://www.roughtrade.com/site/

Dahlia

Dahlia create clothing for women based on a nostalgic spirit for traditional attire. Clearly influenced by a vintage aesthetic, Dahlia base their sartorial collections on that special area where classic British tailoring meet eccentric eclecticism, and the result is sweet, quirky, yet understated items that have a tailored edge, and will look good in a any wardrobe for years to come.

 

Sisters Tracey and Leigh created the Dahlia fashion line in 2000, who first showcased their collections at Portobello Road and Spitalfields markets. A few years later their boutique store open in London down a little alley off Carnaby Street, and since then their clothes have experienced continuing popularity, being regularly featured in the pages of Look and Grazia magazines.

Dahlia are known for the girlish, playful style of their clothing, which is conveyed in both the fabric and the cuts they choose. The light-hearted vibe of their spring/summer 2011 collection demonstrated this perfectly, with plenty of heart, flower and nautical prints, emblazed on short-skirted dresses and playsuits. Dahlia do summer clothes perfectly, with their dainty shapes, soft peaches and creams and light poly-cotton fabric blends. They also do utterly fantastic winter clothing however. Their palette dives suitably deeper, focusing typically on navy, red and mustard, with demure, structured dresses made from heavier fabrics.

In winter though, the brand really comes into its own with the design of their coats. Every year Dahlia release quite an extensive coat collection, with a number of different designs, each one focusing on a mash of general classic tailoring concepts and quirky modern twists. The cut of Dahlia’s winter coats are always interesting and unusual, unlike anything found on the high street, yet each item is completely wearable. In edition, they are often very practical coats, typically with hoods and plenty of concealed padding, to keep you warm and dry in winter whilst still looking fantastic.

To get the true Dahlia experience you best get yourself to their boutique at 8, Fouberts Place, London. W1F 7PD. Their staff are really friendly and helpful, and you can get 10% off if you are a student. For simplicities sake, however, you can find a large collection of their clothes in the boutique section of Topshop’s flagship store on Oxford Circus, and some of their clothes are also stocked by ASOS.com. They have yet to release their full autumn/winter range yet, but I myself am definitely saving up for a new coat from them this autumn.

http://www.dahliafashion.co.uk/