Blitz

Often described as the Harrods of vintage, Blitz is London’s first fully-fledged vintage department store, located just off Brick Lane (where else?), in a disused Victorian warehouse. This huge space covers over 9,000 square feet over two floors, and boasts a magnitude of quality stock for both men and women.

This ambitious project was developed by a miscellany of established vintage dealers in August 2011. Run by people with experience in the trade and with an excellent eye for good vintage finds, Blitz is no pretenders’ start-up jumping on the vintage bandwagon, and it shows. Blitz has slick, hip interiors, similar in vibe to Urban Outfitters shops, and most importantly, the store is well laid out, with proper display areas and products organised by type. This is a refreshing change from the awkward sifting through crammed rails of moth-eaten viscose for that one workable vintage gem, as is typical at many other vintage stores. In addition, clothing at Blitz is even bought in seasonally, so at the moment you’ll find plenty of handsome tweed coats, bright woolly jackets and shearling denim within its walls.

 Blitz wears are extremely reasonably priced, and varied. Items from every decade of the twentieth century are available, from your average vintage fare to exciting designer finds from Ralph Laurent, Vivienne Westwood, Comme des Garcons and Alexander McQueen. As one might expect, there is more of a heavy focus on items from the 80s and 90s, which is easier and cheaper to come by for obvious reasons, but there are still extraordinary finds at Blitz that hark right back to the Victorian era in a few cases, and if you’re lucky you might even find 1920s’ flapper gowns and opera capes to snap up.

Clothing as expected is the main focus at Blitz, but one can also pick up books, records, accessories, luggage, and even bicycles there. In addition, like any good department store, there is a growing furniture and home wares section, curated by Broadway Market’s purveyors of heritage design The Dog and Wardrobe. Finally, there is even an in-store café, which serves coffee from an ancient converted Fiat.

Blitz offers a new, more accessible style of vintage retail, which is professional, intelligent and enjoyable. Visiting the store is a real experience, and ideal for anyone into vintage or bargain hunting. They even have January sales on at the moment, and student discounts throughout the year – awesome.

http://www.blitzlondon.co.uk/

Clara Francis

Jewellery designer Clara Francis creates beautiful, intricate and delicate necklaces, bracelets and earrings from thousands of tiny glass beads. These opulent and luxurious yet subtle creations take distinct inspiration from the British countryside – of 1930s’ studies of flora and fauna, of old watercolours and line drawing studies. There is a certain eclectic vintage charm in each Clara Francis piece – a bit Dr. Parnassus, a bit Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, vague gothic and faintly magical. Think foxgloves, sleeping beauties, hummingbirds, hot air balloons, dark woodlands, ornate gilded frames and wax seals.

After working as an actress for a number of years, Francis picked up jewellery making – initially just designing for friends and family, and then moving on to having her own stall at Spitalfields fashion market. She is entirely self-taught, and initially all her jewellery was crafted by Francis herself. She now heads up a team of five highly skilled assistants, developing all the designs herself. 

From such humble beginnings on a market stall, Clara Francis’ jewellery has now skyrocketed to dizzying heights. Harvey Nichols snapped up her first official collection, and her pieces have also been exhibited at London Fashion Week. Even more excitingly, Francis was recently invited by the Victoria and Albert Museum to design a piece for their exhibition “Cherry on the Cake”, along with many other prestigious designers including the talented and eccentric Grayson Perry. This had led to sterling coverage in the likes of Vogue, Marie Clare, Grazia, Cosmopolitan and Elle, as well as a celebrity fan base including the very hip Alexa Chung.

Clare Francis pieces range from £60 - £250. Each item is handmade in London, and takes anywhere between 3 and 22 hours to make, so you really are investing in a skilled crafts-person’s time. Each item is a piece art and fashion that will never date or age, making for an ideal present for a birthday or anniversary, or as a personal reward for a promotion perhaps.

http://www.clarafrancis.co.uk/openingpage.html

Beyond the Valley

 Beyond the Valley is an incredibly artistic, high-end boutique and gallery space just off Carnaby Street in the heart of Soho. Heralded as “the space for new designers”, this concept store pushes the boundaries and conventions of art and clothing. In store and online the company offers clothing, jewellery, furniture, fine art and graphic design for sale, but there is also an in store galley space for new and emerging artists.

Beyond the Valley has become renowned for sourcing fresh, new artistic talent and innovative diverse pieces. The boutique was set up by Jo Jackson, Kate Harwood, Kristjana S. Williams, three ex Central St. Martin’s students who set up the store in 2005 after becoming disillusioned and unable to secure permanent, professional design work. The studio/boutique developed as a showcase for emerging artists and designers, and since its inception, the girls, through Beyond the Valley have curated a number of exhibitions, set up guerrilla stores, and at one point created an exclusive collection for Topshop. The brand has since become a favourite of the likes of Roisin Murphy and Lily Cole.

As well as stocking high-end fashion brands such as Anglomania for Vivienne Westwood, Melissa and Fabrica, Beyond the Valley also have an eponymous label. Their own label this season falls into a pre-Raphaelite/neo-classical style, with plenty of rich, deep colours, deep patterns, golds, blacks and embellishments. In general though, Beyond the Valley has a specific aesthetic, filled with whimsical, artistic photo-prints, plenty of chiffon and silk, with a generally grandiose, innovative and unique approach.

Beyond the Valley offer luxurious pieces, which for the most part are not cheap, although you can get some fantastic bargains in the sale. Their pieces are ideal for special occasions, key pieces and treats. I personally bought a dressing gown from them recently in the summer sale for £100, reduced from £250. A large expense, perhaps, but the dressing gown is 100% silk – proper silk too, not synthetic, and it is something I will wear most days for 10 years plus. Most importantly though, it has a beautiful 3D photo print of a forest, and even comes equipped with 3D glasses. If art and aesthetics are important to you, Beyond the Valley offers a wonderful box of treats.

http://www.beyondthevalleystore.com/

Love From Hetty and Dave

Love from Hetty and Dave are purveyors of handcrafted jewellery and accessories. Founded by Zoe Larkins in 2003, Hetty and Dave create hand-stitched pieces from leather and textiles, which have a very cute, very kitsch 1950s vibe. Hetty and Dave jewellery has featured in a number of craft books, as well as The Guardian, The Observer, and The Metro, and were at one time a personal favourite of the late, great Amy Winehouse. 

 

Hetty and Dave are perhaps most famous for their love heart broaches. As well as being available in a variety of patterns and with a variety of slogans for both the romantic and cynically inclined, Hetty and Dave also offer a personalisation service where they will tailor the heart to be emblazoned with the words or name of your choosing. Other items available are typically focused around very sentimental English themes - of nature and of eccentric, old school emblems. The likes of mice, acorns, owls, and strawberries, as well as horseshoes, medals and crowns are regular sources of inspiration, as well as guest appearances from more alternative themes, such as a recent headband featuring day-glo skulls in celebration of Mexico’s day of the dead.

Hetty and Dave create wonderfully craft-based jewellery with true a pleasant homemade vibe. The company also focus on a lovely collective approach to creativity, offering advice via the company blog on how to make your own apron, or how to make a skirt from an old vintage tablecloth. Larkins has recently set up the official Hetty and Dave shop/workshop in sunny Bournemouth, but the range can also be found online via their website.

http://www.lovefromhettyanddave.co.uk/

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/