Small Businesses Spotlight: My Treasure Trove Wishlist

The one thing that I probably enjoy the most about my job is that day to day a massive part of it is searching for medium to small sized companies who are doing something exciting which we want to help them showcase to our readers.

From family run companies who redesign flea market furniture finds to the one-woman band who handstitches purses with fabrics from Morocco, my personal wish list extends each day.

In the current climate, getting word out about your small business (or blog!) can be incredibly difficult. So, here is my little nod to them to shed some light on these absolute treasures that beat the big brands any day.

Edit 58 

The Edit 58 actually came to do a sale at our office and I bought this blanket which is homed permanently on my bed (don't know if that is cheating with my wishlist). They boast a carefully curated collection of beautiful finds for your home: baskets from California, wallhangings from Nashville, rugs, cushions and blankets from Morocco. Edit58.com

Large Grey and Pink Striped Pom Pom Blanket, £115

SkandiHus

A danish ceramicist living in London throws and hand-builds each piece inspired by Skandi design. www.skandihus.co.uk

Individually Handmade and Glazed Plates, £27 

GAIA

GAIA creations are handmade by resettled refugee women in Dallas using vintage, artisan-made, & sustainable materials. www.gaiaforwomen.com

Earrings, £75

Penned Black

Established in 2014, PennedBlack's range of prints, cards, and gift tags are all designed and drawn in the illustrator's home studio. www.pennedblack.com

Print, £12

Ful Candles

Ful candles are poured in small batches in East Tennessee, nestled in the 'foothills of the Smokies'. Each candle is customised with a unique blend of essential and fragrance oils, you can even customise your own! www.fulcandles.com

Peaceful (rosemary + mint), £12 for the large

Catherine & Jean

Catherine & Jean is a luxury lifestyle brand which celebrates English eccentricity and Italian quality. Founded in London, the brand offers distinctive, elegant and creative accessories for fashion, home and travel. www.catherineandjean.com

Alexis eye mask white meadow with lavander, £20

Cozy Creative Crochets

Wife and mother Heather does what she truly loves and creates gorgeous and unique crocheted items. www.etsy.com/shop/CozyCreativeCrochets

Handmade bralet, £18.38

Hawkhouse

Inspired by nature and science, Jessica creates her beautiful jewellery using a process called electroforming. I would suggest stacking these 'raw mineral' rings up as high as they can possibly go in a variety of colours. Get me some now! www.hawkhouse.net

Stacking rings, £38

Jenni Haikonen

She works in both acrylics and watercolour, sometimes mixing the two to create gorgeous hand-done prints and cards and even creates house portraits. www.jennihaikonen.com

Birthday wishes card, £3

Your Pal, Al

Al creates beautiful slate grey concrete pots and other accessories splashed in gold. This plant pot is gorgeous but she also make pen pots, and jewellery holders. www.yourpalalcreative.com

Mini conrete holder, £5

Skin Food by AB

Skin Food by AB uses superfoods, butters, herbs and oils to create products with a purpose. These all natural products are created to heal and soothe and the packaging is simplistically perfect. www.etsy.com/shop/SkinFoodbyAB

Call me skinny coffee scrub, £14

Cozy Gal

Linda designs and makes the tees in a small studio in Bangkok. www.etsy.com/uk/shop/CozyGal

Tee, £9.99

Not a Jewellery Box

Specialists in jewellery storage solutions. They stock jewellery boxes, jewellery stands, jewellery hangers, The Little Book of Earrings Range and various ring stands. www.notajewellerybox.co.uk

Pineapple stand and ring dish, £35

The Met Gala: Best Dressed (and what I would wear)

The Met Gala has been deemed the Oscars of the East- graced by so many celebrities and put on in a truly spectacular fashion. Once a year, American Vogue or should I say Anna Wintour the Queen Bee and face of the whole Vogue brand. This year the theme was Manus x Machina: Fashion in an age of Technology and was hosted by the queen herself and chairwoman of the gala; Jonathan Ive, chief design officer of Apple; Taylor Swift; and the actor Idris Elba. 

The Theme Embracer

Clare Danes actually used technology in creating her light-up Zac Posen gown- definite winner!

The Sexy Siren 

Emily Ratajkowski shot to fame for her Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke video appearance and has been causing a storm with her wreckless sex appeal ever since. This Prabal Gurung dress meant that she quite literally 'out-sexed' everyone there. 

The Best Crew

Taylor Hill, Stella Maxwell and Maryna Linchuk are the next generation of Victoria's Secret Angels and who wouldn't want to be them? Watch your wings Miranda, Alessandra and Rosie!

The Timelessly Elegant 

Just three months after giving birth to son Rocco, Rose Byrne looks amazing and incredibly on trend and elegant with her off-shoulder custom-made Ralph Lauren. 

The Hottest Couple

The hottest couple and for now most robotic couple of the moment has to be Zayn and Gigi. Gigi's hair scraped back looks amazing with this Tommy Hilfiger dress. 

The Worst Dressed

I have to admit I have never been a fan. Sorry Lady G but less is definitely more!

And Finally....

The Hypothetical Me

Gown by Haney, Shoes by Alaia, Bag by Alexander Mcqueen. Necklace by Rosantica

3 places to go in London that you've not yet heard of

Pictured: Petersham Nurseries

Just to clarify, the fact that they all begin with the letter P was completely unintentional, but a cool coincidence nonetheless! 

I once read somewhere that London is the perfect mix between New York and Paris. I am not sure if I 100% agree with that romanticised statement but the thing with all of those three cities is that you have to really delve into the internet to get the best out of them, and even then your stumbled-upon artsy coffee shop is probably filled with photographing tourists. Scouring the internet can really be a full-time job so I have done that for you, and present to you three new P-places that you should visit now.

1. POP Bakery

The craze for cake pops may have died down a little bit but I mean who can really say that they don't find the idea of a beautifully iced cake on a stick appealing? At the pop bakery (who by the way bespokely designed cake pops for Vogue), you can sit in with a large cup of tea and paint your own cake pops for just £15. They also stock beautiful party props and stationery by local London designers.

The Pop Bakery
348 Kilburn Lane
W9 3EF
London, UK
02089607018
clare@popbakery.co.uk

2. Petersham Nurseries

Petersham Nurseries is an internationally acclaimed garden centre. They house a beautiful little gift shop where you can source antiques and a glasshouse restaurant serving seasonal Italian food and homemade cakes. They also host regular unique events, upcoming ones include growing and arranging your own wedding bouquet, a Thai cookery course, a wild food walk and a 'magical evening'.

Petersham Nurseries
Church Lane (signed posted 'St Peter's Church')
Off Petersham Road
Richmond, Surrey, TW10 7AB
020 8940 5230
info@petershamnurseries.com

3. Pidgin

I am pretty sure I am one of the most indecisive people you will ever meet when it comes to food. My problem is there is nothing I won't eat. I am the least fussy eater you will ever meet and despite being every one of my friend's mother's favourite children to have over for dinner when I was younger, I am now the bane of my boyfriend's life when it comes to going out for dinner. London has brought me and you (if you are like me) the perfect solution. Pidgin does not give you a choice, instead it provides you with an unchangeable (except for dietary requirements) four-course menu. The food is modern and fresh, as are is the simple grey industrial interior. For only £35, you get more than value for your money and the accompanying weekly-changing drinks menu is reasonable too. This week's menu includes: bone marrow with chickpea, sourdough and pickled sea aster, kataifi (sweet Greek pastry) with fermented honey, anise ice cream, beetroot and sorrel and a spicy black pepper and grapefruit G&T. 

Pidgin
52 Wilton Way
London
E8 1BG
020 7254 8311
info@pidginlondon.com

ARW x