This week's favourite things

October is the time of the year when everyone starts pulling together their new collections, in time for (sigh) Christmas. But it does mean my inbox has been heaving with very beautiful things that I've collected to share today.

No theme, apart from they're things I think are GREAT.

This beautiful monochrome cup and saucer, £12 each, from Shelf, is very Marimekko, don't you think?  Not cheap, but a beautiful present and comes in a good-looking box. That apple is like a work of art on top of the saucer.

People have, in the past, laughed at my extensive wooden fruit collection. I inherited a full, colourfully painted set from a clear-out at my parents' house years ago (having grown up with people picking up rock-hard apples and looking at them, confused). Then a few years ago when I went to Brazil, I found another – slightly different-looking – set. It really was a very "no, you DON'T need that" purchase, but I love them. And I love these unpainted wooden pears, £26 each and made from Laburnum in Scotland, also from Shelf. Pointless, but so aesthetically satisfying.
Frida Kahlo print, £16.95 (A4), by Barcelona-based illustrator Judy Kaufman, available from Pretty Dandy, which is a lovely shop. Check out this image in situ in Judy's own home, which featured on Design*Sponge. It's part of a series of four, see below.

Each one is printed with a quote from the person depicted beneath the image. I particularly love the Andy Warhol one: "I have social disease. I have to go out every night.If I stay home one night I start spreading rumors to my dogs."

Teal, mustard and grey is one of my favourite colour combinations. It's very 1950s. And this gorgeous mini plaid blanket, £140, by Fine Little Day – or baby play rug, or cot cover, or thing that makes the sofa look prettier – puts them together beautifully.

These stove-top coffee makers always look great. And this one is excellently extra large, and comes in orange and dark blue. The six-cup coffee maker, £35.95 (with free UK delivery!) from Howkapow is designed by San Ignacio, a family-run company founded in 1944 in the hills of the Basque country in Spain.

Emily Pickle tea-towel, £8.50, digitally printed from one of her own designs and for sale in her Etsy shop.

Love this hand-painted teapot from Lena Hanzel in Berlin, too. It's just £16.57 plus postage. Check out her beautiful blog, too, Room for Emptiness.

Pop-up Xmas shopping #3

And the pop-up Christmas shops keep coming – this one is from the wonderful Shelf store, which I have featured before. Thanks to interiors stylist, Emily Blunden, who also writes a lovely blog, Atticus and Finch, for alerting me to it yesterday. 

This is another London one, I'm afraid, but am hoping to rustle up some goodies nationwide too (and there's still plenty of time to buy all this loot online). The event features special guests, including illustrators/printmakers Paul Bommer and Beyond Thrilled (see bottom image), selling their wares. Full details of location and dates are below or here – in short, it's east London and they'll be there on eight days dotted through December, from 11am-7pm.


The little asprin tins, above, cost just £4. My presents are all going to be weeny this year, so I like the added-value idea of wrapping them in brown or matt black paper, and tying one of these to the top of each gift with parcel string, and popping a little wrapped chocolate inside (a very flat one, naturally). You could also use them in the style of wedding favours, putting one on everyone's plate at Christmas, with a treat (a lottery ticket, perhaps?) inside. A very nicely styled restaurant near me, Honest Burger in Brixton Market, uses bigger old tobacco tins to bring bills to the table. A nice touch.

Love these quirky figurines, too. 'Romeo and Juliet' are magnetic, and so can't resist a kiss. They're £13. Still on the festive decor tip, I'd buy a few pairs of these and pop them underneath upturned jam-jars for a quirky table display.

I like the sweet retro stylings and message in this Beyond Thrilled print, £48, which measures 297mm x 420mm.

http://www.helpyourshelf.co.uk/content/6-news