Object of the day: Karlsson wooden wall clock from Howkapow

Got to love a good wall clock. And especially one placed somewhere a little unexpected, away from the trad kitchen wall scenario.

I have one on the wall by the bed – astonishingly, we look at it before checking phones for the time. Anything that encourages a bit of old-schoolness has got to be good.

Clocks in cloakroom loos, halls, or as part of a picture display – all ideas to try.

And the pale wood and black type wall clock from Dutch design company, Karlsson, will add function as well as style to your chosen wall. It's new in at the ever-inspiring Howkapow – a shop I have written about many times here – and it's only £34.95. Wouldn't it make a great gift, too?

The Vintage Store St Ives

If you saw Friday's post, you'll know I was St Ives, Cornwall, for the weekend. 

I've been going there since I was tiny, as my grandma lives still there and my great grandmother grew up there (some cousins also used to run Hart's Ice Cream parlour, on the harbour, which looked like this – visiting the factory as a kid with one of them was possibly the most exciting moment of my entire childhood. I can still smell the intoxicating vanilla-y Cornish cream vats). But I digress. St Ives is a spectacularly beautiful part of the UK and although there are the obvious downsides of the place being gentrified and rammed with tourists year-round, the town's reinvention is a great improvement on the rather dismal seaside town of the 1980s, when there were about three, not very good, places to eat and only the tacky amusement arcade to play in when it was raining. And this weekend was the first time I'd seen this new shop, The Vintage Store St Ives...

That Depeche Mode poster, £265 (framed – I think) looks fantastic. I love how the 1980s are creeping into fashion again (minus the dodgier elements – you can keep your black leather sofas and red/blue/yellow/monochrome mix duvet covers). You could also try 55 Max, which sells a range of originals in a similar price bracket: I love this King Tubby one.

This gorgeous Ercol love seat is £650. Nest do some interesting variations – unusual paint effects and different colours as well as original plain wooden ones. They are out of my current price range at £665-700. But they are worth a look for inspiration and general awe.  Even eBay isn't giving them up for under £600, but it is a beautifully compact and unique design and a classic that won't lose value.

The 1983 Max Bill lithographic print costs £160, framed.

Solid granite characterises the architecture of much of this part of Cornwall (and the town has strict building restrictions to protect the uniformity of the buildings, including a rule banning anyone from deviating from traditional grey slate roofs – which makes the place ridiculously pretty). And, here, the stone looks just as good raw on the inside. If you fancy faking the effect, check out Dreamwalls.


Loved the excellent bathroom door sign. And a big bathroom clock is an unusual touch that really works, especially with the gentle railway theme.

What a satisfying alcove – a great idea to turn it into a little seat as well as shelving, rather than – more obviously – just the latter. A little clamp-on lamp attached to one shelf and an extra cushion and you'd get the perfect cosy evening reading nook.

Old exhibition promo posters like this lovely 1988 Joan Brossa one look best and most authentic framed without a border or a mount – as they would have been displayed at the time they were in use. There are lots of places to find original posters of this ilk, if you have £100+ to spend. Otherwise, eBay is worth a punt for the odd bargain. There's currently a good 1978 Miro poster for under £40. With a little sifting, you might also find some affordable gems here, too.

Oh Lloyd Cole. How nice to see you. And what excellent use of album covers as decor. A super cheap idea to copy if you are still in possession of some retro vinyl.

We nearly snapped up the print shown here, which is not listed on the shop's website but is for sale for £45.

He has a great collection of industrial clocks for sale, which you can see better in the very top image. London Timepiece, which I discovered at last year's Tent, part of the London Design Festival, is a rich source of similar styles – very well priced, too.

The fantastic beer advertisingsign/light is not listed on the website – so contact the shop if you are interested. The spectacular view of St Ives harbour is free.

SCP's sexy wooden alarm clock

Is this not the sexiest alarm clock you've seen in ages? That probably depends on whether you're into Seventies design or not... As regular readers may have, ahem, clocked, I'm rather partial.

This beautiful beast costs £36 and is available from hot London design store, SCP (not online, unfortunately). Look closely and you'll see that the clever design, by Jonas Damon, incorporates an iPhone or iPod Touch to display the time (using a flip clock app). Slick. And annoying, as it's yet another reason that I'm cursing myself for getting an idiotically large Samsung Galaxy SII instead of an iPhone. Pff.

So for now, I'll have to make do with my actual old-school Binatone (below)... it gets Radio 4 and Vibes FM, what more do I need?

London Design Festival postscript – part I

It's been a full old weekend, following a jam-packed week, with the London Design Festival to get the most out of. And I've discovered so many exciting new designers, makers and cool companies – all of which will be appearing on these pages down the line. For now, I'll post up a few of my highlights throughout the week to give a bit of a flavour. 

Scanning through my snaps, colour seems to be a continuing theme – lots of it, while animals and nature also feature heavily, and there was plenty of delightfully surprising quirk (from spotted ceramic chihuahuas to mix-n-clash wallpapers and beautiful art made out of centimetre-high plastic people). So stay tuned. But for now...

Clockwise from top right: affordable vintage clocks by London Timepiece at Tent London; I loved the stunning and versatile textiles by name-to-watch, Chloe Scadding at Designer's Block – versatile, because each colour is a separate, laser-cut pattern, so any number of combinations of colour/graphic can be created; I don't know who made these gloriously hued discs that were suspended from the entrance hall ceiling at Designer's Block, but they're stunning, aren't they? There's an interesting idea for high-ceilinged homes; finally, the simple combination of driftwood and acid brights drew me in to Ella Robinson's stand at Origin, which continues in east London's Spitalfields until Wednesday.

I'll be featuring more lovely stuff from some of these people imminently, as well as a whole load of other talent that took my fancy.

Vintage desk accessories from ebay

I'm trying to find a little desk for my new home office at the moment. Which, because I probably spend too much time at a desk, is happening via the medium of eBay. I'm not having much luck. But while looking (procrastinatingly, under some rather broad search terms) I came across all sorts of gorgeous desk accessory goodies. They're all still for sale for a little while... let me know if anyone buys any of them.

How cute is this quirky, fold-out toucan desk lamp? He's on sale until Sunday, with a starting bid of £60. 

This 1950s Smiths Sectra desk clock is an absolute classic piece of design. 19cm high, it is in full working order and also auctioning on Sunday. The current bid is £34.99.

Love this elegant but dinky-sized 1970s table lamp, which measures just 27cm high. It needs a little electrical tinkering (it is currently wired to run from a car lighter) which is why the price is currently just £12.99.

This is an unusual design for a desktop perpetual calendar.

Love the funny Art Deco-y font on the month cards – though the seller reckons it's 1940s or 50s rather than older. It's made from brass and bakelite.

It measures 9cm high and is on sale until 31 May, currently priced at £49.99.

This unusual vintage Mura desk set – containing a rubber, ink, labels and a tape measure – would make a good gift for a stylish student-to-be, or someone with stylish home office about to launch into a life of self-employment doing something arty. It's a Sunday auction and the current price is £8.99.

Five favourite clocks

On our search for this week's Five Favourite Friday items, we found too many lovely clocks. So this may have to be the first of several posts rounding up the best...


1. Green retro alarm clock, £19.99
You wouldn't mind waking up to this dinky green 50s-style alarm clock, would you? It's from Brighton shop, Pussy Home Boutique – and the bargain of the bunch.


2. Elephant Clock £43.17 (excluding shipping)

This elephant clock by Etsy store, DecoLab, is cut from eco-friendly bamboo and would look lovely in a child's room. Check out their other animal-shaped clocks too.

3. Newgate clock, £80

This Newgate clock from Pedlars is timelessly simple and just very cool indeed. And it’ll last forever.

4. Half-time cuckoo clock, £165

This this slick lacquered wood cuckoo – available in black, green or red too – from Found Interiors gives the genre a whole new twist. Not cheap, but very lovely. 

5. 1980s Czechoslovakian wall clock, £165

Find this gorgeously unusual wooden clock (which measures 39cm x 39cm x 4cm deep) at Clock Props. And be warned, the place is a tempting treasure trove – but not cheap. Not feeling flush? Try this recently-discovered little secret – the British Heart Foundation's eBay shop! Here are its vintage clocks (starting price, £2.99). Love the Westclox 'Big Ben'.

Edited by Hayley Simpson