Brixton East

So. I went to a little party at Brixton East, a shop round the corner from my house last night. I've posted about the place before, here, and since then the building – an amazing 1871 former furniture warehouse over two-and-a-bit floors has undergone extensive restoration and decoration. 

When it's not dark, I must pop back and take some snaps of the incredible upstairs gallery area (these are the 'bit' floors in the vast vaulted wooden ceiling). There is a particularly marvellous wooden panelled section that I could look at for hours. For now, here's the downstairs and the wares on sale. Very nice. It is owned by a chap called Andy Luckett who has nursed the wonderful building back to life, and who used to be Cath Kidston's buyer of second hand things – and he has a great eye for unusual bits and pieces. As you can see...

Brixton East's owner, Andy Luckett, outside the shop

I love an old-school record player

The shop is only open in this format until Christmas Eve, and only at weekends (see the flyer, below). The rest of the time (so far, at least) it has been an art gallery, so it will perhaps revert to that for a while, as well as hosting other temporary shops, productions and events. And hopefully there will be a very good sale to clear the remaining stock...!

I shall pop back with my camera anon.

Pen & Gravy and Modernish Portas Pilot pop-up shop

Earlier this year I posted about a small design company called Pen & Gravy, run by Jamie Palmer, whose beautifully decorated plates and lampshades caught my eye in my local market. You can read the original post and see the work here, or below.

Anyway, Jamie dropped me a line a few weeks ago to tell me he was opening a Christmas pop-up shop, alongside his brother-in-law, Dan, of Modernish, a fellow purveyor of Good Things for your home (more of which below) and some other pop-uppers in southeast London, as part of one of Mary Portas' save-the-high-street pilot schemes (which you'll also find out more about below).

I love Jamie's designs and thought the whole scheme sounded interesting. I hope Mary P's role as saviour of our high streets is being taken seriously by the Government, but it's hard to believe when all you see are big brand chains and Metro/Local supermarkets bulldozering any soul from neighbourhoods (there are five of the latter in less than a mile on one single road near me, it is sickening). But enough of that – let me hand you over to Jamie, who can tell you GOOD THINGS: more about his shop, the scheme and some of the other shops taking part.

Jamie (right) and his brother-in-law, Dan, 
outside their pop-up shop in southeast London

"Hi… this is Jamie. I’m a self-confessed doodle addict who has channelled this addiction into producing one-off, patterned lampshades and plates… I also dabble in a bit of screen-printing when I’m all doodled out!

P&G plates and lampshades, £15-£45; X-large P&G lampshade, £55

Since February this year I’ve been braving the elements to flog my wares at numerous south London markets. However, on 1 December I opened a pop-up shop in southeast London in conjunction with my brother-in-law, Dan, of Modernish Designs.

So how did two dishevelled dads and part-time market traders end up running the Pen & Gravy Vs Modernish pop-up shop? We recently found out about the SEE3 Portas Pilot for Sydenham, Kirkdale and Forest Hill [which has been created with government funding following Mary Portas's 2011-commissioned review into the state of British high streets] and put in an application to be one of the first three SEE3 pop-ups shops that will run from 1-24 December (or fingers crossed a little bit longer!).

It has always been an ambition to have our own shop but expensive rents and long leases have always put us off taking the plunge. The Portas Pilot is allowing us to fulfil this dream by offering cheap rent and lots of invaluable support – in return we hope to bring something new and original to the high st which will hopefully be beneficial to other local businesses and the community.

Carlton Ware moneyboxes from the 1960s, £50 (now sold out)

Original travel poster from 1960s designed by Daphne Padden, £80

Norwegian ceramic tray, £30

So what to expect at the shop? Lampshades, plates and screenprints from me (see images at top of the post), mid-century British and Scandinavian graphic posters and ceramics (a few examples pictured above) sourced by Dan...

2013 calendar print by Spring Once More, £16

Crystal Palace Screenprint by Mike Roberts, £15

Lion screenprint by Mashka, £45

Train prints by South London Prints, £15

Cocktail screenprint by Serge Seidlitz, £65

....and a great selection of art and design products from some talented buddies (a selection, above).

You’ll also get the chance to bring out the inner-graffiti artist in yourself by contributing to the ‘Me, Myself, & Kirkdale’ competition doodle wall (above), and participate in some family art workshops. There will also be some late-openings throughout December (details at bottom) where we might even treat you to a glass of mulled cider! 

There are a lots of exciting things going on in the SEE3 Zone including new makers and food markets and the two other pilot pop-ups – Conquer Clothing, in Sydenham, an ethical clothing company, and The Butchery Ltd. Both shops have had amazing transformations and have had very good feedback since opening their doors.

For up-to-date happenings at Pen & Gravy Vs Modernish, please see our Twitter feed. For See3 Portas Pilot for Sydenham, Kirkdale and Forest Hill updates, please see the SEE3 website. 

Hope to see you all at the shop soon!

Find the Pen & Gravy Vs Modernish pop-up shop at: 

161 Kirkdale London SE26 4QJ. MAP

Here are a few of Jamie and Dan's upcoming events...

Fri 7th Dec Late night opening until 9pm

Thurs 13 Dec We're having a private party/viewing from 7pm onwards. A number of artists that have work featured in our shop will be present and there will be special promotions on their work for ONE NIGHT ONLY.  If you would like to come along please email me penandgravy@gmail.com  If you haven't been down to the shop yet and would like to see the type of products we've got for sale you can check them out here.  

Fri 14 Dec Late night opening until 9pm

Sat 15 Dec Art Teacher Extraordinaire Tamsin Wildy will be running a free Family mono-printing Workshop from 10am-12pm. If you think you might be interested in coming along please can you email me so we get an idea of numbers...

Sat 22/23 More Art Workshops – full details TBA soon

More excellent art: Outline Editions' Stoke Newington pop-up

A quick post today as I'm not technically here – but just wanted just to let you know about phase two of the Outline Editions pop-up shop, opening tomorrow in London's Stoke Newington and stuffed full of sexy, affordable art by some of the UK's hottest illustration talent. 

Of course, you could just buy online at the Outline Editions website. Anyway, for the northeast London-bound, here's what you need to know...

Polish bar mugs from Theo (and a sale!)

I absolutely love these amazing bar mugs for sale at the excellent Theo shop – 'Theo' being the alter-ego of designer, Thorsten van Elten. Who has great taste, not only in the things he makes himself, but also in the things he buys to put in this shop. 

Like these, which 'Theo' picked up on a trip to the Lodz Design Festival in Poland, which I heartily recommend you read about in a minute, here, because it looks, like, totally amazing. Total design porn with a nice eastern European edge.

But back to these little beauties. They are by Mamsam (don't bother with the link unless you speak Polski), who asked some local design talent to come up with graphic logos reminiscent of Poland's sixties, seventies and eighties communist past.

Aren't they just totally brilliant? They are £10.95 each – but in very limited supply, so get in quick. I'd like to buy a set of six and drink red wine out of them. Or vodka. Well, they are Polish...

You can also catch some Theo action in person at the festive pop-up shop at Somerset House, pictured below, which is open until January 6.

AND there is a sample and seconds sale happening – starting this evening! – and running till Sunday, in Bethnal Green, east London, where you'll find pigeon lights for £30 and antlers and plant cups for £25 among much, much more excitement. There will even be Gluehwein on the go. Get the info here.

The Temporium Xmas pop-up shop in London

I wouldn't generally advocate hitting central London in December, but as 'tis the season for special shopping events that make present-choosing conundrums less overwhelming (and often with mulled wine on tap, which definitely helps) I'll make an exception.

The Temporium, in Covent Garden from 1-24 December, is hosted by the aristocracy of style blogs, Dezeen (and you get Japanese street-food as well as spicy vin rouge). And highlights include Theo, which is creating a shop-within-a-shop, selling design-led furniture, lighting and accessories selected by Thorsten van Elten, such as this sexy Sausalito cushion, above, from £51.

Shan Valla's ceramics will be another goodie; I particularly love her porcelaine miniature vases, £14 each, pictured below.

A good tea-towel is the perfect present for pretty much anyone who likes their kitchen and enjoys nice-looking things – cooking in-laws of all varieties are prime candidates. I love To Dry For, a shop dedicated to the things, see below (prices start from £8), who will also be selling their wares at the event. (I have long loved the Mini Moderns Whitby range, left, which also includes some lovely ceramics.)

It all happens at: 65 Monmouth Street, Seven Dials, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9DG, Mondays-Saturdays. Find out full details and timings at the Dezeen blog. Or, if you aren't anywhere near London, or don't have the stamina/elbows to muster a visit, do as I aim to do... and get clicking.