Spring shopping in south London

Spring shopping in South London

It’s taken a while but the weather is definitely losing some of its edge and with the days getting brighter it’s time for a bit of a spring spruce up (pfft like we needed an excuse to shop).

There are some great gems sold by south London dwellers that will make easy additions to your home.

1) Clapham Bandstand Print, from £35 (unframed), Postcode Prints – we mentioned this local print company on our post about FEAST. Their limited edition prints are a cute and quirky way to illustrate the area and we’re particularly taken with this picture of Clapham.

2) West Norwood Tea Towel, £8, Ray Stanbrook Prints – we found this on Etsy, and there are tea towels for several other towns including Crystal Palace, Wimbledon and Brixton. Almost a bit too nice to use to dry your dishes, though…

3) Rob Ryan Bells Cushion, £30, Fred & Pickles – when splashing out on a new sofa isn’t an option. Fred & Pickles is a gorgeous boutique site run by a team in the Balham area.

4) Fridge magnet, £4.95, The Indigo Tree – spring clean your mind? Naff as it sounds, but we find that a good old mantra can help motivate you on a dreary day.

5) Candle, from £15, Charlotte Harley Candles – Hither Green based Charlotte sells beautiful soy wax scented candles through Etsy. The scent has a good throw and a great way to get a fresh fragrance into your home. Plus they’re way cheaper than your average posh candle.

The Indigo Tree, Streatham High Road

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Streatham High Road isn’t one of the most visually appealing high streets in the world, but in the past couple of years a lot of money has been thrown at it.

Pawn shops and betting shops dominate the route but there are some more independent places popping up – The Indigo Tree is one of them.

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It’s quite similar to a typical Oliver Bonas in what it has to offer; soft furnishings, accessories, small gifts and cards are in abundance. It sells itself as a gift shop and it certainly fits the bill.

Plaques at the Indigo Tree, Streatham

You could easily find a gift for the hardest to please family member, and we reckon come Christmas time it’ll be a treasure trove for secret Santa pressies.

The Indigo Tree, Streatham

 

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It’s not the cheapest for items, with cards averaging at £2.99, and the smallest trinkets coming in at around £5. However it’s very reasonable for what it is; a family run shop on a busy high street that could well be just another newsagent or mini mart. Expect to pay the same as you would at somewhere like Not On The High Street, only without the P&P of course.

The Indigo Tree

We picked up this cute quotable fridge magnet for £5.95.

Fridge magnet from The Indigo Tree

It’s not just gifts and homewares The Indigo Tree has to offer either. They run regular skills workshops, from crafts to flower arranging. They also have space for pop-up stalls so keep your eyes peeled on their Facebook page for upcoming events.The Indigo Tree, Streatham

Balham shopping: Fred & Pickles (plus reader discount offer)

If, like us, you can’t spend time on the computer without buying a little something then check out Fred & Pickles, a Balham-based shopping site. They cover a huge range of boutique brands – think LSA, Lisa Stickley, Rob Ryan and Tatty Devine – boasting products that are worthy of being at the top of the barometer and Christmas wish lists.

We’ve got our eye on the following:

Cup & Saucer 3-tier Cake Stand, £39.99

 

‘Tea Time’ Tea Towel, £10 (if you’ve got to do the dry, might as well make it fun)

 

Littala Taika Coffee Cup and Saucer Set, £19

 

 

Fred & Pickles is offering SwishJunction readers 20% off all products until 9am Friday 6th April, so treat yourselves this payday. Simply enter code ILOVEFRED in the promotions box at the checkout.

Do tell us what you end up buying…

 

SJ revisits The Vintage Event

We made our first visit to The Vintage Event since November and it made for a fun afternoon browsing. Making an appearance every second Sunday of the month at the Balham Bowls Club, February’s slot saw a wedding themed fair that went down very well. This month’s didn’t seem to have a particular theme but was chock-full of the usual clothing, accessories, furniture and miscellaneous items, plenty of which had good deals – £10 each, ‘2 for £15’ on items of clothing. Personally we’re more partial to home products and handbags – we’re not built for most vintage items – we could spend hours browsing items that are much easier to store/wear.

Particular favourite stalls include one held by a lovely lady named Barbara. She has spent the last few years cultivating a collection of brooches (above) and household items (she didn’t name her sources, fair play) to sell on. Among her collection we spotted a lot of glamourous gaming fare – Patience cards set, two packs of cards presented in an ornate box, poker dice, olive forks, fancy teaspoons and sweetie tins. Our little buy from this stall? This floral tea caddy, £6. No, we don’t need it, but that’s hardly the point.

The other notable stall this time is Joanie’s Junk, particularly the bags. Lots of detailing and handles featured; nothing you’ll really find on the high street.

The prices err on the higher end but don’t let that put you off – these bags will be earning you compliments for ages.

For more vintage delights, see our first review of The Vintage Event and our peek into Annie In The Attic.

Annie In The Attic, Balham High Road

We’ve been meaning to visit and post this blog for ages, ever since our visit to The Vintage Event at The Balham Bowls Club whet our appetites for more vintage fare. It’s well hidden on the high street, save for a placard on the pavement advertising the shop above a hairdressers (indeed, in an attic).

The first thing that struck us was the space – so many vintage shops cram everything in making it really hard to browse properly. Clothing and furniture are almost treated like art, and the attic itself is light and airy.

Annie In The Attic (the girls behind The Vintage Event) are a mother and daughter team who share the task of sourcing and selling. The mother has an eye for 60s vintage while the daughter often picks up fashion finds from the 80s to sell, so you’re guaranteed a fab mix of fashion.

Prices vary as you’ll find some unique pieces there and the pricing can reflect this. There’s a rail of wedding attire to the right of the store and we spotted the most fabulous shift dress with real ostrich feathers, not dissimilar to a Louise Vuitton number as modelled by Kate Moss. We doubt it’s there now – indeed a recent, heart-broken customer had to leave it on the rail as she couldn’t quite fit into it, otherwise it would have been long gone before we got there.

During our visit we snapped up an old find displayed in one of their cabinets – a King Edward VIII coronation commemorative mug. At £8, it’s not a bad price for a bit of history that didn’t quite happen.

Annie In The Attic, Balham High Road, SW12 9AP