Snapshot of Northcote Road

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This not-so-humble road, a stone’s throw from Clapham Junction station and Battersea territory, has an exhaustive list of shops, restaurants and cafes so for now we’ve built a small snapshot.

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Sure, there’s the high street chains – Oliver Bonas, Phase Eight, Whistles, Bill’s, Byron, Franco Manca, Nando’s, and so on –  but we can’t forget the local independent gems too.

Pictures for sale on their Saturday street market

Pictures for sale on their Saturday street market

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Inside Hutton's on Northcote Road

Inside Hutton’s on Northcote Road

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Many of the gift shops are admittedly hard to tell apart, as a lot of them sell pretty much the same stuff, but as ever the key is in the little quirks. In Hutton’s they post a daily horoscope on the counter (when they can remember to – the cashier admitted it’s easy to forget on a busy day) and their gift bags have recipes printed on them.

Flip the bag over for the recipe - cute!

Flip the bag over for the recipe – cute!

Outside Hamish Johnston

Outside Hamish Johnston

We’re building a little hit list of places to eat, drink and shop (oh hello Hamish Johnston, you look like a cheese haven), but let us know if there’s anywhere in particular that deserves a shout out.

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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.

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…