London Calling

I have always found February a rather dull lacklustre month in retail.  January sale fever is now on the wane & final markdowns are the only temptations before spring/summer stock hits the shop floor.  As a rule we usually use this period for our seasonal autumn/winter buying trips to London.  This year marks a major change in our buying structure, after six years of womenswear being at the forefront of our business we are changing direction.  This autumn/winter we enjoyed amazing success with our menswear brands, which has now outgrown the square area allocated.  In order to move forward and build on these brands we have decided to scale back the womenswear collection, and move the men’s to the larger floor area which will give us the space to showcase & merchandise new brands to their full potential.

Our first port of call this buying season was the men’s trade event ‘Jacket Required’, Bloomsbury Square – always a good hunting ground for something new.  I have to say that before we actually got to the show we did make a slight detour to ‘Blade RubberStamps’, 12 Bury Place, (opposite the British Museum). This amazing shop specializes in rubber stamps & scrapbook materials; they also provide a bespoke custom made rubber stamp service for your own particular design.  We had our Fashion Dispensary stamp made here.  If you are visiting the British Museum, do take time to pop into this superb shop.

As expected Jacket Required was extremely busy, probably due to the fact the event is only on for two days and it’s the coolest menswear buying show in the UK with 143 brands exhibiting and not all are represented by agencies in the UK.  The key to this show’s success is the careful selection of brands by the event organisers – all brands at the show have a good point of difference – but all share an attitude.  There is an interesting mix of heritage brands and forward-facing brands.  As we are now steering our buying more towards men’s, this show proved very fruitful and we were able to secure new labels for the store.  Autumn/winter will see a major change for us in menswear, which we are confident, will be a hit with our customers. 

Sourcing new brands and ordering stock takes time if one wants to avoid any expensive buying mistakes.  By the end of the show we were feeling pretty done in and in need of fresh air.









Before heading back to Paddington station we decided to enjoy the crisp winter air and walk back to central London via Bedford Square, a beautifully elegant square built between 1775-1783 as an upper middle class residential area. The square takes its name from the main title of the Russell family & the Dukes of Bedford, who owned much of the land that is now Bloomsbury.  Bedford Square is one of the best preserved set pieces of Georgian architecture in London, but now mainly occupied as commercial offices.

Following this visual detour arrived at Selfridge’s store – always worth a visit for hard to find glossy magazine titles.  Being a fan of ‘Elle Decoration’ I was thrilled to find a copy of the new publication ‘Elle Decoration Country’ which has proved elusive where I live.  Also purchased were two favourites ‘Fantastic Man’ & ‘Plaza Uomo’.  We returned home after a long but very productive and enjoyable day – this being the first of many buying trips to London.

Best Coffee in Town

Most Sunday’s unless something is arranged we tend to gravitate to the city of Bath, its only 35 mins drive from Tetbury.  As a world renowned heritage city Bath has a lot to offer, be it culturally or architecturally the Georgian city remains almost intact.  There is plenty to see and do, and a great choice of cafes.  One in particular we miss or forget, until we drive past, opened late in 2011, is Colonna & Small’s, 6 Chapel Row just off Queens Square – its open 7 days a week.  Well last Sunday we remembered and decided to check it out, it’s not on the main tourist drag – but only about 5 mins from Milsom Street.

The exterior is a period shop front decorated in a low-key colour scheme.  The interior is just as understated – simple stripped wood floor, functional plain tables and chairs, darker wood service counter and white walls with subtle artwork.  The coffee house was buzzing, but we managed to nab the last two seats!  Its clear this café is the destination for coffee aficionados as the emphasis is on coffee.  The owners have formed a direct relationship with growers and source their beans from four main suppliers.  There is a good selection of homemade cakes, biscuits and pastries on offer.  We had lavender shortbread, a very creamy hot chocolate and one of the best cappuccinos I have had in a long time – baristas often tend to overheat the milk, which is a real bugbear of mine.  I can see why this place is so busy – it’s because they really do serve the best coffee in Bath.

Winter Wonderland

It was almost midnight, really time to go to bed, what kept us up was the highly watchable #BBC Question Time.  The highlight of the programme was the forthright opinions of Professor Mary Beard whose television series The Romans was excellent viewing, she is charismatic to watch and presents her subject with such vigour and enthusiasm.  It is so refreshing to see an intelligent educated woman on television instead of the usual airhead eye candy.

Heading off to bed I took one last glance out of the sitting room window to see if the promised snowfall had begun, only to see a weak flurry.  When I woke this morning the air was very still – not the usual hum of traffic passing through the Market Place in Tetbury.  I scurried out of bed, and drawing back the bedroom curtains the street was covered in a heavy overnight snowfall and it was still coming down in drifts of white cotton. 

Looking Towards The Wiltshire Bridge

Tetbury is very picturesque in the snow ‘Dickensian’, providing a perfect opportunity for photographs.  Hettie our Bearded Collie loves the snow and reverts to puppylike playfulness, she is frisky and runs her nose through the drifts of snow.  Not wanting to miss this winter wonderland Gary set off with Hettie & camera to capture the event.  Tetbury town has come to a grinding halt; it would appear we are one of the few shops that have decided to open, along with Celestine of The Oxford Wine Company.  I think a bottle of Cote Du Rhone and a roaring log fire will be the perfect end to the day.

St Mary's Church Ttetbury

Snowman & Snowy The Dog Take A Break

Looking Down Long Street 

Brownrigg Antiques Long Street

St Saviour's Church New Church Street

Long Street

Charlton Road

The Green Charlton Road

Church Street

Market Place

Last Post 2012

Although I experienced this blog some two weeks ago, with running the shop over Christmas  I haven’t had the time to put pen to paper until now – better late than never.

Just before Christmas we were in London to view the Maison Scotch, Scotch & Soda, R’Belle & Scotch Shrunk denim range for autumn/winter 2013.  As usual the collections were strong, and didn’t disappoint – the designs were pretty cool, making it extremely difficult to make the final selection while staying within budget.  I know it’s a long way off with spring/summer stock yet to arrive in store, but we are really excited about the autumn/winter range, as we know our customers will love it. 
Before heading back to Paddington to catch the late train home we had three hours in central London absorbing the Christmas atmosphere and do some present buying.  

First port of call was Marylebone High Street, a favourite haunt of ours as it offers an interesting mix of shops, great places to eat or drink.  I have to admit to being an absolute ‘chocoholic’ and Rococo is just one of my favourite brands.  Although they have three stores in London I always head for the Marylebone store.  It’s small & pretty with helpful friendly staff.  Rococo boxes are very distinctive in white ground with blue images of antique chocolate moulds, in fact being a hoarder by nature I can’t bear to throw the boxes out.  Although I will ‘eat’ everything they produce my present addiction is their organic chocolate Wafer Thins – either Rose or Sea Salt.  As the chocolate melts in your mouth the sensation is orgasmic, unfortunately one wafer is not enough to satisfy my craving.  Also in Marylebone High Street is Daunts Books – a really beautiful store with a period interior, here we found a good selection of interesting Christmas cards.  As we headed over to Manchester Square we brushed shoulders on the crossing with John Galliano, he looked so chic wearing a long tailored coat, natty cap and carrying a Gladstone style bag.  Having never seen him in the flesh so to speak, I was surprised how petite he is.

Selfridges

Selfrdiges was our final destination – very busy as one would expect.  This store has a very positive energy – good upbeat music pounding away – not every to everyone’s taste I know, but it does create a great atmosphere for shopping.  The choice of products is endless, perfect for buying as all tastes are catered for.  I did treat myself to a signed copy of Ben Pentreath’s English Decoration book; this will be added to my already large collection of interior design books.   Though I have to say in Ben’s case the interiors photographed have not been seen before unlike a lot of design books where interiors are duplicated.

It was now time to head back to Paddington, but not before taking one last glance at the wonderful Christmas light decoration in Oxford Street.

Bonne année !

Colin Holding His Christmas Goodies!

One Last Glance At Oxford Street