Page 40 – A Little Bird

20th October 202025th October 2021

Quilts, Eiderdowns & Bedding

Stay snug and warm this winter with these new additions to throw over your bed or sofa:

Sinikello velvet patchwork quilt, £360 from Projekti Tyyny

Crinkle stripe plaid throw, £79 from Hay

Wes gingham frill cushion in mustard, £68 from Projekty Tynne

Lisa Corti leopard-print quilt, £148 from MATCHES

Pink Daisy quilt, £195 from Sarah K

Fleurs du Jardin quilted bedspread, £158 from The French Bedroom Company

Felicite and Cápelos Cotton heirloom quilt, £220 from Coco and Wolf

Printed quilted blue velvet bedspread, £135 from Oliver Bonas

Quilted velvet throw, £225 from TOAST

Floral-print frill trim satin eiderdown, £895 from Preen by Thornton Bregazzi

Brown calico nine-patch quilt (c1880) £980 from Cutter Brooks

14th October 202030th October 2020

There’s going to be no Winter Wonderland or rink at Somerset House this year, so plan ahead if you want to skate. We love the sound of this year’s new ice skating rink at Beaverbrook hotel. Surrounded by the Surrey Hills you can glide on the ice in small numbers and have a hot chocolate at the rink-side cabin. The best news is that the skating is open to day visitors as well as overnight guests – so long as you also have a meal at one of the hotel’s restaurants or use the spa too. Book now for lunch at The Garden House and a skate from 4 December – 31 January 2021, £15 for 45-minutes on the ice.

14th October 202025th October 2021

Where to eat cake

We don’t know if it’s more grim news or the return of Bake Off but we’re craving cake. From the Connaught’s new Patisserie to the revival of red velvet cupcakes, these are the top places to eat (or order!) cakes in London:

Best for French Delicacies: The Connaught Patisserie

The opening of the rosy-hued Connaught Patisserie was just the good news we needed this week. Find 10 seasonal patisserie at the counter including Paris-Brest, Apple Tatin and St Honoré, as well as a daily-changing cake and the signature Connaughty Hound – the hotel’s emblem reimagined as a chocolate hazelnut cake.

Fitted to look like a jewellery-box, the shop was designed by Ab Rogers, son of Richard Rogers a longstanding collaborator to the hotel group. This connection means The River Café’s special Chocolate Nemesis is also on the menu – the first time the cake has been available outside of its riverside home. Yum!

Best for Gluten Free: Pearl & Groove

As well as their Portobello Road bakery, Pearl & Groove have just opened a sister site in Exmouth Market. Plus you can order online for home delivery – all their cakes are entirely gluten free and often dairy free too. We recommend these new Squishys that come in good flavours like this salted caramel buttercream.

Best for Halloween: Meringue Girls ghost brownies

Get your order in now for these Halloween treats from the Meringue Girls: dark chocolate and peanut butter brownies topped with mini meringue ghosts. Collect from the Hackney bakery or delivery in London is available Monday to Saturday. If you fancy having a go at making meringue ghosts, baking kits are available here.

Best for Cupcakes: Primrose Bakery

We haven’t had a cupcake for years, but suddenly they seem just right again. Primrose Hill’s Primrose Bakery is the place to order all the classic flavours from chocolate and vanilla to salted caramel and red velvets in boxes of 4-12 cakes.

Best for a Showstopper: Lily Vanilli x Shrimps

It had to be quite some cake to celebrate 10 years’ of Lily Vanilli on Columbia Road. How about an enormous 10-tier buttercream-coated birthday cake filled with Golden Tickets? Stop in at the bakery on 25 October for the celebrations and with each slice bought you’re also in with the chance of winning one of 10 amazing prizes hidden within including a Shrimps Antonia bag, dinner for two at the Marksman pub, lunch for four at Smokestak, a workshop for two at Grace & Thorn, a cake decorating session with Lily and more. The cake will raise money for Unicef’s Save Generation Covid fund – and if you can’t make it to the bakery in person, you can order the brownies online here to support and enter. Good luck!

Best for Panetonne: Pump Street Bakery

Pump Street’s fluffy Italian panettone (by way of Suffolk) sell out every year in a flash. The first batch of 50 have already gone, but sign up to the newsletter here and you’ll be the first to hear when the second batch is live.

Best for Birthday Cakes: Violet Bakery

Violet happily reopened their doors in September. Order the ultimate celebration sponge cakes like this Vanilla Jam Cake. From £40.

14th October 202015th October 2020

Must-see art shows in October

After what feels rather like a slow year for art with many exhibitions and fairs having been put on hold, this month there are so many new shows opening, it’s hard to choose which ones to visit first. Below are our top picks.

Rashid Johnson at Hauser & Wirth

US Superstar artist Johnson tackles racism, gender discrimination, environmental concerns and anxiety at his new show at Hauser & Wirth. As he says himself, ‘If you can name an ‘ism’, I’m probably concerned about that’. A show for our times, the room of anxiety paintings with huge red scrawled paintings is definitely one to see. Until 23 December 2020

Untitled Anxious Red Drawing by Rashid Johnson

Botanical Minds at Camden Arts Centre

Bringing together over 60 works by contemporary artists such as Cerith Wyn Evans to Amazonian tribesmen and spanning 500 years, this show looks at the importance of plants to life on earth. Examining common symbols and aesthetics, it brings together a world view of how we view our relationship with nature. Until 23 December 2020

Adam Chodzko, O, you happy roots, branch and mediatrix, still, 2020. Two screen video, Hildegard von Bingen’s lingua ignotae and image recognition algorithm. Image courtesy the artist

Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer at The Barbican

The first major exhibition of dancer and choreographer Michael Clark looks at his meteoric rise in the 1980s and his subsequent diverse influence across music, film, art and fashion with additional works by Sarah Lucas, Wolfgang Tillmans, Cerith Wyn Evans and Peter Doig. Until 3 January 2021.

© Richard Haughton

Refugees at The Imperial War Museum

Two major exhibitions look at the experiences of refugees throughout history and their present ongoing issues. Ai Weiwei has taken over the atrium to create a site-specific work exploring the human capacity for destruction and Forced to Flee explores a century of refugee experiences, from Nazi Germany’s persecution of Jews and the Kindertransport, to the Calais Jungle and the treacherous Mediterranean crossings. Until May 2021

© IWM, Ai Weiwei, History of Bombs 2020

German civilians, fleeing the Soviet advance, pick their way across the River Elbe on a partially destroyed railway bridge at Tangermünde, May 1945 © IWM (KY 12151F)

Cecily Brown at Blenheim Palace

The first in a series of exhibitions that invites contemporary artists to create new work in response to the Palace and it’s own library of works, Cecily Brown has referenced paintings by Sir Johua Reynolds and Sir Anthony Van Dyck as well as the tapestries and heraldry. Expect bold work that stands out amongst the Palace’s own treasures. Don’t miss also Brown’s Spotify Playlist which helped to inspired the titles of her paintings. Until 3 January 2021.

@Cecily Brown

Cornelia Parker: Through a Glass Darkly at Cristea Roberts Gallery

Continuing her fascinating with reconfiguration, Cornelia Parker explores the blurred lines between reality and illusion using the photogravure process: placing everyday glass objects to cast shadows onto a chemically coated plate. Each finished print appears as a photographic positive resulting in a series of mesmerising, beautiful trompe l’oeils. 23 October – 21 November 2020

The Undersides (2020) by Cornelia Parker

Alfred Wallis Rediscovered at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge

Kettle’s Yard has a particular connection with the artist Alfred Wallis as founder Jim Ede was one of his principal patrons. Wallis turned to painting when he was in his 70s in 1925, after a lifetime spent as a deep-sea fisherman in Cornwall, as a way of expressing his grief after the death of his wife. This wonderfully expressive and somehow joyful exhibition will include over 60 rarely shown drawings and paintings plus three sketchbooks dating from the last year of the artist’s life. 24th October 2020 – 3 January 2021

Alfred Wallis, Brigantine sailing past green fields, n.d., 418 x 488 mm, oil on card. Courtesy of Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge

Also, do pop along to Cork Street where you’ll find digital augmented reality at SaatchiYates new gallery and Studio Voltaire‘s pop-up studio.

14th October 202025th October 2021

Our Favourite Home Scents

Smell is the most underrated of our senses. And yet it is the most powerful, taking us back in time to particular moments and connections with loved ones. A scent in your home offers comfort and we can’t think that we were ever more in need of such reassurance. Good smells don’t just come in candle form. For a quick fix, there is the room spray or you can set up a more intimate scene with some incense.

Frederic Malle has just launched its rather utilitarian-looking range of room spray guns. Of these La Gardenia La Nuit is divine. The same smells come in candle form too and one of the best smells is Country House: think open fire, crumpet, dog by your side. The Perfume Spray Gun £160 from Frederic Malle.

Both the room diffusers and the candles by l’Objet are housed in exquisitely made Portuguese porcelain. Rose Noire Diffuser set £135 from l’Objet

Oh Mon Dieu No 69 was designed to take you back to Paris’ artistic and sexual revolution. It has warm notes of Cognac and sweet caramel with a floral and musky leather base. £80 from l’Objet

Cult US (Brooklyn) brand DS&D Urga plays with fun titles for their eco-friendly candles. Rama Won’t You Please Come Home to name just one with notes of Tuberose, Gardenia and Sandalwood. Based on the legend of Rama, the seventh avatar of Hindu god Vishnu. £60 from Liberty

Lo Studio is a beautiful British brand with a lovely moving story behind its set up. Linger on the website for a perfect web-shopping experience. The candles themselves are beautiful, evoking familiar scents such as To the Sea, Being Little and Open Windows. £49 from Lo Studio

We were so intrigued by the smell – and name – of this 19-69 Female Christ candle that we looked up its origin: a naked performance artist carries a cross through the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in 1969. As you might imagine, the aroma features the heady combination of patchouli, rhubarb and cashmere wood. £55 from Selfridges

Danish company Scandinavisk is the most eco friendly brand with everything recyclable; it uses energy-efficient and earth-friendly ingredients. We particularly love the fresh Skog smell. With impressions of pine and fir, aged leather and woodland lily of the valley. £18 from Hus and Hem

Archipelago is one of the best value brands and is also super eco friendly. We like the standard double wick for extra light. Take me away to Malibu scent. £35 from Selfridges

Spanish super brand Loewe has just launched its new home scent range, featuring peas, beetroot, tomato and many more. All exquisitely packaged. They come in potted candles, sprays and candlestick/candle in one. Beetroot candle £70 from Liberty

Arabian Oud from Australia producer Lumira won the prestigious Butterflies award in 2019. An intoxicatingly glorious smell. £54 from Net-a-Porter

Guaranteed to put a spring in your step, all the Le Bruket range of diffusers and candles are great, including the fab Coriander and Grapefruit (for mornings) and Tabac (in the evening).
Grapefruit Reed Diffuser £61 from The Conran Shop

For the morning we also love Acqua di Parma’s Buongiorno. £54 from Space NK

Astier de Villatte is for the traveller with itchy feet. Take yourself away to Delhi with these incense sticks – so much depth with vanilla wood, herbs and eucalyptus. Box of 125, £35 from Summerill & Bishop

Want to feel like you’re just checked into a high-end spa? Then Bamford’s Rosemary Willow diffuser is just for you. With clove, geranium and Sicilian lemon essential oils. £58 from Bamford

Cire Trudon candles need no introduction but their sprays are less well-known. This is truly a thing of beauty, with its golden pump reminiscent of another era. Madurai (with notes of ylang ylang, jasmine sambac & benzoin), £180 from Amara

14th October 202025th October 2021

Things to Do this October Half Term

Half term is nearing and hurrah for Tall Stories who are re-imagining their brilliant stage show, The Snail and the Whale for a virtual tour. Livestream the performance from home and settle in for music, storytelling and audience interaction for ages 4+. The show will be streamed from Tall Stories’ HQ in Islington but via regional theatres around the UK – in London it has partnered with The Pleasance and runs on 26 October at 11am. For more Julia Donaldson – Axel Scheffler fun, there’s the Gruffalo Adventure Trail around the arboretum at Kew Gardens. Spot characters from the story including fox, owl, snake and look for their burrows in the natural habitat. Open 17 October – 1 November, timed booking essential. For older children, the Postal Museum is re-opening its doors on 29 October and their exhibition on The Great Train Robbery has been extended until December. And to encourage more play outdoors in the garden we recommend The Den Kit Co. There are lots of fun activity sets like Make a Pizza for the Birds, Portable Potions and Entomology kits as well as more traditional Den Kits with everything you need to build a shelter amongst the trees.

12th October 2020

Amazon Prime Day 2020: our top films

From feel good classics to nail-biting oscar winners, these are our favourites and all at bargain prices:

Little Women directed by Greta Gerwig, £6.99 HD

Overboard with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, £3.99 HD

Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, £3.99 HD

The Lives of Others, about life behind the Berlin wall, £3.99 HD

2020 Oscar winner Parasite, £6.99 HD

PointBreak starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, £4.99 HD

Breathless directed by Jean-Luc Goddard, 99p per month for 3 months, BFI Player

The Usual Suspects with Gabriel Byrne and Stephen Baldwin, £3.99 HD

The Thomas Crown Affair with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, £3.99 HD

7th October 202025th October 2021

Craft and Collage Kits

This week we’re looking for a creative escape, and these kits to play with at the kitchen table will help get you started. Pretend you’ve just returned from a sunny weekend in Seville with one of artist, Ruby Kean’s wonderful collage parcels. These come with four blank postcards to decorate plus coloured card, craft paper, a vintage flamenco skirt postcard, images, vintage stamps, ephemera and Mount card. There are several kits in her ‘After the Siesta’ series to choose from. Get some inspiration looking at Ruby’s instagram account or by watching her tutorial via Partnership Editions here. Of course you could add your own collection of scraps too – magazine cuttings, pieces of ribbon, tickets etc.

The latest in Molly Mahon’s series of sell-out kits is the new, Print your own Lampshade. There are two designs in either pink or blue to choose from that you print yourself using eco fabric paint and a rubber and perspex block that repeats perfectly to give a wave and wiggle effect. The drum panels and tools needed to build the drum lampshade are also included. Launching Monday 12 October at 7pm here – we’re warning you well ahead.

We’re great fans of Cambridge Imprint. Their origami kits contain everything you need to make stars, butterflies, hearts or bobbles that you can string up at home. ‘Tho they come with instructions these helpful ‘How-To’ Videos make it even easier to see what you need to do.

And you’ll need to register and then gather your own kit up ready for next Friday’s Tapestry Weaving workshop with Alicia Scardetta from the Textile Arts Centre, New York. You’ll need an old picture frame, a tapestry needle and yarn in order to take part – during the session, create your own loom and learn how to weave. The event is just one of a whole program of talks and virtual workshops that make up the TOAST Creative Residency, 15-17 October, full details here.

7th October 202025th October 2021

Beauty Advent Calendars

We might need a bit of extra cheering on this year in the run up to Christmas. Instead of festive outings and treats, nurture yourself at home with a beauty calendar. Here are some of the best:

Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar £215 (with products worth £789)

The Liberty Beauty calendar has become a classic and it holds the record as the fastest selling product ever sold by Liberty. This one came out on Wednesday so get your skates on if you want to bag one. Each contains 26 top products (18 full-size and 8 minis) of which there are no duds – highlights include our favourite Augustinus Bader Cream and Votary Super Seed Serum. For the second year running there’s also a Men’s Advent Calendar £195 (worth £460).

Charlotte Tilbury Advent Calendar £150

This sparkly treasure box opens to reveal an arsenal of Charlotte Tilbury products. Only 3 are full size with one of these the award-winning Spotlight highlighter wand. The rest are travel size – like the cult Magic Cream and Pillow Talk mascara.

YSL Advent Calendar exclusive to Selfridges, £200

After going live on earlier this week, YSL’s beauty calendar promptly sold out online – but the good news is that a second drop lands today, and there are plenty available in store too. Includes Touché Eclat, Black Opium eau de parfum and a few Rouge Pur Couture lipsticks.

Selfridges Advent Calendar £210 (worth over £500)

The Selfridges advent calendar took a year off last year, but this year it’s back and filled with top goodies from the Beauty Hall. Contents include Slip silk scrunches, a Pat McGrath lipstick, Dr. Barbara Sturm Glow Drops and a complimentary appointment with the Selfridges Beauty Concierge. Online from today.

Dior Advent Calendar, £340

Illustrator Safia Ouares’s Parisian winter wonderland is the most magical design of any calendar we’ve seen this year – what a treat this would be to open up. Full of mini perfumes, beauty products, lipsticks, mascara and nail polish.

Cult Beauty Advent Calendar £199 (worth £930)

The second year for Cult’s Beauty calendar which sold out in record time last year – sign up here to be the first to hear when this year’s lands. This one definitely gets you the most bang for your buck and includes 32 of the site’s best selling beauty products (yes you get extra to open on Christmas Day) like a full-size Votary Super Seed Facial Oil, Verso eye cream and a Jo Loves fig candle.

Space NK Advent Calendar £195 (worth £630)

It’s also the second year for Space NK with their advent calendar. Find Byredo hand cream, Dr Sturm serum, bath oil by Olverum and more goodies in this calendar which comes in a fun, ‘tho not especially Christmassy colourful box.

7th October 202025th October 2021

Three Euro fashion labels to love

We love these three independent, European design labels that make small batches of beautifully made, reasonably priced clothes (they do sell out quickly though so be warned!) Made in European factories where they can keep a close eye on working conditions and materials, many of the clothes are pre-ordered so they can avoid overstock issues and make only what they need.

This Danish label was set up in 2014 making mostly high-end shirts and blouses. The range has now been extended to include dresses, shawls, jackets, skirts and trousers. There is a core collection that is available throughout the year with additional seasonal collections – a/w 20’s theme is Russian doll meets the warmth and comfort of Scottish countryside colours. Think autumnal colours, clean lines and great tailoring. Prices from around 200 Euros, dresses are around 300 Euros.

Based in Madrid and named after the Greek neighbourhood Kolonaki, this design label has all the essentials for a great winter wardrobe this season. From some great, well-priced coats to denim dungarees and corduroy trouser suits. Prices from around £100.

Based in Paris, there’s a definite sense of fun in the clothes by designer Maria de La Orden. From a red checked pair of dungarees to a bright pink double cashmere jumper, she combines luxury with practicality, all at manageable prices. There are also striking accessories such as colourful loafers and wide brimmed hats. And for even more fun and colourful clothes, do check out her other design label which she launched with Spanish stylist Blanco Miro in 2018, with wide lapelled shirts and striped jackets. Prices around 100 Euros.

7th October 20208th October 2020

Ginnie Chadwyck-Healey’s Style Tips

If your style slipped a bit during lockdown, it’s time to give your wardrobe an injection of energy. Enter Ginnie Chadwyck-Healey, private stylist and former Executive Retail Editor at Vogue who has just launched a brilliant new virtual service that we can all tap in to via Zoom:

What was the idea behind your new virtual personal styling service?

I wanted to offer something more relevant to these bizarre times we are living in – and a little less expensive than the full Wardrobe Edit I normally focus on. Hopefully it’s the kind of service that people want to access from the comfort of their own home; whether you are looking for a boost to your working from home wardrobe, a great pair of jeans (without the hassle) or simply a ‘Help me Ginnie, I have this great dress but no shoes to wear with it’. It’s also because I have 3 children and I wanted to know I could do my job and be around for them a little more.

Do you ever open your wardrobe and think ‘I have nothing to wear!’

YES! And the combination I usually fall back on time and time again is a blazer and a dress – and my beloved trainers. It’s my tried and tested solution. It looks smart but I can still zip from place to place really easily thanks to comfortable shoes. I gave up heels a long time ago. I need to MOVE!

You worked at Vogue for 12 years, have you collected an enormous wardrobe?

My favourite item is something I bought just after I left Vogue. It was a coat with crochet sleeves by JW Anderson. I get stopped in the street for that coat.

The best thing Vogue taught me was which pieces worked for my body shape, or which colours go with my complexion or mood – and which items I know I can just leave firmly on the hanger/ on the shelf! For instance, ankle boots just aren’t my thing, nor are ballet pumps. So that saves me so much time. I can quickly pinpoint the pieces I know suit my legs/hips/bust/neck etc. And I only ever buy things that really speak to me, which in the age of Instagram is helpful because we are just being shouted at from every which way, as consumers. But yes, I have a ‘healthy’ wardrobe! But I buy far less now. My head isn’t so easily turned as it was on those lunch-breaks from Vogue!

What’s been your lockdown look?

I think I have seen more fashion editors write about Birkenstock’s than any other brand. They really have been my go-to. I have a powder blue suede pair. And I haven’t seen anyone else with them (around here) yet so I kind of love that! In terms of what I feel ‘works’ for WFH – I think a good neckline for any Zoom calls, a neat hair style so you feel you’ve pulled yourself together and I really love my Sunspel tracksuit pants if I want a more down-time approach to my working attire. But they aren’t something I flock to every day.

You’re a great advocate for sustainable shopping, what are some of your favourite brands at the moment?

I have loved watching the launch of Aligne which happened last month. I think Ninety Percent is doing a great job and I love that Net a Porter have taken them on board too. Ganni is a wonderful brand, full of colour which I love. My greatest find is my Sheep Inc jumper. Look up that brand. It’s the new one to watch for classic knitwear.

Which one item are you coveting for autumn/winter?

I am weighing up how I justify a pair of Gianvito Rossi boots. A baby present to myself?!

Where do you go to buy your most basic items?

I still rate M&S and I think John Lewis have brilliant, believable brand values which make me trust them for things like underwear. But you won’t ever find me in the ‘obvious’ high street empires. I’m afraid I just have to step back, put the blinkers on, and find a better alternative – which isn’t so difficult.

How can you achieve a polished look for a zoom call or meeting?

Low necklines, eyebrow mascara (or at least a good eyebrow shape with a toothbrush and a lick of vaseline). Under eye concealer…..and amend the filter on your laptop camera!

Where do you live? Could you show us your favourite room in the house?

I live in the country and my husband booted me out of my study so I am in the sitting room, surounded by swathes of velvet curtains and some great OKA lamps and pictures I haven’t looked at in ages. I quite love using this room – it’s only ever really used for gatherings and Christmas Eve.

Which 3 beauty products do you absolutely rely on?

Votary cleansing oil, Paula’s Choice SPF primer and Trish McEvoy under eye concealer.

Which books/podcasts/tv shows have you most enjoyed in lockdown?

I’ve just subscribed to the Blinkist app as I am not great at finding time to read but I really want to feed my brain. They break down key books of the moment into digestible chapters. I love the BBC Sounds app too. I have finally succumbed to watching The Politician (with all the Gucci clothing frittered the entire way through) and I am about to start The Social Dilemma on Netflix. The book I like to dip into is ‘And Breathe‘.

Finally, who is your style icon and why?

Love her or loathe her, I just can’t get enough of Gwyneth. From ‘that’ Oscars pink dress, to the pictures of her at home from her various recipe books – she just makes every day fashion items look slick: the denim shirt, the khaki trousers, the sandals, the grey sweatshirt It’s all ‘attainable’. Fashion shouldn’t always be about the catwalk or what we feel we are meant to be buying trend-wise. It should be about how it makes you feel and even the simplest of pieces can just lift the soul. I think she (or her stylist!) does a great job.

Ask Ginnie – the new Virtual Personal Styling Service costs £160. This includes a 60-minute Zoom or FaceTime consultation with a follow up bespoke ‘Shopping List’ including shoppable links and imagery. 10% from each consultation is donated to SmartWorks Charity. Book here.

6th October 202025th October 2021