Oriental Delight

Hello friends,

today I present you a small store located in Chinatown (specifically Gerrard Street), between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. This is one of the few stores of the street, which mainly consists of restaurants. There is also another store like this one close to this one, towards Tokyo Diner.

You'll mainly find food in this store, and in particular candies. This is probably just a regular store but if you're into Asian culture it's really nice, because all the candy wrapping is wonderful! I have to admit, lately I've been listening to and watching videos of Korean pop... Yes, yes, it's true. And it's AWESOME. So anything that reminds me of it is a plus.

That said, be careful and look at the expiration date on the products because a friend of mine bought some candy and some of it was expired! And so maybe you're thinking, so why the heck are you posting about this store? Well, because ...I guess not all of it is expired, and plus it's hard to find this kind of store in Spain, so... yeah. And, as I mentioned before, the wrapping and boxes have all these colorful drawings and it makes for a nice and simple gift. For instance, I like these:

As you can see they also have some "Hello Kitty" stuff so there's a bit for everyone (that is, everyone that is into these kinds of things). It might no be the best store in London, but it's in the city centre and around Chinatown, so if you're in the area it's nice if you want some pink and blue chewing gum or something...

By the way, I know I already posted about this but my brother and I just started posting recipes again on our cooking blog... We're going to try to update it as much as we can from now on! I still have to translate the last couple of recipes but most if it is already translated! Hopefully you'll find something you like. Enjoy!

HoneyJam

Hello friends! Long time no "see". I can't stop listening to Songs: Ohia. Their album Magnolia Electric Co. is awesome... You should definitely check it out.

Today and after a thousand months I'm going to talk about a slightly cheese toy store. Well it's just cheesy in a few areas, and I mean, everybody has different tastes, so I don't even know why I said anything in the first place. It's a nice store and it has nice toys.

 

HoneyJam is a store that opened in 2006 in Portobello Street. It is located just in front of the Café Garcia (you can see its reflection on the above picture), where you can go have some churros if you miss Spain. Because, you know, I have churros everyday while I'm here... 

Anyway, what I like about this store is that it focuses on vintage toys instead of all the new technologic toys you can find everywhere nowadays - the store itself looks old, with its wooden floor and shelves full of toys that remind me of my childhood (although I have to admit that I like After Noah better...).

Maybe something I don't like that much about this store is the obvious difference between the boy and the girl sections: on one you will find pirates and the like, and on the other most of the toys will be pink and purple. 

But as I've said many times, we all like different things so maybe you won't mind that, and so maybe you'll find there the most awesome (pink and purple) gifts. 

In any case there is more HoneyJam than the girl section so browse for a bit and you'll probably find nice and small items (including the beautiful wrapping papers) that could make for good presents.

And if you get bored, you can always go out and check Portobello Road, a street full of stands, which I'll talk about next time. Now I'm going to play some guitar.

Stanfords

With this somewhat blurry picture, I introduce you to Stanfords. Stanfords is a big store devoted to traveling, and since I'm a huge fan of traveling, I had to talk about it. The store you can see on these pictures is the one located in Covent Garden, which opened in 1901.

Everything in this store is related to traveling: the literature section, maps, globes, the stationery, accessories and more.


On the ground floor you'll find maps and books about France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, travel literature, children books and games about traveling, movies and music. You can also find gifts such as shower curtains with maps on them, or special thumbtacks that you can put on maps on places you've visited. And, of course, there's my favorite corner, devoted to globes (quite pricey, though...):


Although if you want to see a really pricey globe, check this one, which is in the same floor but in the following room, and costs the not-to-be-despised sum of £8,999.


Right?? Let me get my checkbook.

On the floor you'll see a map of the world and at the back there's a café.

On the first floor you'll find maps of other European countries and international destinations. There are also very useful tools when it comes to traveling, such as first aid kits, knives, and stuff like that. On the floor there's a National Geographic map of the Himalayas. And if you look up you'll see a map of the solar system. Not bad, huh?

The basement is mostly devoted to England and London, of which a map covers the floor.


Here you'll see guides and books about England and London, and some old maps too!


The store is located on 12-14, Acre Street, and opens from 9h to 19h30, although you can see all that and more on their website!

The Tea House

Since this is a blog about London, it was obvious that I would end up talking about tea at some point. Although I must admit that I don't like tea at all, but I am a bit weird when it comes to drinks (which is quite annoying sometimes, but I can't help it...). Anyway - they sell other stuff besides tea here, but I'm guessing most of you enjoy tea.

The Tea House is a little shop located on Neal Street, very close to the Covent Garden tube station and perpendicular to Long Acre, where the awesome shop Stanfords is, which I'll talk about soon.


If you come to London and are planning on staying for more than a couple of days (which would be the obvious thing to do, of course), you should stop by this shop to get some tea and then enjoy it at 5pm, British style. They have a wide selection of teas - once you enter the shop you'll notice the strong smell of different herbs. Besides tea, they sell tools, the names of which I completely ignore, that are really helpful when it comes to making tea (you know, for instance, the little thingy you use to put the tea in and then put in the cup, how do you like my knowledge of the English vocabulary) (thingy eh).

And if you don't like said drink, or need more incentives to go to this shop, The Tea House also sells, among other things, various types of jam in jars of different sizes. When I went there I got a tiny jar of strawberry jam for 95p, which ended up being delicious.

All this you'll find on the first floor. But if you go upstairs, you'll find a big selection of cups, mugs, teapots, plates, jugs and more. Some are really beautiful, and some are a bit of a joke, but I guess we all have different tastes... Here are a few:


Maybe this isn't a total must, but it's located in Covent Garden and that area rules, so if you happen to be there, why not stop by to get a mini jar of ham or a dotted mug? For example.

After Noah

Generally in life people tend to look at the bad things that happen everyday. It is understandable. Rapidshare, for instance, is a complete scam. But sometimes we have to look the other way to realize that there are tons of awesome things in life as well. A good example of this is the Irish band God Is An Astronaut. Another perfect example is After Noah, a CLASSY shop full of furniture, toys, stationery and more. And because this shop is so cool, I'm going to upload a thousand photos, give or take.

Part of the window display

After Noah opened for the first time on May 11, 1990, at 121, Upper Street, close to the Angel tube station. The idea was to mix old vintage objects and furniture with contemporary homeware. Little by little, many shops began to appear in London selling small gifts and homeware items that looked more or less the same. After Noah's goal then was to always have something interesting and unique to offer, items that couldn't be found just anywhere. And I think they've managed to do it. Everytime I go into this shop, I get really excited.


Years after they opened, they started adding new items to their catalog. If in the beginning After Noah was a little store on 121, Upper Street, they soon decided to add toys to their shop and this proved so succesfull that they opened up the adjacent store, number 122.

Here you can find many kinds of toys, from teddy bears to musical instruments for kids, some books, marbles, and more. They also have a lovely little shelf near the entrance with some sweets that look quite vintage (but they taste good, don't worry) (HAH). All this and the fact that it looks so crowded makes me think of the Diagon Alley (of which I am a complete fan).


And, obviously, they have a wide selection of Schleich figures, which I've loved since I was a kid:


Besides all these wonderful things (I insist - this place is a PARTY), there's another area where they have some carefully selected stationery, including stamps, notebooks, sets of envelopes and letters, and, of course, maps (I may have already mentioned that I LOVE maps) and other beautiful papers:


I have to say though that this shop is quite expensive, but these kind of places usually are, at least from what I've seen. In some cases it's completely understandable (some furniture, for instance), but these maps were £3.50, so if there's one you like a lot, I'd suggest you go to Stanfords (a map and travel shop of which I'll talk about in the future) first to see if they have it there, as they are about a pound cheaper.

In spite of this it is a really nice shop and you should really go see it if you ever happen to find yourself wandering around Angel. And if you're looking for old furniture, there's also another floor downstairs with more homeware, vintage phones (with awesome color combinations) and more maps.


--

I'll finish this SHORT post by saying that my brother and I have a cooking blog where we post nice recipes. He is studying to be a cook, and I take the pictures. I am translating them to English now, so if you ever run out of ideas when cooking, don't hesitate to check it out and post some comments if you think about recipes we should make!
It's called COULANT.

Blaze On

Hello friends.

These days I can't stop listening to Laura Veirs, especially her song "Where Gravity Is Dead", from her album Year of Meteors. I don't think she is the best singer ever, but her songs convey feelings of tranquility. Back in London I couldn't stop listening to Saltbreakers.

Also, I'm currently reading Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury and for now I can't understand a thing, as in, it's divided in four parts and the first one is told by a 33-year-old mentally handicapped man, and the second one (the one I'm reading now) is told in the mode of the stream of consciousness. But I've read that little by little the story is unveiled. I definitely hope so. I recently finished Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut and I enjoyed it very much. He rules.

Now, I'm here to talk about London mainly, so I'll stop straying from this topic and talk about Blaze On, a nice little shop one can find in Camden Town.


It's a little chain (little, because there are two or three stores as far as I know) owned by a family. After travelling through Thailand, they decided to start this business that focuses mainly on illuminations. I must say though that a lot of these lights are a bit corny (for my taste), with flowers, fairies, and stuff like that. But others are pretty simple and really nice, which you can see in the top part of the picture or in their website. My favorite ones are the white lanterns and the "radiant/ambient lights" (which I own, by the way). And the prices are affordable, so if you want to decorate your room, you know where to go.

Here is a picture of what was my bedroom in London, where you can see the lights I bought (some of them were blue and green even though you can't really see it).

Hunky Dory Vintage

On 226, Brick Lane, one can find the store pictured on this entry: Hunky Dory.

It's a little shop that sells second-hand clothing. As you enter, on the left, you'll find men's clothing, and to the right, women's. The shop is small (it's basically what you see on the picture) so there isn't a huge variety of items, but the ones that they sell are pretty cool (which is not always the case in vintage shops) and affordable. I always thought second-hand clothes would be really cheap, but this year I've found out I was wrong. Of course a lot of things are not expensive at all, but the ones I like the most (such as corduroy blazers) are quite expensive! Anyway it's understandable, since what they sell is most of the time in very a good condition.

Personally, as I told you, I'm a fan of the men's blazers you'll find on the left and the little box full of bowties close to the window.


The staff is also very nice and the changing rooms are not too small. All in all, it's a cozy shop, and it is much more attractive than the other ones on that street (and there are a lot!).

Basically, if you like thrift shops and vintage clothes make sure you check Brick Lane and the surrounding area, especially Spitalfields Market (on Thursdays), but I'll talk about that in another post.

Peace!

Cath Kidston

Cath Kidston started a little business in 1992 in Holland Park, London. At the time, she would sell vintage fabrics, wallpapers and other objects that reminded her of her childhood. The store had quite a success and gradually the business started to grow, which prompted Cath to start making her own fabrics and homeware. Since then, her business has only thrived and she now has "merely" 28 stores all over the world including some in Ireland and Japan. She also sells women's clothing and accessories (purses, bags, etc.).


This is a picture of one of the shop windows of her store in 51, Marylebone High Street, which may help you get a hint of what her products look like. As you can see, she relies heavily on dots and flowers, which may be sometimes a bit corny, but generally, it rules (or so I think).

Anyway, I highly recommend you check her website so you can get a better idea of what she sells, and maybe you'll see something you like or find a store close to your home.

And, speaking of nice fabrics, my friend Martatu has recently started an online etsy shop where she sells little purses she has made herself with carefully chosen fabrics. She also recently finished a collection of dresses with prints of white rabbits and arctic foxes. ARCTIC FOXES!!!


Peace.

Artbox

Hello friends. I'm currently listening to Wild Nothing, which is a band a friend told me about yesterday and I love it. Make sure you listen to their song "Summer Holiday"!

So, Artbox. Artbox started about 20 years ago in South Korea, and they must have had their fair share of success, since they now have three stores in London: one in Camden Town (which you can see on the pictures below), one in the Thomas Neal Center in Covent Garden, and another in the Topshop located in Oxford Circus.


As you can see they mainly sell stationery (notebooks, pens, pencil cases, etc.), but you can also find some clothes and accessories (and by 'accessories' I mean everything else, like mugs, bento boxes, etc.). Of course, almost everything they sell here is full of little animals having fun in the beach and stuff like that, but it's worth taking a look. You can always find really nice stuff even if you're not really into the whole Hello Kitty thing. I usually enjoy the stickers:


I can't believe how hard it is nowadays to find beautiful stickers. When I was a kid I used to collect them and I still have some pretty neat ones, but I recently tried to find shark stickers like the ones they sold at SandyLion (I'm writing this as if you all knew which ones I'm talking about... they ruled) and I've had no luck. One day, when I'm rich, I'll go to Japan with an empty suitcase and come back with tons of awesome stickers and notebooks. Word.

The Duke Of Uke

First of all: what kind of name is this? The Duke Of Uke!! Best name ever.

Hello readers. Today I will talk about this awesome little store near Liverpool Street.


When I talked about Rough Trade the other day, I mentioned how cool Brick Lane and the surrounding area was. And here's more proof. This shop is located on 22, Hansbury Street and is specialized in ukeleles (as you can see on the pictures...), or, as they say: "Duke of Uke is London's one and only Ukulele and Banjo Emporium". Indeed, my friends, not only do they sell ukeleles, but also banjos, mandolines, acoustic guitars, and more.


And it doesn't end here (of course). They also teach how to play ukelele, and set up gigs in the store or other venues of the city. They also have a studio where you can record or rehearse your music. Not bad. What's more, it is really close to Spitalfields (which is, by the way, a really cool market that I will talk about in the future). As you can see (or will see, when reading more entries of this blog) (peculiar word, "blog"), Liverpool Street is a great area of London.


You may not want to buy a ukelele or a banjo, but it's definitely worth seeing.

Rough Trade

Hello! Here is Rough Trade:


This store (also record label) is a MUST for all music fans. As you can see on the pictures above, they have a pretty wide range of vinyl records, sorted out by genre. There are also some record players on the store so you can listen to the records before you actually buy them. But it doesn't end there. There's also a little café in the entrance, with some chairs and tables, where you can have coffee (obviously), other beverages, and food.

And for those of you who are not real fans of vinyl records, you can always browse through the cd section:


Another really interesting thing about the store is that sometimes they hold "instores", small free shows where bands usually come to play songs from their newest record. For instance, in May 2007 Lucero played a few songs, or recently, on December 2009, Yo La Tengo played as well. Although places are limited, so what you need to do is come get a wristband (you have to check their site in order to know when to do it) or, if places are still available after there are no more wristbands, it's first-come, first-serve. Here is a picture of First Aid Kit playing an instore a few weeks ago:


There's also a really cool photobooth where you can have your pictures taken, it's one of the few left where all four pictures are different. The background is black and you have the logo of the store on the top left corner (left? right? don't really remember), but sadly it's 3 pounds. You have to change the three pounds for a token on the counter, and instert it once you are inside of the booth. I must insist that you read the instructions before you actually insert the coin (yeah, I didn't read them, I'm extremely smart), because if you don't then you'll have approximately 40 flashes on your face all of a sudden, and the result will be you with a weird face. Which may be what you're looking for, who knows!


The store you see on these pictures is the one located on the East of London (Liverpool Street, to be more exact). There's another store on the West, although I haven't been there (yet). Besides, this Rough Trade is right next to Brick Lane, an awesome street, so you can walk around and discover a lot of little nice stores and vintage shops.

You can check this link for more information about the store.


And that's pretty much it! I hope you like it. I certainly do.