Stretch, who lived in Los Angeles right out of college, explains:

There’s a great east west divide. Beverley Hills is east of the 405, Santa Monica is west. It can take two hours to get from Pasadena to Santa Monica with traffic, 45 minutes without.”

I’m still confused.

I was just about to give up on LA, prepared to stay disoriented and mildly depressed every time I visit, when I was asked to write a story for the June issue of  British House & Garden about LA designer Todd Nickey who moved from NYC to LA twenty years ago.

Todd and his business partner in crime Amy Kehoe, another NY export, joined together in 2004 to form design duo Nickey Kehoe. When I flipped through the pages of their book Golden Light, The Interior Design of Nickey Kehoe, I was entranced.

This was the LA I could relate to, the LA I could move into. Fixed up old houses with original details – floors, beams, bannisters, ceilings, fireplaces all left intact, old tiles salvaged, English wallpaper added, a lot of books and pictures and an eclectic mix of objects, just the right amount of color, deliberate but unfussy, not perfect, a respect for what could and should be saved but never musty or sad.

I can almost smell the orange blossoms wafting in though the French doors or feel the warmth from the California light streaming in through the open leaded windows. An English bulldog is hanging out on the patio. This is my LA.

As hotelier Liz Lambert writes in the forward when describing the Nickey Kehoe aesthetic:

An attitude of warmth and casual sophistication. Unforced. It says: repair what exists. It is a love for the natural…. The irreverence of a wall painted deep banana to the natural ease and elegance of an overgrown garden wall. Here’s to making people feel grounded and good and free.”

So, I have a plan.  Next time I visit LA, I’m going straight, do not pass go, to their shop on Beverley Blvd and then Todd (who doesn’t know this yet, but he was super pleasant during the interview) is going to show me around our LA, all the houses and neighborhoods in that dreamy book. We’ll end the day at my favorite house of all, the one I got to write about, Todd and his husband Greg Holcomb’s Pasadena hacienda, originally built in 1927.

We’re all drinking margaritas in the courtyard with that oversized terracotta pineapple they lugged home from Mexico. Oh, and Anne Hardy who made this story happen, who makes most of my design stories happen, she’s there too.

The sun is setting a lavender glow. The air is warm and fragrant. It’s February. California dreams.

May 2021

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I have selected four one-off, unusual sales/shops to buy things for that choosey friend where a scarf from Harvey Nick’s, a hamper from Fortnum’s or a candle from Jo Malone just won’t do, the kind of friend where you must prove your devotion by the effort and originality you expend. These friends are demanding, but we’re, I mean, they’re worth it.

Top on my list is this jewellery sale tomorrow at 61 Victoria Road from 11am-6pm …

For those who don’t know Elie Top, he was accessories designer at Lanvin for 15 years, collaborating closely with Alber Elbaz. Inspired by 18th c. French and Italian Renaissance, Top, who launched his own label last year,  is known for his large metal pendants inlaid with precious stones and diamonds.

If, on the other hand, your discerning  friend is into funky town beads, Indonesian head dresses or pompoms sported by the flamboyant flamingoed Iris Apfel, then head to Peter Adler’s Pebble London Christmas sale this weekend where everything is 10% off.

Bead lovers need never despair again with Adler’s Cave of  hanging treasures. Fancy some Afghan tribal trinkets …

or perhaps something still vibrant but a tad more conventional …

…

Not feeling colourful? No problem …

Now if your someone special devours Pinterest, gets excited by tangerine roses in a bud vase, a new coloured moleskin journal, you know the type (Kate, Lauren, thinking of you), then interiors shop Pentreath & Hall on Lamb’s Conduit Street is just the ticket.

Recently featured in NYT’s T Magazine, the shop is owned by the multi-talented Ben Pentreath, who in addition to being decorator to William and Kate, is a skilled architect, interior designer and blogger. These alphabet pots above make organising fun – especially for you know who (Kate, Lauren, party time!)

Fuchsia hued Merino wool coasters will make your design-devotee pal blush …

while  decoupage plates and slick lacquered trays will send them to the moon.

What’s more, today only (Thursday, December 1st) from noon to 8pm all the quaint shops on both Lamb’s Conduit and Rugby Street are offering a 10% discount.

Final stop on Secret Santa’s mystery tour is for that friend who’d prefer  something on the wall to something on the bod.

Pop-up House of Voltaire on Cork Street

is selling a cornucopia of artist donated pieces. With over 150 artists and designer contributions including Carsten Holler, Simone Rocha, Phyllida Barlow, Michael Craig Martin, Chris Offili, Ed Ruscha and a host of others. From limited-edition prints by the likes of Belgian superstar Luc Tuymans …

and Trafalgar Square’s Forth Plinth artist David Shrigley

to a festive lambswool blanket by Jonas Wood …

or a  prison tray by London-based Argentine artist Pablo Bronstein (my personal fave),

there’s a lot to choose from for that certain visual someone.  House of Voltaire runs until December 18th. Money raised goes to the London-based arts charity Studio’s Voltaire gallery and education programs.

Happy Hunting!

December, 2016

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I look for those one-offs all the time, and it makes my day when I find them. I know a fair few places, but the best places are always the ones you go to for the first time. It’s always the weird places.

A self-proclaimed shopping addict, Harkness has been sourcing vintage, especially denim, for decades. As a teenager he used to have a stall at vintage mecca Camden Market in north London. But then Harkness visited his sister in Manhattan and fell in love.

I came for a holiday and ended up staying 26 years.

Harkness supported himself by  working in clubs and sourcing American vintage for friends  and clients back in England. Until he experienced his Damascene (or rather sushi) moment:

Twenty years ago I was working for a sushi bar and some Japanese guy came up and said I’ll buy your jeans  for $250. I had only just bought them for $10.  I said I’ll be back in five minutes. I ran back home. I lived nearby. That’s where it pretty much started. I thought maybe I could make this into a business.

Fast forward to 2016 and Harkness has two New York shops, one recently opened in Brooklyn, the other  Manhattan. The Brooklyn outpost located in ‘the up and coming’ part of Williamsburg on Driggs Avenue is about a ten minute walk south from trendy, hipster heaven.

The shop is spacious, light-filled and well-curated. Try and go when Harkness is in and can explain the back story – in his lovely lilting accent – to all the pieces placed around the shop from the original 1969 Jimi Hendrix posters to his serious collection of 45’s – soul, punk and Ska. Give it to me! Prices range from $8-$8,000. Yes, eight is his good luck number. (Mine is three, in case you were wondering).

The two shops trade under the name The Quality Mending Company, the same name he uses for his own brand of vintage-restored and vintage-inspired clothing and accessories. His own brand includes shoes made in England, sweaters in Ireland and Scotland, and jeans, socks and t-shirts in the States.

Old bandana fabric has been refashioned to make these multicoloured shirts …

and this jacket was made from 1940’s motorcycle trousers.

While the clothes are made for men, Harkness strongly advises women wear men’s clothing. Good, I’ll take this sweater then.

Stay tuned for this autumn’s ‘Fox hunter waistcoat’ repurposed from WWII British military boxers.

February, 2016

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The real reason for last weekend’s adventure was to support and check out a brand new pop-up shop in Edinburgh called Rail launched by my close friend Isy Ettedgui’s daughter Gigi, and her talented collaborators, Hugo and Nanette (pictured below).

The opening party was such a success that even the barman over-indulged (or maybe that’s the norm). Here’s one guest wearing a Rail black velvet coat. Phoebe Philo would approve. Note to chic shoppers: Rail is popping up in London’s Mayfair in June.

Location, location, location – Rail is next door to one of Edinburgh’s top coffee shops –  the Brew Lab on South College. After buying up everything on the rails (pun intended), my tour guide Isy took a group of us to lunch to the Timberyard, a delicious rustic spot that used to be Lawson’s Timber. Look out for the red door.

Dishes come in varying sizes- bites, small and large. After the waiter told us that the large plates are actually kind of small and the small plates are kind of large, we decided to just order everything, less confusing.

From there we caught a cab to Ingleby Gallery, a top gallery by any standards, where Richard Ingleby gave us an illuminating tour of the current show. This man knows and loves his artists. I especially liked his stories about artist Kevin Harmon, an original thinker with a capital O. In one series of works Harmon meticulously tidies and organises the contents of rubbish skips at night and then photographs them plus the construction workers’ reactions the next morning. Harmon also completely disassembles hotel rooms over night, photographs the neat results and then puts the room back together again before checking out. In addition to being odd, his works are lovely. Here’s one made with household paint applied to a double-glazing unit.

Below is a moonlit shot of the walk from Ingleby back to our hotel, The Balmoral.

What The Balmoral, a Rocco Forte hotel, lacks in glamour, it makes up for with its warm and helpful staff and top-notch location smack in the center of town.

Edinburgh may have been a sleepy town when I visited sans bike years ago, but it’s alive and kicking now. Restaurants are heaving so book ahead. Thankfully, there’s a lot more to eat than haggis, neeps and fried Mars Bars. We loved the buzzy gastropub Scran & Scallie in Stockbridge opened by two of Scotland’s top Michelin star chefs.  Or the teeny-weeny Gardener’s Cottage on Royal Terrace Gardens, originally the cottage for the gardener, but now a foodie haven. It’s run by Edward Murray and Dale Mailley, the latter of whom has worked at the two starred Michelin Ledbury in London, as well as several Mark Hix spots. If you’re short on time (like your train is leaving in 45 minutes) I heartily recommend grabbing a bite at Valvona & Crolla, Scotland’s oldest delicatessen and wine merchant set up in 1934 to feed the fledgling Italian immigrant community.

There was so much I missed seeing on this brief jaunt, like the National Portrait Gallery and those men in kilts. One can dream. Apparently, Armstong’s is the vintage place to shop for 21st century kilts.

Fare thee well Edinburgh. Long may yer lim reek. That’s Scot for ‘May you live long and stay well’  – especially those men in skirts!

January, 2015

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