Posts

Showing posts from June, 2013

New Perfume House: Carner Barcelona

Image
Roullier White is delighted to announce the arrival of sensational Spanish perfume house; Carner, Barcelona.  Over the past few months the collection of cult and artisan perfumes at Roullier White has grown in importance and significance making it one of the most important in the country, Carner, Barcelona is a worthy addition. These spirited scents are modern, wearable and bound to provoke that question everyone wants to hear; 'wow what you are wearing?' Cuirs is a strong and independent fragrance. A middle medley of warm, dark woods and earthy patchouli are brought alive with a pinch of cumin and sweet, spicy saffron. The leather accord is routed at the base of this sophisticated and desirable scent.  D600 refers to Diagonal 600, the address where Carner is based in Barcelona. The perfume aims to capture the unique spirit of this incredibly vibrant, optimistic and astounding city, tinged with a hint of mysticism and romance. Rima XI is a fragrance fu...

Saturday Shopping: Camberwell SE5

Image
Camberwell is very close to my heart. I was born in the no longer existing St Giles Hospital and I was christened in St Giles Church; the same church in which my great, great, great, great grandfather- Jean Alphonsus Ferdinandus Roullier, the first Roullier to arrive in this country from France, married his Italian bride; Johanna Francisca Daspa. My parent’s first flat was on Camberwell Grove, which is where my first memories were formed. My mother reminds me of my rather bohemian beginnings; of me waving to Albert Finney as he took in his milk, resplendent in a silk kimono, and our eccentric upstairs neighbour, Irene, who blared out Edith Piaf records morning, noon and night. ‘Je regrette Irene’ my mum says when she wants a smile out of me.  But we are shopping, not reminiscing, and there is much to do (and eat) as I discovered.  Camberwell Church Street  House, is a charming café and gallery, with garden, where you can enjoy a lovely lunch or an afternoo...

Tropics - Home & Consonance

Bee Friendly Wasp Catcher featured in Beautiful Kitchens "Outdoor Living" feature, July 2013

Image
"Use natural methods to keep bugs at bay while you're dining outdoors this summer." Click here to find out more about our Bee Friendly Wasp Catcher

Mrs White's Unstung Hero featured in Conde Nest Traveller, July 2013

Image
Click here to find out more information about Mrs White's Unstung Hero

Mehdi Zannad: L'Aéroport Feat. April March

Image

Sunday Shopping: Dulwich College City & Country Farmers' Market

Image
I greatly look forward to the fourth Sunday in every month when Dulwich College plays host the wonderful City & Country Farmers’ Market - as some months have five Sundays this can be a bit confusing, so it is best to check the website first, although I assure you that today is one.  Expect to find seasonal fruit and vegetables, organic meat, fine cheeses, artisan bread and all manner of handmade and freshly prepared goodies.  The market opens at 9 am so there is plenty of time to make it your one stop shop for all your Sunday lunch needs and there are plenty of jams and preserves for teatime too. Inside the college cloisters there is an Arts and Crafts market, where you will find the work of local makers and designers and you can chat to them about their work. City & Country Farmers’ Market, Dulwich College, SE21, Fourth Sunday of Every Month, 9 am – 1pm.

Maribou State: Feat: Holly Walker: Tongue: Acoustic Version

Image

Hamburger Press featured in Financial Times, June 2013

Image
"DIY burgers for those who take their barbecues seriously."  Click here to find out more about our Hamburger Press

Clown Eggcups featured in Homes & Interiors Scotland Magazine, June 2013

Image
"Struggling to get your kids to eat a proper breakfast? This clown eggcup might just help. The cup is porcelain, the hat is silicone. As well as making a hard boiled egg look dapper, the topper will keep it warm until the toast is ready."  Click here to find out more about our Clown Eggcups

Mrs White's Physick Soothing Shaving Serum featured in S Magazine, June 2013

Image
Click here to find out more about Mrs White's Physick Soothing Shaving Serum

Saturday Shopping: Forest Hill, SE23

Image
Stag and Bow is the sort of shop one dreams of having on one’s local high street, alas so original is the concept of this unique retail offer that this is not probable. The good news is, however, a jaunt to Forest Hill is well worth the trip, this busy and buzzy neighbourhood has so much going on and makes shopping in SE23 such great fun. Stag and Bow is the most delightful and inspiring store, full of fantastic finds; haberdashery requisites (Colette dressmaking patterns graded by required expertise £13.50), sit beside handcrafted goods and accessories (crocheted collars), vintage one-off pieces (art deco glass and framed Arthurian book plates) and some serious style statement items. I always admire the shop’s fabulous window displays with their unique style and elegance - usually one repeated item in different colourways - but this time store-owners Cyrus and Pascale have outdone themselves. Gloriously sunny Malaysian silk kaftans (£195) scream ‘buy-me’ to passing shoppers, just ad...

CHVRCHES - Gun

Image

Paul Auster: Oracle Night

Image
The intriguing reviews I had read of Paul Auster’s Oracle Night seem to focus on an almost superfluous supernatural element that is actually nonessential to the plot. Writing as Auster often does, as the first-person protagonist, the book is more about whether our futures are predestined, or whether a certain event can change the path of our lives forever. A recovering author suffering from a near fatal disease, and writer’s block, suddenly finds inspiration whilst writing in notebook he perceives to have magical powers. However, it is not the paranormal at play but a linked series of events and coincidences that are springboarded the day the notebook is purchased. The story is mirrored by the narrator’s own pen to paper sub-plot. We realise that whilst trying to control our futures, we are all ultimately victims of chance, circumstance and the decisions other people make, and often our own choices do not even come into play. The most certain plan can turn on a penny in a sec...

Edytas Polish Restaurant: Dartmouth Road, Forest Hill, SE23

In these days of digital views and online menus when someone suggests supper somewhere, one’s first reaction is to look up the restaurant’s website and prepare for the event. Having unsuccessfully located a website for Edytas Polish Restaurant on Dartmouth Road, Forest Hill, SE23, I abandoned my search and, preferring not to be swayed either way by online reviews, I arrived on Saturday night expecting the unexpected. As it turned nothing could have prepared me for the evening ahead, which was a delight from start to finish.  We were cheerfully, and charmingly, greeted by our host, who was to be our waiter for the evening. The simple and short menu raised a few questions, which were answered with careful consideration. I was keen to ensure I sampled what he ate and his recommendations were willingly, and proudly, shared.  To start two of us shared fried Ruskié Dumplings (£6.00), stuffed with cottage cheese and potato, deliciously heartening fayre, a plate full of comf...

Mrs White's Unstung Hero featured in Baby & Me Magazine, June 2013

Image
"A secret ingredient inside this all-natural eau de cologne renders you 'invisible' to bugs. The Lemon Tea Fragrance is delightful too." Click here to find out more about Mrs White's Unstung Hero

Stag & Bow

Image

Hectic Host: Blend It Like Beckham; Summer Smoothies

Image
Last year, in a marketing masterstroke, a fast food giant signed up David Beckham to promote their healthy option fruit smoothie. Fast food is associated with apathy and sloth; so aligning with a peak-performing, over-achieving athlete helped to pitch this product perfectly in the minds of the public. The problem, however, with commercially produced smoothies is the high content of sugar syrup, which is omitted if blending at home or buying from an artisan source. Smoothies are a quick and easy way add to your child’s five a day requirement and if you avoid any additional sugars they are a great slow-release of energy way to start the day. The best thing about making smoothies is that the jury is pretty much out on everything. When it comes to method there are no hard and fast rules, so you can pretty much write the recipe book as you go. Just get the blender out and get blitzing. But beware, the process is somewhat addictive, however, the great news is that they keep a few days in t...

Saturday Shopping: East Dulwich

Image
My journey into work could not be much better; a leisurely early morning stroll across Peckham Rye, is a fantastic way to start the day whatever the weather. Crows flap around me as I walk and I am reminded of the wonderful, made in Peckham, screen printed products (see hanging lampshade in picture left) from Captured on the Rye , on Pellatt Road, where incidentally as from Saturday 22 nd June there is a small market (more details nearer the time). break I stop in at Homemade, on Barry Road, to pick up a coffee and pause to look in the window of Rye Books , (Upland Road) where Alastair Kenward always has a great selection of new and interesting titles. If anything catches my eye – as it usually does - I make a note of it and email him when I get to the office to reserve it for me.  break Passing the Clipper I think about getting my hair cut so I text my friend Daryl who works there to make an appointment. I stop to buy some flowers for the shop from Fresh Flower Compa...

Cressida Bell's Cake Design, Fifty Fabulous Cakes

Image
I first met Cressida Bell in the very early 1990’s. I had been asked to introduce new product lines and ideas into the shop at the wonderful Charleston Farmhouse. This was a dream come true for me as I had been in awe of the fascinating Bloomsbury Group since I first pulled a book about Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell off the, then, mahogany shelves of Dulwich Library. The shop at Charleston Farmhouse sold Cressida’s screen-printed work and very soon I was in her London studio ordering for other businesses for which I bought at the time; Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and The Museum Store in Covent Garden. To this day, the bed in my spare bedroom is beautifully adorned with one of Cressida’s Woman and Mandolin cushions (Check out Cressida’s site ).  Later my sister and her husband got married at the Bloomsbury decorated Berwick Church , near my parents in Sussex, but that is a whole other story.  I was really delighted recently to read a review of Cres...

Hamburger Press featured in The Independent Best Kitchen Gear Guide, June 2013

Image
"A gadget that you don't really need but is surprisingly satisfying. No more uneven hand-formed patties, you'll have chunky, perfectly formed burgers at your next barbecue."  Click here to find out more about our Hamburger Press

Mrs White's Unstung Hero featured in Woman & Home Magazine, July 2013

Image
"Mrs White's Unstung Hero is made of natural, fresh eau de cologne. Its delicious and uplifting lemon tea fragrance doesn't have an overpowering smell, and is suitable for adults and children over three."  Click here to find out more about Mrs White's Unstung Hero