Saturday Shopping: East Dulwich
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 22nd June there
is a small market (more details nearer the time).
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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.
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 Company and remember that
I need to pick up some more Vetiver by Guerlain from Kazia Pelka’s Dr Boo; the classic fragrance from 1959 that
I have worn since I was a teenager.
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I always stop for a smile and read Mark’s ever changing
display of funny cards in the window of Postmark.
The Simon Drew ones are my favourites, it is even more funny to think that I
gave Simon one of his first orders when I was a buyer at the Covent Garden
General Store 25 years ago.
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Lordship Lane is the envy of boroughs up and down the
country. I am often asked by visiting councillors and council officers how
Lordship Lane developed into the unique mix of independent shops that it is.
The growth has been organic, but thank goodness for it, as it has made it one
of the nicest places to live in London.
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A J Farmers is one of the best shops in London, I spend
hours browsing in there, it is fall of the sort of old fashioned things you
cannot get anymore; brown betty tea pots, wooden scrubbing brushes, metal
buckets, string washing up mops, dolly clothes pegs. We have a Roullier White mail
order customer who mentioned to me that she could not find starch, so I buy it
in Farmers and post it to her. If I do not need anything I usually pop in any
way for a gossip with Sophie, Julie, Nicky, Pat or Maureen.
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If I am meeting friends I will quite often meet at Le Chandelier, where Daphne Kellett
serves an amazing section of teas. I always have a chrysanthemum tea and sit
there proudly while my guests marvel at their gorgeous surroundings. I leave
feeling refreshed and ready to face the rest of the day.break
As Roullier White has a vintage feel I am always looking for
inspiration and fortunately in East Dulwich we have lots. Ed Warehouse, run by Ed Hynes, is an
Aladdin’s cave of all things vintage, opposite Gary and Jane Cady’s Give+Take, is a vintage shop with a
twist as profits go to supporting Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Round the corner
in Upland Road, Heather, owner of ChiChiRaRa, has a passion for fashion and
it shows in her selection and collection of sensational one off pieces.John and Belinda, who run North Cross Vintage, on Fellbrigg Road just at the corner with North Cross Road, have one of the best vintage stores in London, and they are a thoroughly charming couple too. The shop is packed with quirky treasures. At Christmas I bought my sister a Salvation Army Officer’s bonnet from the 1920's, which now surrealy adorns a wooden butcher’s pig in her Dorset kitchen.
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Talking of colour, we have a black and white dress code at Roullier
White, so a sneaky pair of colourful sock adds a bit of brightness. I buy
bamboo socks from Karavan Eco Home,
where Karen Orchard has an inspiring collection of green gifts and trendy items
for the home. Karen’s Rolser shopping trolleys are perfect for those of us who
are committed to buying locally.
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Katharine MacLaverty and Dan Rigby’s Ed on North Cross
Road carries funky men’s fashion as well as women’s wear and fun things for the
home. I love their boho plates, which will cheer up any summer garden party
even if the skies are a little grey and their timeless Nordic stoneware. Michele
and Gloria at Mrs Robinson
specialise in mid-century style home accessories and furniture, I love the
Scandi phone and Arco floor lamps which work in any interior and are hugely
practical over desk, dining table, reading chair or sofa. Harking back to earlier
eras, Sarah Dragten’s Old Villa deals
in antique style furniture and furnishings in beautifully muted colours and
natural, neutral tones. I like the Provençal quilted bed covers and linen
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I love it if I need to buy a present for my friend Emma, as
I just pop into the wonderful artisan jeweller, Nina Christie, and ask Nina
what Emma would like, she has not been wrong once.
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Chener Books is
a store in which I have enjoyed browsing for 35 years (!) and I always come out
with some unexpected delight. I could never buy my books on line, it is so much
more fun to buy them from a bookshop and so much better for the local economy. Plus
that amazing smell that book shops have cannot be beaten.
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My mother is an avid knitter so I always look out for new
shades of wool for her in Maggie Robinson’s Sew East Dulwich, where there are
plenty of books on the subject too and all the accessories one would need. I
love the preserving jars of vintage buttons.temple to the craft;
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If I don’t feel like cooking then its pasta from East Dulwich Deli, fish pie from Moxon’s or fish cakes from Franklin’s Farm Shop
where I pick up my fruit and vegetables or from Chris at Pretty Traditional,
where I get my fix of his delicious pineapple and mint smoothies. SMBS has a
fantastic selection of herbs and spices and all sorts of deli delights and, if
it is between September and May, then Vacherin from the Cheese Block is one of
my seasonal guilty pleasures, it is delicious baked speared with rosemary,
served with the Cheese Block’s rosemary and sea salt focaccia.
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Stopping off on my way home I might catch up with some
friends and fellow traders for a Gin Martini next door at Tim Oakley’s
fantastic House of Tippler – where
I recommend the Sunday lunches and in particular the mixed roast – for a Gin
Martini with Ganchia Bianco Vermouth and a touch of celery bitters.
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If I am going out I will hand pick some chocolate from Hope and Greenwood for my host, pop in a and pick up the book I reserved from Rye Books and finally bag a bottle of chilled Chablis from Barry’s Food Stores on Barry Road. This brilliant shop - packed with goodies that its modest frontage belies - has helped me out of many a crisis and is even open on Christmas morning!
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If I am going out I will hand pick some chocolate from Hope and Greenwood for my host, pop in a and pick up the book I reserved from Rye Books and finally bag a bottle of chilled Chablis from Barry’s Food Stores on Barry Road. This brilliant shop - packed with goodies that its modest frontage belies - has helped me out of many a crisis and is even open on Christmas morning!
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Then its home, back across the Rye, to hand-feed ham from William Rose to my waiting, beautiful,
patient but very spoiled British Blue, Lola.
An edited version of this interview appeared originally on the Completely London Blog. Please click here.
Lawrence's monthly shopping page appears in the SE magazines group of publications. Please click here.
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