charles and marie

came across this website today - http://www.charlesandmarie.com/

to be honest I am not 100% sure what they do! They seem to sell a variety of products in limited editions aswell as blogging and doing alot of travelling as they have just finished the New York Gift Fair and are going to Paris for the Maison et Objet show. They seem a wee bit 'try hard' for me but I did like the simplicty of the sun jar by toby wong.

However I do like their frank minded website where they talk the global sameness of cities as small independant retailers are edged out by the big corporations. Personally I am heartened by sites like etsy and folksy that give us designer/makers a chance to sell to a global market but then it's hard to have your voice heard outside of these arenas in the wider press.

hero shots

Tonight we had a meeting of some of the 'urban craft stars' who will be part of the carnaby street pop up shop. All tonights stars are etsy sellers. Our lovely PR specialist aka my sis has asked for our bio and logo in order to put together a press release along with four images - hero shots!

I really love this expression for some reason! I need to now pick mine which is proving difficult. I've included a possible here so any feedback on this is very welcome. Needs some cropping and editing though.

I also spotted the most amazing sofa in a secondhand shop today. It is a pink upholstered two seater with a scroll back and arms. We glimpsed it's loveliness from the bus window and are going back tomorrow for a closer look!

the pop up shop

is finally going to happen....

I saw our unit yesterday. It's in Kingly Court just off Carnaby Street. The unit is absolutely massive so I am hoping that we can do it justice.

I am keeping in mind though all the Mary Queen of Shops programmes I have been watching and how she advises her clients to keep the layout and fixtures very simple. I love the interior of the Mayfair Stella McCartney shop with its vintage style wallpapers combined with modern touches like the bright pink bag display unit.

My aim is to move us as far away from a 'craft fair' with its horrible 'behind a table' philosphy to a place where customer can browse and touch the product, see demos of knitting, embroidery and other crafts and really talk and get to know who is behind the product. I have a fab bunch of designers ready - some london etsy folk, others I have met at craft markets.

In order to keep costs down I am planning to use some of the victorian pine vintage furniture I have already plus we are of to find a cool sofa and chair at one of the many second hand places round here at the weekend. Plus a trip to Ikea for some open shelving too.

I have big plans so watch this space!