High-end French fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (aka JC/DC) also occasionally tries his hand at home decor – and this Brique rug is one of his designs.
Lego is the obvious inspiration here, with each section designed to look like a Lego brick. or at least, part of one. Except there's no plastic here, this is 100 per cent wool and all hand tufted.
Sized at 180 x 270 cm, it's probably the most expensive bit of Lego-style merchandise on the market at £1,340.
We've mentioned it before, but if you've not had chance to visit the Clerkenwell Vintage Fashion Fair yet, you might want to add the date of Sunday 13th September to your diary.
40 'quality' dealers from all over the UK & Europe will be selling affordable vintage apparel from the 1800s – 1980s. But that's not all. Other attractions include an in-house tailor (Joe Allen) for on the spot alterations, a cafe for afternoon tea, vintage tunes courtesy of Natty Bo (from London ska band Top Cats & Ska Cubano), Lindy Hop dancing and lessons and the 'Lipstick & Curls' beauty parlour offering old school glamour makeovers.
The address is The Old Sessions House, Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R ONA, 10:30am start for trade (£4), 11am – 5pm for the public (£3). Nearest tube: Farringdon (Hammersmith & City, Circle, Metropolitan. Thames Link to Brighton, Gatwick, Luton) Buses: 55, 243, 38, 19 or Angel (Northern line). To find out more, email [email protected].
John Lewis has its own DAB radio on the market, mixing some wood and chrome for a retro-style DAB kitchen radio.
The casing is a walnut effect, which is matched up with a metal grate and chrome detailing for a striking piece of audio that's not just a pretty face. Inside that retro design are 3-inch drive speakers for 15W output, Clearsound technology for top notch audio, DAB and FM radio, the option to pause and rewind live radio, 100 presets, a high contrast OLED display and a dedicated countdown kitchen timer button.
If you don't like the wood effect, there's also a version in black, with both selling for £169.
The mini was selected as one of the British design classics at the start of the year for the Royal Mail stamps collection. If you would like to see just how this design comes together, you may be interested in this Build your own mini kit. The mini itself is a 1:38 scale model of the actual car so, in this case, a screwdriver will be of more use to you than an engineering degree. It has all the relevant small bits – from the metal body to the rubber wheels – and also full instructions.
The sales blurb on the shop site mentions the mini's link to The Italian Job. However, this model looks like it is based on a much later version of the car. That small quibble aside, it's a nice bit of kit for just £10.
Buy it from the Museum of London website
A few months ago we featured the Bold and Noble Love print and their new Many Hands print is equally as stylish. Another in the proverb/instructional type of poster that is so fashionable at the moment, the simple font and old instruction manual style hands of this one give it, dare I say, a lightness of touch.
The print is shown above in the slate colourway but it also comes in duck egg blue. It costs £38.
Buy it online
The Routemaster bus remains a popular icon and has featured on a wide range of products. This item is something that may be of interest to the true Routemaster connoisseur, a Routemaster Blueprint.
The print is a vintage facsimile of the original Routemaster design blueprint, which shows the interior and exterior of the bus from different angles.
Pedlars have a good stock of these prints for sale, sold framed for £155. Visit the Pedlars website to buy.
