Attend : Woburn Coffee House

Woburn Coffee House, 21 Market Place, Woburn.

 Bank holiday weekend calls for a day out in the countryside : we visited historic Woburn, a perfect Georgian village. We were visiting to take afternoon tea at Woburn Coffee House.

 Situated in a 400 year old house on Market Place, Karen and her team have created a beautifully fresh boutique coffee house: a modern traditional interior, combining mix match crockery, and a beautiful walled garden to sip Pimms in the summer months.

 We were presented with an amazing 5 tier platter of finger sandwiches, scones, slices of cake, brandy snaps, Mille-Feuille and beautifully crafted cream profiteroles in the shape of swans.
 Whatever you can't manage can be taken home in a goody box...

Woburn Coffee Shop features a tranquil walled garden, opened up in Summer months for afternoon tea and Pimms.

 Woburn itself is a quintessentially British village - dating back to Saxon times. It's even been listed in The Sunday Times as one of the 'best places to live in Britain'
 The village has lots of cool antique shops, restaurants, gift shops, a farmers market and great scenery - all this, and only an hour from central London...

Woburn Coffee House
21 Market Place,
Woburn,
Bedfordshire.

Reservations : 01525 290050
Web : Woburn Coffee House 
Web : Woburn Village 

Attend : 'Fish & Chips', Prague

Fish and Chips, 21 Dlouha Street, Prague

 After a long weekend break in Prague, I stumbled upon a restaurant that was a pure case of right time, right place - there was nothing I fancied more on that Sunday afternoon than a good old English Fish & Chips.

 Quintessentially British in design, a rarity in the gothic architecture of Prague, this simple, stylish and modern Fish & Chip shop was both a 'take away' and a sit down restaurant.
 The simple design was paired with a simple menu, made modern with the additional serving of mini bottles of Veuve Clicquot.  

 The cod was perfect in beer batter, the chips were just the right 'chippy' chips - Gourmet Fish & Chips! The interiors had quirky takes on all things traditionally fish and chips - newspaper wallpaper, red phone boxes, soho writing and quirky 'Save Water - Drink Champagne' slogans.

 The dining area was reminiscent of London tube tiles with 60's pop art and an opulent glass chandelier centre piece. The swinging glass doors opened directly onto the street, ready for some people watching...

 Fish and Chips,
 21 Dlouha Stret, Prague
 Facebook page : Fish and Chips

Stay : Buddha Bar Hotel, Prage, Czech Republic

Attention to detail in all aspects of this opulent design hotel

I recently stayed at the famous design concept hotel 'Buddha Bar Hotel' in Prague, Czech Reupublic.

 More photos and full review can be seen in the 'Stay : Hotel Reviews' section of this blog, or by clicking here

Louis Vuitton's Writing Room

Writing Collection : Louis Vuitton

After re-inventing the art of travel, Louis Vuitton have turned their hand to re-vitalizing the art of writing, a refreshing change in this current technology obsessed day. The label announced a new writing collection inspired by literary greats and their own heritage of trunk closures.
 I'm obsessed by this Louis Vuitton envelope with embossed detailing:

In the Louis Vuitton writing collection, notebooks and paper products feature alongside luxury pens & pencils, including small trunks to hold your writing equipment.
 The collection launches at Louis Vuitton's writing room : 'Le Cabinet d'Ecriture Louis Vuitton', a pop up shop at 6 Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, France on December 13 2012.

Louis Vuitton : Website

Jalousie Plantation : St Lucia

Jalousie Plantation, Sugar Beach, St Lucia - Viceroy Hotels

I'm enjoying staying at The Viceroy Sugar Beach hotel, formerly Jalousie Plantation, in St.Lucia.

The hotel is situated in stunning rainforest surroundings in a UNESCO world heritage site. The famous Pitons, two volcanic spires rising side by side from the sea, are either side of the resort.

The classic French colonial style individual villas are nestled into the lush rainforest, with large wrap around terrace and plunge pool with views towards the sparkling Caribbean sea of Piton Bay.

 
A full review and photos will follow, but here are some shots from around the villa.

Sugar Beach : A Viceroy Resort
UNESCO : World Heritage List

Stay : Town Hall Hotel

Preview of 'Town Hall Hotel'

 This weekend I stayed at the 'Town Hall Hotel', an East End boutique hotel on Patriot Square, London, E2.
 It's an amazingly well converted council town hall, where they have kept the stunning Deco interiors and added an ultra slick modern touch - along with a touch of humor.

 Full photos and review to follow...

Private Blend : Tom Ford 'Jardin Noir'

Tom Ford Private Blend Perfume : Jardin Noir

 The latest perfume releases from Tom Ford are the 'Jardin Noir' collection. A new 4 piece range that fits into the existing Private Blend catalogue.

 The four perfumes are; Cafe Rose, Lys Fume, Jonquille de Nuit, and Ombre de Hyacinth

 Revealing the hidden dark side of four classic blooms; rose, lily, narcissus and hyacinth - the perfumes subvert the savor of these classic scents with the expected Tom Ford style and flair.

 According to Tom: “When you showcase their darker and less innocent aspects, flowers can become so thrilling and beautiful, they could almost ruin you. That was the sensation I was after.”

 The range is released at Selfridges London on 4th September 2012

 Website: Tom Ford 
 Stockists: Selfridges

Japanese Garden : Afternoon Tea at Blakes, South Kensington

Afternoon Tea : Blakes Hotel, South Kensington

  Blakes hotel has a much quoted USP: that it is 'The World's First Luxury Boutique Hotel',

 Created in 1978 by the renowned designer Anouska Hempel and occupying a group of Victorian house, Blakes is hidden behind an imposing, painted black facade, on the corner of Roland Gardens in London's South Kensington.

 The lobby throws light on the design principles of the hotel : a seductive journey through distant lands, with inspiration taken from India, China, Indonesia, Egypt and London.

 Afternoon tea is served in the Chinese Room or in the calm, outdoor Japanese Garden.

 Finger sandwiches, homemade scones with strawberries & cream and indulgent cakes are served alongside a selection of teas and a glass of champagne.

 A very modern and stylish cocktail list is shown in the Chinese Room's bar. A dark, opulent base for a modern take on a classic cocktail: 'Chinese Mojito', 'Shiso Cosmopolitan' and 'Gimlet Royale' to name a few...

 (Sadly, as the cocktail list was newly prepared, the cocktails weren't up to scratch to photograph. However, this has given me a new task of recreating these cocktails on this blog - coming soon)

 Blakes Hotel
 33 Roland Gardens, London, SW7 3PF
 Web: Blakes Hotel

Pulse : London 2012

 Pulse at Earls Court, London showcases new design product in Home, Gift, Fashion, Accessories & Wellbeing. They also have a 'Launchpad' area for new and upcoming product designers.
 Two brands that caught my eye:

Tori Murphy

Woven & Made in England 

 

 Tori uses 100% Merino wool to create woven fabric based on her fine art designs. The fabric is woven in Lancashire, washed & finished in the Yorkshire Dales, and finally made into product in Nottingham.
 I particularly love the throws - in giant hand drawn linear checks, they are absolute British luxury. The touch of these hand finished throws is sublime, the quality of hand finishing and age old British craftsmanship is apparent throughout.

 Tori Murphy
 www.torimurphy.com
 info@torimurphy.com

 Chase and Wonder

 Fine design with British personality

 

 I was drawn to the Chase and Wonder stand by a fine art print stating: 'A man who lives within his means lacks imagination' - a great Oscar Wilde quote.

 Chase and Wonder's mission is to bring fine design with British personality back into peoples homes - they do this by producing high quality hand pulled screen prints, cushions and other home accessories alongside a range of stationary - all made in Britain. 

  

  

Chase and Wonder's new A/W 2012 collection features beautifully handcrafted stationary:

My two standout pieces are:

 Hand Letter Pressed 'A Gentleman's Writing Set' : Absolutely luxurious hand pressed writing paper and envelopes in a hand crafted wooden box. True Gent's British sophistication.

 'Sophisticated Animals Card Set' Boxed Assortment of 6 hand screen printed cards " Featuring lovingly illustrated whimsical animal portraits on greetings cards, all presented in a hand crafted wooden box.

All proudly made in Britain...

Chase and Wonder

www.chaseandwonder.com