Chase and Wonder : Shopping

Chase and Wonder : Fine design with British Personality 

 A while back I discovered the brand 'Chase and Wonder' at Pulse, London. (see previous post here)

 Recently, I spotted a street scene on a TV trailer for the 'London 2012 Paralympics', it was old London style with a beautiful green wood 'Paul Smith' store on it. I searched it's location down to be Park Street in South London, near to Borough Market.

 This Paul Smith store is a kind of concept store, quite unique in it's design and the goods it sells. To my surprise I found a 'Chase and Wonder' pencil case - the first time I had seen their goods for sale out of the trade show.

 I quickly snapped it up, starting up a conversation with the store manager about the brand - it had been selling well, and after our bigging the brand up, she said she'd be straight on the phone to the buyer to secure more stock!

 Park Street is a wonderful slice of old London town, with fresh produce shops, restaurants, wine bars and a couple of trendy shops.
 Immediately adjacent to Borough Market, and overlooked by the ultra modern 'Shard' building - it's a great cross section of London life.

 Pencil Case : Chase and Wonder
 Stockists : Paul Smith

Chase : Elderflower Liqueur / Rhubarb Liqueur

Chase : The finest Liqueurs

 A while back I discovered Chase Vodka (see previous post here) 

 Since then, I've been on the look out for other unique spirits in Chase's range. I've now added two of their finest liqueurs to my collection:

 Chase & Elderflower - The finest Elderflower Liqueur

 Chase & Rhubarb - The finest Rhubarb Liqueur

 Both are made using Chase Vodka - the finest potato vodka in the world, with the addition of the true rich flavours that come from Chase's beautifully ripened and carefully selected fresh fruit. There are no artificial flavours nor heat methods. They are the perfect compliment to champagne or cocktails.

 I came across these new additions to my liqueur cabinet whilst over discovering Borough Market and the surrounding area. Laithwaite's Wine is a cavernous wine cellar stocked full of interesting wines, champagnes and spirits. 

The spirit section at the back quickly drew my attention, mainly due to the vast amounts of interesting spirits piled high on tall wooden shelves...

 I'll be back at Laithewaite's Wine soon to stock up on some more interesting spirits, and make some inspiring cocktails too.

 Laithewaite's Wine : Stockists

 Chase Distillery : Home of 'The World's Best Vodka'

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...

Tea Tuesday : Bistro Tea

Bistro Tea & Coalport China

 I spotted this beautiful Edwardian Coalport tea set in the William Weston Gallery in Royal Arcade, Old Bond Street.
 I love the bold black and white stripes against the delicate flowers - the emerging Art Deco style, against traditional Edwardian details.

 Set of six Edwardian decorated tea cups and saucers. Made by Coalport and with their mark underneath, and also the old Harrods mark which is where they were originally sold. c.1905/1920's.

 I first discovered Bistro Tea whilst staying at Majeka House, in South Africa. The simple, effective packaging doubles as a new smart tea bag design.

 As stated by Bistro Tea, this newly designed tea stick enables proper dosage without wastage, it does not drip, neither does it need wringing. It is also a well designed stirrer.

 They do great tea blends: Fruit Berry, Red Tea, Herbs n' Honey, Green Tea & Black Tea.

Website : BistroTea

Tea set : Bernice Weston, Antiques and Decorative objects
@ William Weston Gallery, 7 Royal Arcade, Albermarle Street, London W1S 4SG

Construct : Cocktail Sunday

Cocktail Sunday : Classic Champagne Cocktail

 A simple, yet elegant and impressive cocktail - that depends purely on it's ingredients. Champagne, A sugar cube and Bitters.

 An elegant Champagne I discovered whilst in France : Canard Duchêne - Grand Cuvée Le Victorieux - Charles VII. An impressive bottle; a complex, refined and elegant Champagne.

 
 Bitters: A great travel kit to ensure perfect cocktails on your travels, containing 5 different bitters. I used 'Jerry Thomas Bitters' - these bitters reveal citrus and dried fruit aromas which unite with the spicy flavors of cloves, angostura bark and cinnamon.

 Classic champagne cocktail recipe in 'Make - Guides & Recipes'

 Champagne
 Website : Canard Duchêne 
 Bitters
 Website : The Bitter Truth
 Stockists
 Website : Selfridges
 

Stay : Upcoming Hotels

Stay : Hotels I've currently booked

I've spent the last weekend booking lots of trips, stays and holidays. I've realized I have a lot of hotel design treats to look forward to.

The Town Hall Hotel, Hackney, London. England

Boutique hotel featuring Edwardian grandeur, Art Deco simplicity and contemporary loft chic...

Website: The Town Hall Hotel

Hotel Wilson Opera, Paris. France

Traditional and simple Parisian hotel with balconies affording great views over the city... 

Website: Hotel Wilson Opera

Berns Hotel, Stockholm. Sweden

Opulent public spaces, the ornate bar is large enough to hold a double decker bus, and Stockholm's most secret bar; located on the hotel's roof & strictly for guests.

Website: Berns

The Jalousie Plantation, St. Lucia. Caribbean

(to be know as 'Viceroy, Sugar Beach')

Located in-between St.Lucia's infamous Pitons are colonial style, luxurious whitewashed villas. Nestled in a lush 100 acre rainforest, privacy is key. Private pools and butler service await...

Website: The Jalousie Plantation

Full photos, reviews and more coming soon...

Tea Tuesday : Dilmah tea

Dilmah Tea & Kilner Jars

 I purchased some new Kilner Jars, these are great, British produced glass jars original invented in the 1840's. The traditional design of the Kilner Jar may have changed over the years but the principle of the family business has stayed the same right through to modern day.

 The airtight glass jars are ideal for storing tea. I had some new Dilmah tea bags to store, so the large jar was ideal. I first discovered Dilmah tea whilst staying at The Baros, Maldives.

 Dilmah tea is still true to it's Sri Lanka family business routes, and is the antidote to mult-origin blends now the norm in the UK. Dilmah remain faithful to Ceylon tea produced in the traditional way, perfected over centuries.

 I love the simplicity of the Dilmah tea packaging and their colourful wrappers, they complement the Kilner jars perfectly, making them look ultra modern.

 I also love the pairing of two family run businesses that have grown massively whilst still retaining their original values.

Website : Dilmah Tea

Website : Kilner Jars