The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

I was delighted yesterday when I received an email from the press office of a shop close to my heart. On the corner of peaceful Portland Road in London sits this gem of a kitchen and dining store stocking French provincial goods. Summerill and Bishop was a place I was sent to a lot when I was assisting on interior magazines to source beautiful cutlery, or antique linens.

I used to relish the time spent in there, being as hushed and sleepy as the store was. Anyway, as is the case with treasures of shops like these, they tend not to need great websites, however as the email informed me, they now have a online shop! For those of you who can’t visit this glorious shop, the website allows you to purchase gorgeous French oven to tableware, a vast range of Spanish and Portuguese cookware, antique French bistro glasses and so much more. My favourites have to be the deep shiny copper pans which are bound to make my cooking taste better!

It’s so great to see one of our favourite interior shops hit London! Brighton based contemporary lifestyle retailer The Lollipop Shoppe launches a new branch this month in Old Spitalfields market in the East End of London.

Designed by leading architects Found Associates, the store is spread over two stories and has been stripped back to its former Victorian glory, gently marrying the old and the very new. I can’t wait to take a peek in person!

With Easter fast approaching, it seems like I’ve got chocolate on the brain more so than usual. I couldn’t resist drooling over the website of London chocolatiers Melt. Their shop has a kitchen on site so you can see and smell the chocolates being made!

Specialities include sea salted caramel bon-bons, slabs of chocolate popcorn and raspberry and chocolate lollipops adorned in rose petals. Watch a blissful video of the store creating their chocolates here.

Have you seen Rob Ryan’s new website?? Its so new and exciting, just because it’s so new…and exciting [how shallow am I]! It features all the Rob Ryan stuff you could want all in one place – I know most websites do this, but Rob had a few different sites and blogs running simoultaneously for a while and now it’s all nice and tidy : )

You can browse archives of all his wonderful work over the years, and read his blog and see what’s going on at Ryantown [his bricks and mortar shop] and buy from his Etsy Shop - all wonderfully accompanied by a lovely web design featuring funny birds, colourful bells, fluttering leaves and the occasional key, all courtesy of Mr Rob!

New and gorgeous Spring offerings from Pedlars…