London: Exploring Shoreditch

This weekend was another sun-filled one (finally!) and so we decided to take a stroll up and down Brick Lane and see what sort of new art Shoreditch had to offer this Spring...

London is the sort of place where you can visit the same neighbourhood every week and still find something new, something fun or intriguing. Exploring the city and discovering these things is one of my favourite pass times, and Shoreditch in East London is undeniable one of the best for endless adventure...

Take a look at what you could find in just an hour...

Meet Vinny, the cute little french bulldog at my favourite vintage store, Porcelain and Red

After exiting Shoreditch High Street station and passing by the pop up mall, we headed towards Brick Lane to get some lunch...and found the Cheeky Burger stand...

Yum!!! Handmade burgers and sauces, and freshly prepped in front of you

I had the 'Cheeky Bacon' - with their famous Jack Daniels jam

Too hot for a coat...

Wearing:

Topshop coat

Zara t shirt

Zara bag (similar here)

Zara trousers (similar here)

Nike trainers

RayBan sunglasses

Michael Kors watch

The food markets come alive on Sundays, but there is still lots to choose from on Saturday

If you like vintage, Brick Lane is the place for you...I bought a jumper in Porcelain and Red...if you want to check out more of my favourite vintage shops click here

Brick Lane boasts lots and lots of great Indian curry houses, where most find themselves in the middle of the night for a 3am (regrettable) munch fest!

Someone leading a tour around the streets off of Brick Lane

Another detailed graffiti piece....lots of these around East London but I'm not sure who they are by

The face is just etched with something on to a glass window that was covered in white paint

Hello Jesus...Missing??

You could honestly stand here for ages looking at the bits and bobs people have placed on the walls over the years

A small piece of art on abandoned walls

Love padlocks next to Shoreditch High Street Station

You can reach Brick Lane via Shoreditch High Street station, or Liverpool Street station.

Images by Miles Blayden-Ryall

London: Brick Lane gems

I spent the day today with my good friend Tania hanging around the Brick Lane area in east London. Those who live in London will all be flocking there for vintage bargains and tasty world food on the market lanes...but as any Londoner will admit, you will always discover new things no matter how many years you've lived here (6 years for me!).

After we had some delicious jerk chicken from the Jamaican food stand, we turned into some of the smaller streets off Brick Lane and discovered some great stores which I thought I'd share with you...

KITTY VALENTINE
Sunday Upmarket (Just off Hanbury Street)
Website & Etsy Shop

Beautiful pieces of art from this girl...as she says, she 'politely' defaces victorian photographs, faded lithographs and old postcards with pen and paint. Her prints are reasonably priced at around £10, and some that are in stunning frames around £24. She even takes personal commissions. The mix of the antique beauty of the Victorian images with the macabre drawings of birds, skulls, insects and nature are amazing - I want every piece!

Images taken from brand's Facebook and website

EMIN AND PAUL LONDON
44 Hanbury Street, E1 5JL
Website

I've never noticed this store before, I think it's new even though Emin and Paul started their design business in 2008. The store has a great selection of unusual but wearable designs so there is something there for everyone. The prices are quite reasonable, and they stock everything from jewelry, handbags and clothes. Most of the stuff is made in a studio in London, too, so you know you're getting great quality. Check out some of their stuff below, how cool is that coat?!

Images taken from brand's website

COMFORT STATION

22 Cheshire Street, E2 6EH

Website

Images from brand's website

I love finding new jewelry designers, even though I have nowhere to put it, wear it, and usually can't afford it! I've always said if I were to change careers that I would be a jewelry or lingerie designer, and thin, intricate, unique and vintage looking designs really inspire me.

This store has stunning interior design features, too. Vintage suitcases are used as shelves, and old books as wall display backgrounds for the jewelry. The pieces are all hand made by three designers in a London studio, and the gold and silver is all bought from the UK. My favourite pieces were the thin necklaces and rings with the inscribing of exact coordinates of a place named Hope in Devon and a place named Love, in the Bahamas. You can also buy antique music rolls with original boxes for £30 - would look amazing on a blank, long wall (I've looked on Ebay and they do come cheaper there, though).

PORCELAIN & RED VINTAGE SHOP

5 Cheshire Street, E2 6 ED

Website

Images from store's social media

Boy am I glad I found this brand new little vintage shop!! Everything is so beautiful, cute and pretty and it is obvious throughout that each piece of clothing has been hand picked. It's really refreshing to find a vintage store like this because wherever you go in East London the rails are just overpacked with things that re 90% not right! The girls are so friendly, old school Destiny's Child is blaring in the back and they even have a 'tailoring corner' where they can alter your shopping for you! I picked up so many things and everything looked great, in the end I bought a cool baggy polka dotted shirt which I'll be wearing with my skinny jeans and high heels. I don't suit shirts at all but vintage ones fit perfectly. Score!!

That's it for my little round up of the best London finds around Brick Lane...more posts to come soon about a cute and secret little area in Angel.