Jessie Loves: Clever Things That Caught My Eye In London
Including the perfect paint color I smuggled back home in a makeup pot
I just got back from London for a college visit with my daughter who will be attending fashion design school there in the fall — woo hoo!
Our trip was super short and packed with school stuff. It was also over the Easter holiday so a lot of things were closed. I tried my best to stop into my favorite spots, restaurants and museums. I will put together a more comprehensive London guide at some point (if anyone is interested), but for now a few highlights and things that turned my head and caught my eye.
1. Half-Upholstered Furniture
My first stop after checking into the hotel was to visit our friends at Studio Faeger. They are interior designers with the cutest shop. Here is my friend Lucinda beside the most stunning reupholstered vintage sofa:
One thing that I noticed in their shop was furniture that was only upholstered in certain places while the other parts were left bare. This deconstructed concept is really gorgeous and inspiring.
I noticed this same trend when I took the long bus ride to visit East London Cloth, a brand I love and think is an amazing resource for cafe curtains and curtain hardware (I used their brass hanging rods on the lovely curtains in my office):
I love the mix of old/new, polished/relaxed visible in these pieces. I hope to incorporate this at my own home someday.
2. Having An Alter-Ego
A highlight of my trip was seeing Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur at the Wallace Collection, one of my favorite museums in London. The exhibit is a hugely imaginative collection of works inspired by Perry’s new alter ego, Shirley Smith, a deranged character who herself has an alter ego (!) convinced that she is “The Honorable Millicent Wallace,” heir to the Wallace Collection. It’s quite trippy and very inspiring.
Maybe we all need to conjure an alter ego. Who would yours be? Mine would be someone who has a 4.5 USTA tennis rating. Ha!
(Speaking of, my friend Haynee and I showed up to tennis this week both using our travel tote as a tennis bag!)
3. Stripes!
Stripes were everywhere in London, from the gorgeous pink couches and wallpaper at the Wallace Collection to the fun showroom of Colours of Arley, purveyor of all things striped. I had met Louisa, Colours of Arley’s founder, in the Hamptons this past summer. Her pic of me on my crutches with cocktail holder even made it onto their Instagram page.
Fast forward, we are commissioning their fabric to be used in a Loeffler Randall store design project, so I was eager to stop by. Lucky me, three girls working there attend the same fashion college where my daughter is going so I was able to get lots of insider info.
4. London In Bloom
Flowers always catch my eye, but especially this time as spring was just beginning and it was close to Easter. I was able to visit a shop I have been wanting to see in person forever — C. Atherley. This is a store completely dedicated to geraniums (my favorites) by the founder of Cath Kidston. I bought a trio of soaps and a little illustration which I will have framed.
Next I was off to pop into my most favorite shop in London, Choosing Keeping. Look at the dainty flowers on this pressed ribbon bow greeting card!
And of course flowers were bursting open everywhere I looked, especially the tulips. I never seem to be able to capture flowers anywhere near as beautifully in photos as they are in real life:
Not really a flower, but botanical — I also was intrigued by this sprig of dill in my cocktail at Dishoom. Such a lovely, fragrant touch.
P.S. speaking of blooms — I am completely obsessed with this dress!!!
5. The Most Amazing Paint Color
I spotted a gorgeous neutral color on the trim at Studio Faeger and asked what it was. Lucinda explained it’s a color called “Truffle” from a company named Paint and Paper Library.
I immediately started googling looking for a showroom or place where I could procure a color swatch. I ended up at the local hardware shop where they had run out of swatches, so I ordered a small container of paint. And then proceeded to obsessively put the paint into tiny make-up pots so I could smuggle it home in my carry-on since I wasn’t checking luggage. The lengths I will go to for my interior design projects!
Giveaway!
I have loved every minute spent writing this newsletter since I launched it last August, and this week I hit 10,000 subscribers. I am truly so floored by the support and beyond grateful to you for following along! So, as a little way of saying thank you, I’ll be sending our brand new (and sold out!) Dina tote to one lucky subscriber — I’ll announce the winner in my next issue!
Is there a friend that you think might like Jessie Loves? Please share!
5 Things I’m Loving This Week
1. Paintings of tulips and other flowers I saw at the art museum at Cornell University when I was there with my son (too many college trips lately!)
2. I loved this outfit I wore this week. Fav pants, straw basket bag and an old Mr Larkin top.
3. So honored that
wore LR for her big day. It honestly makes me feel so good when we can have our designs be a part of such important moments. Makes the hellishness of running a small family run business in the time of tariffs worth it. She chose Malia.
5. How gorgeous is this incredible head piece??? I dream of wearing this someday.
And One Thing I Hate:
On a recent college tour (not at either of the schools mentioned above), I was reminded of one of my most hated pet peeves. A speaker came out onto the stage and said, “Good morning everyone.” Then paused and said, “I SAID, good morning everyone!” because the audience didn’t say good morning loud or enthusiastically enough back?!? I haaaaaaate when people do this. This is in like the top 5 of my most hated pet peeves. If you want to say good morning to someone, say it genuinely and not as some passive aggressive call and response. Ugh!!!!!!
Ohmigosh, I don't say I hate many things but I also HATE the call and response "good morning" from a speaker!! So much! (Conversely, I love your newsletter... so much!)
All fun stuff! And yes, why dp people do the repeat opener. It’s so old school teacher listen up