Pop Up Shop

Pop up shops are, well, popping up all over the place these days and a jolly good addition to on-street shopping they are too but if you only visit one in the run up to Christmas, make sure that it's Settle.

Conceived by textile artists Helen Minns and Eleanor Pritchard, ceramicist Louisa Taylor and mid century furniture specialist Stefanie Legros, Settle is a small but perfectly formed gallery of gorgeous things - we're talking exquisite hand thrown porcelain pots, soft, woven blankets in muted shades of grey, cotton/linen lampshades printed with charming illustrations of leaping hares and pieces of vintage children's furniture.

Those of you drawn to understated craftmanship will find beauty in every piece here but I defy anyone to leave 14 Woburn Place, London WC1 without having lingered over something.

As with all pop-ups, Settle is a blink and you miss it kind of a place so get these dates in your diary: 20th November - 7th December 2010.

Plate Spinning

Robert Dawson has made his name doing subversive things with Willow Pattern - the nation's most favourite tableware motif - but his latest re-working is the wittiest yet. More Spin, Less Spin is a set of six dinner plates on which Dawson has progressively blurred that distinctive blue and white print as if the plate is spinning, faster and faster, on a potter's wheel. It's clever, beguiling and would look fabulously ironic on the wall.

Contact www.aestheticsabotage.com to discuss ordering.

Kitchen Glory

How fabulous is this? Designed by the ever-inventive Nina Tolstrup of Studiomama, it's a mobile outdoor kitchen designed for those of us who love the idea of cooking outside but can't cope with live flames.

Consisting of a proper gas hob, a chopping board, storage for crockery, utensils etc and a jolly bucket sink (water comes through a standard garden hose and is collected in a watering can beneath the sink so it can be re-used), it's part Heath Robinson, part high design and wholly desirable.

In true Studiomama style, the Outdoor Kitchen is available to the public as a set of plans but be warned, construction calls for proper carpentry skills so amateurs would be better off calling in a pro.

http://www.studiomama.com/

Spotted

Calling all industry insiders looking for innovative, well-designed home and fashion accessories.

Top Drawer opens on Sunday 12th September and this year sees the launch of Spotted, a feature area showcasing my hand picked selection of 10 of the country's most dynamic small businesses. It's a diverse collection - think belts made from recycled bicycle tyres (www.velo-re.com), hand printed wallpaper (www.bricolageproject.com), earthenware crockery made at one of Wales' oldest potteries (www.blodwen.com) and witty lights formed from brown paper bags (www.liquidesign.co.uk) - united by each maker's commitment to quality and originality.

The show runs until 14th September and is well worth a look so register now at www.topdrawer.co.uk

Hot Shop - Vintage Home and Garden

No self-respecting table should be without a mis-matched selection of crockery these days but if, like me, you have an aversion to spending Sunday mornings rummaging through car boot tat, sourcing said retro china can be a challenge. Imagine my delight therefore when I came across a road-side shed boasting shelf upon shelf of interesting vintage plates, jugs and glassware which owner Jo Griffths has unearthed, cleaned up and prettily displayed. All I had to do was decide which pieces to buy. Joy.

Vintage Home and Garden stocks all sorts of other lovely vintage things (think enamel bread bins complete with character-giving rust patches, recycled wool blankets and linen cushions) and can be found on the side of the A149 at Drove Orchards, Thornham, Norfolk, PE36 6LS www.coastandcountryhome.co.uk

Wallpaper Watch 2

Reason 8039 for loving wallpaper, Cole and Son's forthcoming Frontier Collection. To see it is to want it. All of it.

Available from September, http://www.cole-and-son.com/

Re-Worked

Upcycling (which, as I'm sure you all know, is the art of turning bits of old junk into objects of desire) is a growing trend and this week I've come across a newly established designer doing some very clever things with bits of fishing trawler, antique machinery, musical instruments and pieces of old timber.

'Anything can be reused and reworked,' he says, a statement which, judging by his current body of work, is probably true for Isaacs but should be treated with caution by most.

Check out his industrial chic lights and wooden furniture at www.reworked.co.uk or, if you're in North Cornwall before 20th August, catch his exhibition at the North Cornwall Museum & Gallery, Camelford