The SMUG Shelfie Blogger's Breakfast
Last Sunday I headed out nice and early to co-host a blogger's breakfast at SMUG in Islington's Camden Passage. Founded and lovingly run by interiors and graphic designer Lizzie Evans, this bright and quirky shop is home to some of the most beautifully designed pieces of homeware known to man. You have it on my authority. No mass produced copycats here, all of Lizzie's products have been created by independent designers, set in a space that feels like a home.
With the recently opened SMUG Cafe downstairs, Lizzie was keen to get the word out, so earlier this summer we got together with Amy Silvester of RumourPR to hatch a plan to collaborate on an event. We left feeling excited about hosting a 'SMUG Shelfie Breakfast' in which we invited some of our favourite bloggers to enjoy the new cafe space and spend a morning styling up a shelf using their most coveted pieces in the shop. Complete with delicious pastries, fresh juice, coffee and vibrant flowers courtesy of HipHop & Bloom the scene was set. They came. They curated and, with me on hand to offer up some styling wisdom, they displayed (see what I did there?) Come, have a look around and see what we got up to...
Definition of 'Shelfie' -
A play on the word 'selfie', in which one takes a photographic portrait of oneself, in this instance, one creates a look using objects carefully displayed on a shelf and takes a photograph of it.
And here are a few of my favourites. I'd love to have included them all but as I've gone nuts with the photos you can find more from the #smugshelfie event on the Facebook page.
Fabric of my life's Kate Baxter picked out a mouth-watering citrus inspired colour-way, featuring Rifle Co. stationery, Scholten and Baijings ceramics and Lenneke Wispelwey's Long John vase. I love to see plants used anywhere in the home, so the little cactus was a welcome addition.
Decorenvy's Lucy Meek chose a look that reflected the style of her blog, with mint green and soft pinks. I love the use of Origami Est's star hanging from the ceiling (a SMUG exclusive for Christmas!) and the nod towards SMUG's guinea pig mascot in the form of a tea towel designed exclusively by queens of the animal motif, Thornback & Peel.
It was a particularly special morning as I finally got to meet my virtual friend Sarah-Louise Kimmer of LapinBlu, although imagine my shame when I introduced myself to her and realised for that split second I didn't know who she was! I hope she'll forgive me though, because her 'Slow Sunday Morning' vignette really won over my heart. Using her favourite magazines Frankie and Kinfolk to add both height and a backdrop, Sarah built on her look with Thornback and Peel linens, and the beautiful geometric form of Lenneke Wispelwey's ceramic bowl in which sat one of Origami Est's Christmas origami baubles (a very clever connection in shape there). Like my own shelf which I styled for the invitation, she picked a subtle bird motif with Louise Wilkinson's bird side plate and added in the scent of a mint plant from one of the cafe tables out in the courtyard. A perfect setting for a lazy Sunday, don't you think?
And here we all are for your viewing pleasure, a fabulous group of fresh faced, creative ladies at the end of our morning. Thank you so much for coming along, jumping in feet first and having some fun and to Manolya for plying us with freshly squeezed orange juice, flaky pastries and great coffee all morning!(Clockwise) Me, Lotts - Lotts & Lots, Lucy - Decorenvy, Kate - fabric of my life, Lori - Wild & Grizzly, Ruth (with the best sparkly collared top ever!) The Planned Adventure, Amy - RumourPR and Daisy Fay, Sammi - Made By Molu, Lizzie Evans - SMUG, Sarah Louise - LapinBlu and Josephine - Courage and Dash.Props to you all.If you're on Twitter or Instagram you can find more gorgeous photos from our morning using #smugshelfie.