Second-hand find: quilted 70’s Laura Ashley bag

Dark grey vintage Laura Ashley bag from my favourite charity shop, St. John’s Hospice shop, in St. John’s Wood.

Price: 8 pounds.

I love the pattern and the fact that it is easy to slide over the pushchair’s handles.

It’s perfect for holding all the baby necessities such as wipes, drinks and food as I don’t have to worry about spillage. I’ll just chuck it in the washing machine…

Who let the dog out?

I love quirky cushions, and this hand-made wool one barked at me the other day in the Octavia Foundation charity shop in St. Johns Wood.

Who can say no to a bulldog? SoI handed £3 over to the guy at the till, and the cushion was miiiiine. When I came home I googled the name on the back (that’s one of my favourite things about second-hand shopping, checking to see if you’ve found a real gem).

And I padded myself gently on the back when I discovered that this pillow is still in production…..at £92.50. On sale here at the moment.

Second-hand find: Love belts (plus a few words on &@^$#! charity shop make-overs)

You can never get too much ♥♥♥

So I quickly (meaning fast-as-lightning-quick as husband was parked outside) snapped up these two leather belts  in my favourite St. John’s Wood charity shop last week. They’re perfect for spreading some autumnal lovin’ and made by Stephen Collins, known for supplying good quality, mid-range belts to departments stores like House of Fraser.

The St. John’s Hospice shop had been closed for refurbishment but I almost dreaded the reunion. Ever since the utterly charismatic retail guru Mary Porta’s frenzied and well-documented make-over attack on a handful of British charity shops many other shop managers have jumped on the make-over wagon in the hope of increasing their profits.

While I’m all for making your shop more appetising, welcoming, better smelling and all that jazz it comes at a high price. Literally. After the face-lift most shops choose to focus on a smaller and more selective, hand-picked range of clothes, often high-end brands only. They’ll educate their staff on how to recognise the good names and tell them to price them accordingly.

The result is a visually pleasing shop with loads of space between the hangers and 1/3 of the stock they used to have. Prices will be doubled. Out the window goes the chance of digging out amazing finds from heaps  and piles and the accompanying treasure hunt thrill.

This shop has also been seriously decluttered and now has fewer items on display. But luckily they have chosen to keep the prices at the same level as before. Like these belts, which cost 3 pounds each. So I’ll definitely be back, despite the face-lift.

Read my second-hand guide to St. John’s Wood

Second-hand find: The perfect winter coat for a tenner

Når man leder allermindst, så har de gode fund det med at springe ud fra stativerne. Som den her ret så fantastiske vintage uldfrakke med pelskrave, som pludselig blinkede frækt til mig i St. John’s Hospice genbrugsbutikken i St. John’s Wood i går. Sådan en klassisk sort frakke har jeg været på udkig efter i flere år i alverdens genbrugsbutikker (jeg køber aldrig splinternye vinterjakke, da kvaliteten er for dårlig i forhold til prisen, – med mindre selvfølgelig, man har råd til at investere i mærker som Burberry, Celine og Aquascutum).

Jeg kunne se at kvaliteten var i orden, og jakken sad perfekt, men jeg var lidt i tvivl om, om den var vintage, da alle mærker var klippet af. Men så fandt jeg denne gamle seddel omkring et ophørsudsalg i en nu hedengangen fancy butik i Mayfair i inderlommen. Tilbage var der kun at spørge til prisen, og jeg var skeptisk, da de godt ved, hvad de skal tage for tingene i St. John’s Wood. “Hmmm, skal vi sige 10 pund? Vi skal have alt solgt, da butikken skal renoveres,” svarede den venlige dame bag disken.

Jeg har aldrig været hurtigere til at få pungen op af lommen…

Se flere fund fra St. John’s Wood…

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When you least expect it, great finds have a tendency to hijack you in the charity shops. Like yesterday when I went for a tiny, innocent walk to St. John’s Wood and quickly stopped by the St. John’s Hospice charity shop. Suddenly it was there: the perfect black winter coat with a fur collar that I’ve been looking for for the last many years. (I always buy my woollen winter jackets second-hand as it’s very difficult to find top quality nowadays, – unless of course you have enough money to invest in Burberry, Celine or Aquascutum and the like.)

I checked the quality and it was great, and it fit me perfectly.  But all the tags were cut off so I wasn’t 100% sure that it was vintage, until I found an old flyer from a now defunct Mayfair store in the inner pocket. Now I only needed to know the price. I warily approached the woman behind the counter as the prices tend to be pretty high in St. John’s Wood. “Shall we say 10 pounds? We need to sell everything as we’re having the shop refurbished,” she answered.

I put the tenner on the counter almost before she finished the sentence and was out the door before she could change her mind.

More St. John’s Wood finds..

Mori & Margaret Atwood – yesterday’s finds from St. John’s Wood

Gik en hurtig tur over til St. John’s Wood i går og scannede gadens tre genbrugsbutikker. Intet af tøjet tiltalte mig, men som altid bugnede hylderne i Oxfam af læseoplevelser. Jeg hapsede en af yndlingsforfatterne Margaret Atwoods bøger, Bodily Harm og håber at den er på højde med to af mine favoritbøger fra hendes hånd: A Handmaid’s Tale og Life Before Man.

Og så den egentlige grund til at jeg var i området: for at hente take-away frokost hos japanske Mori. Indtil videre har de to butikker i hhv. St. John’s Wood og Marylebone, hvorfra man kan forsyne sig med diverse sushibokse, salater, karryretter og supper, som også kan spises i restauranten. Altsammen billigt og sundt (omkring 7-9 pund for en boks). De har også lækker, fedtfattig yoghurtis. Prøv den, hvis du er i området. Læs mere her.

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Went for a walk to St. John’s Wood yesterday and quickly browsed the three charity shops on the high street. I didn’t find any exciting clothes but picked up a copy of Margaret Atwood‘s Bodily Harm in Oxfam’s brilliant book store. I can’t wait to read it as she is one of my favourite authors – hope it’s almost as good as two of my favourite Atwood novels: A Handmaid’s Tale and Life Before Man.

But the real reason for my visit to St. John’s Wood was that I was craving Japanese for lunch, so I picked up a sushi box and a salad (with delicious, creamy wafu dressing) from Mori. Currently they have two restaurant/take-aways in London: one in St. John’s Wood and another in Marylebone. Their food is fresh, yummy and pretty cheap (around 7-9 pounds for a sushi box) and apart from sushi they also sell curries, soups and salads and frozen yoghurt. Read more here.

Second-hand guide to St. John’s Wood

Photo: Mette Bassett

Så er tiden kommet til at introducere jer for et af mine yndlingsområder i London, når det gælder genbrugsshopping. På hovedgaden i St. Johns Wood i det nordvestlige London, St. Johns Wood High Street bor nemlig tre gode butikker. Er du på ferie i London, så er der også meget mere end genbrug at komme efter i området, som ligger side om side med legendariske Abbey Road og ikke langt fra det smukke kanalområde, Little Venice.

St. John’s Wood er nobelt og pænt og befolket af en blanding af ældre damer iført stram overlæbe og højt hår og mænd i små sorte Porscher. Her er tale om “ooooold money” og lejligheder der går i arv gennem generationer. Til gengæld følger den gode smag ikke altid med pengene, så gaden er også fyldt med halvdårlige cafeer, der har haft succes med at installere et par italienske søjler og skråskrift på menukortet og på den måde skruet priserne i vejret.

English: Time has come to introduce you to one of my favourite second-hand shopping destinations in London. St. Johns Wood High Street is home to three shops that are worth the detour. The quiet area makes a nice change from the busy centre and while you’re there you can also cross the famous Abbey Road and see beautiful Little Venice – both areas are within walking distance.

The St. John’s Wood area is affluent and noble, and to be honest quite boring with  a snooty atmosphere. We’re talking oooooold money and women with high hair and stiff upper lips, men in black Porsches and overpriced cafées that are trying to justify their inflated prices by serving French-inspired food and writing their menues in cursive. But hey, their second-hand shops are great!

Photo: Mette Bassett

MEN, men, men. Der er mærkevarer i omløb i områdets genbrugsbutikker. Start i den nordlige ende i nr. 86 i St. John’s Hospice, som er klart den bedste af de tre. Her har jeg fundet alt fra Thierry Mugler jakke til Loewe toilettaske og en Burberry jakke til 30 pund. Personalet er ikke super venligt, hvilket er en skam. De har åbent alle ugens syv dage. 4 1/2 ud af 5 stjerner.

English: Start your second-hand expedition in North in number 86, St. John’s Hospice. This is the best of the three shops and where I’ve found a Thierry Mugler blazer, a Loewe cosmetic bag and a dirt cheap Burberry trench (30 pounds). Not the friendliest of staff though, and that is a shame. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Photo: Mette Bassett

Næste butik ligger på den modsatte side, lidt længere henne og hedder Octavia Foundation. Det er den dårligste af butikkerne og priserne er ofte ret høje. Her har jeg dog fundet en Moschino-taske, læderbukser og sko fra Ferragamo. De har flere butikker i London og du kan følge deres sortiment på Twitter. 3 ud af 5 stjerner.

English: The next shop is one of the Octavia Foundation’s many shops. It is not that good, as their prices tend to be too high and the stock doesn’t change that often. I have managed to find a Moschino vinyl bag, leather trousers and Ferragamo shoes here. You can keep up to date with the foundation’s different charity shops on Twitter. 3 out of 5 stars.

Photo: Mette Bassett

Og her er den sidste. Denne to-delte Oxfam sælger bøger i den ene afdeling og tøj og tilbehør i den anden. Fin lys og velholdt butik, hvor sortimentet ikke er stort, men til gengæld nemt at overskue. Her har jeg fundet tonsvis af bøger, Moschino-ørenringe og andet godt. 4 ud af 5 stjerner.

English: Last up is this lovely Oxfam shop. It’s divided into two parts: one for books and one for clothes etc. It’s bright and clean and it’s easy to navigate through their stock as it’s never cluttered. I’ve bought a lot of great books here plus a pair of vintage Moschino earrings. 4 out of 5 stars.

Photo: Mette Bassett

Og kan du overhovedet ikke holde genbrug ud, så er der også en håndfuld andre fine butikker på gaden, blandt andet Gerard Darel og det dejlige, og ikke alt for dyre, engelske økomærke Neal’s Yard.

English: And if you just can’t stand charity shops: don’t despair and pop in at one of the other nice shops on the high street such as the Gerard Darel shop or British eco skincare brand Neal’s Yard.

Photo: Mette Bassett

Go’ shoppetur! Og husk den gyldne regel om at des oftere du kigger forbi, des større chance er der for at gøre et fantastisk fund.
Enjoy your shopping! And remember the golden rule: the more often you stop by the shops, the bigger your chances of finding a second-hand treasure.

Second-hand find: ? ? by Moschino

Foto: Mette Bassett

Smuttede en tur forbi St. Johns Wood i går for at tage billeder til min genbrugsguide. Jeg kunne altså ikke stå for disse vintage Moschino clips-ørenringe med store hvide spørgsmålstegn. 80/90’er kitsch blandet med et eksistentielt budskab, Så bliver det ikke bedre. For hvad er egentlig meningen med det hele?? Det bør man stoppe op og tænke over en gang imellem.

Pris 15 pund. Fundet hos den udmærkede Oxfam, 61 St. Johns Wood High Street.

English: I went for a quick walk in the rain yesterday to St. Johns Wood to snap some pictures for my upcoming second-hand guide. I couldn’t resist these vintage Moschino clip earrings with white question marks. It’s 80s/90s kitsch with a message. Because what is the meaning of it all?? Not a bad question to ponder, once in a while.

From the Oxfam shop, 61, St. Johns Wood High Street. Price 15 pounds.

Photo: Mette Bassett

Foto: Mette Bassett