Two great pieces of press for the Arcade!

Two great sites have just written posts about the Arcade. First came the influential trend forecasting site WGSN Global, quickly followed by Helen Costello from AOL's online magazine My Daily who chose the arcade as her Boutique of the Week. You can read the full interview here...

Shopkeeper of the Week - Essentially Me

This week we take a look at Essentially Me in our Perfume & Beauty Passage. Based in the heart of the Costwolds, Essentially Me is an artisan perfumery which specialise in small quantities of exquisite natural scents, bespoke fragrances and professional perfume kits as well as workshop courses - perfect gift material!

Recently Alec Lawless, the perfumer behind the company, was featured on BBC 2's Victorian Pharmacy were he created a new scent called The Empress of India. An opulent tribute to the natural aromatic riches of the Orient, it is truly fit for a Queen. The fragrance is available in Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette strengths in a 56ml bottle, as well as in a handy 12ml handbag-size atomiser ( which comes with a voucher for £10 off a full-size bottle).

The Empress of India has also been entered for the Fragrance Foundation’s FiFi awards in the Best Niche Fragrance category. The FiFi awards are the "Oscars" of the Fragrance Industry and the award is voted for by readers of Basenotes, the leading online community dedicated to all things perfume. Voting goes live in the next couple of weeks so it would e great to show the all our support!

Also, don't miss reading Alec's blog, it's a fascinating look at what inspires him to make perfume.

We take a few moments out with Sian and Alec:

How would you best describe your e-shop?

Essentially Me is the only Natural Perfumery in the UK, creating beautiful fragrances with the finest natural aromatics. We're also a one-stop shop for perfume enthusiasts wanting to create their own perfumes, with a range of perfumery ingredients, lab supplies and courses for everyone - from the beginner to the experienced natural perfumer.

Who/what are your biggest influences?

Perfumer, Alec Lawless, is inspired by trying to recreate a golden age of perfumery, which we think held sway between the end of the 19th Century and the mid 1940's. In this period, the great perfumers worked with mostly natural aromatics, a small percentage of the (then) new aromachemicals and animal musks. We don't use animal musks - we've created our own botanical musk - but we do use a tiny percentage (around 1%) of fragrance compound; and most importantly, we focus on sourcing the finest natural aromatics in the world.

Where is your favourite spring/summer place to visit for inspiration?

The Cotswolds, where we are based, is full of beautiful places - Slimbridge Wetlands, Westonbirt Arboretum or just a walk in the country pretty much anywhere around here!

What is your favourite item from your current collection?

Perfumery is such a personal choice - it depends on your mood each day, time of year, place you're going to. We can't choose! One of our most popular fragrances is "Empress of India" which Alec created for BBC TV's The Victorian Pharmacy last summer - inspired by the Indian subcontinent, it's a heady mix of rose and jasmine (including a special arabian jasmine known as sambac), with sandalwood, vanilla, citrus and spices. Heavenly.

Do you have any new items about to be launched?

We're hoping that our new Wedding Favours will be popular with brides-to-be: the couple choose from our Fragrance Collection (10 different perfumes) and we specially package our 1ml miniatures in a pretty organza bag with a personalised card.

What do you enjoy most about being one of the shops in The Secret Arcade?

It's lovely to be exhibited with other Artisan businesses - the quality of the products is so high and truly individual.

Essentially Me can be found in the Perfume & Beauty Passage

Shopkeeper of the Week - Ghost

This week we're taking a peek into the world of Ghost Furniture. Di Overton's Northumberland workshop and online boutique has been described as a 'flea market gone mad' and we'd add that it was possibly one of the first businesses entirely dedicated to upcylcing!

Di has a wonderful and unique style that has fans around the world. Think baroque, think concrete tassels, think chairs dressed up in antique clothes and you're getting there!

Here we take five with Di to chat about what inspires her. There's also currently a 50% sale on selected items in her shop!

How would you describe your work?

Bringing quality furniture back from the dead and making it hauntingly beautiful. Taking vintage finds and turning them into new and beautiful items with a touch of 21st century eco-chic.

Who/what are your biggest influences?

My biggest influence is what is around me at any one time. The world is full of inspiration. Being inspired by others can stop you creating your own individual style. I do share what inspires me on the Ghost Furniture website, we have a page showing some of our designs and what influenced me to create them. I did this with the intention of showing people how to be inspired.

Where is your favourite spring/summer place to visit for inspiration?

I live in the Northumberland National Park so all I have to do is look out of my window or take a walk up the lane and I can be influenced. In Spring/Summer it is a delight. Little lambs in the meadows full of wild flowers makes it the perfect place for inspiration.

What is your favourite item from your current collection?

It always seems to be the one I am working on at the moment but if I had to look at the collection as it stands now it would have to be the Marie Antoinette Chair.

Do you have any new items/collections about to be launched?

I am about to launch the Spring Collection which is influenced by decadence. 1930s satins, rich dark golds, blacks, dark greys and pops of vivid colours.

What do you enjoy most about being one of the shops in The Secret Arcade?

It's the closest I can get to having a shop in a Paris Arcade which has always appealed to me. Also it is perfect to be surrounded by other designers I admire.

You can visit Ghost Furntiure as shop No. 4 in the Homewares Passage.

Shopkeeper Of The Week - Tulip & Nettle

Tulip and Nettle are that rare thing; a successful children's wear business that manages to retain a strong sense of craft and quality within their collections whilst keeping it affordable and made in the UK.

Tulip and Nettle's children's clothes evoke a strong sense of pre-war nostalgia, of brambling in the lanes, hay making, scone eating and rock pooling. Based in rural Northumberland in a converted stable block they produce clothes for children with a few special pieces for their parents by 'properly paid adults'.

We took a few moments out with Amynta from Tulip and Nettle to ask her a few questions about the shop.

How would you describe your collections?

Tulip and Nettle sell clothes for children and a few special pieces for their parents. Everything we make is produced here in the North East of England as opposed to remote foreign factories, the clothes are made FOR children, not BY children!

Who or what are your biggest influences?

Tulip and Nettle clothes take their inspiration from diverse influences. I like to play with an image of say, Swallows and Amazons & an idea of an outdoor carefree childhood mood, but then apply the values that I appreciate in my own clothes so we look at the way Marni or Comme twist a seam here, turn a hem there. We hope that the clothes reflect eternal values but are utterly modern in interpretation. Hence Edwardian nursery meets polar fleece, a prim little frock gets styled over jeans or a lace trimmed antique mood petty gets presented as a dress in its own right. Sources have ranged from photographs of the Blitz, Singer Sargent pictures, royals as infants and Commando War Library!

Where is your favourite spring/summer place to visit for inspiration?

Everyone says this but the V&A is a constant. It is also important to see what's happening in mainstream fashion [Dover Street Market for example], but the location that probably has the biggest influence, is the Northumbrian countryside which surrounds the studio.

What is your favourite item from your current collection?

This summer we are really excited by the hand knit sweaters which are a relatively new project for us. The summer ones are knitted from a marvelous silky feeling yarn in bamboo viscose. It has an amazing drape. We have a crack team of grannies knitting away all over Northumberland. The jumpers have that gorgeous hand made quality with just that teeny hint of wonkiness that you want from an artisan product!

Do you have any new items/collections about to be launched?

The Spring collection is going up on line this month and the Summer additions will appear in late March.

What do you enjoy most about being one of the shops in The Secret Arcade?

What is so lovely about being in the Secret Arcade is the context that it brings to the range. It is a compliment to appear alongside such beautifully considered and special shops.

Visit Tulip & Nettle in the

Children's Wear Passage

within The Secret Arcade

St Valentine's Day - the start of Spring and a promise of love!

Print available from A Little Bit of Art

Traditionally, Spring begins on St Valentine's Day (February 14th), the day on which birds were thought to chose their mate (in parts of Sussex Valentine's Day was called 'the Birds' Wedding Day' - cute!) So love is in the air and there is a myriad of ways of expressing your feelings to your beloved - one of which is to give a token that will say something special and act as a timeless keepsake. So out with the obvious suspects and in with the uniqueness of the handmade gifts that abound the shops in The Secret Arcade. We have rounded up some examples of wonderment that any self respecting lovebird would be enchanted to give or receive .........

Romantic Settings

Set the mood with a pretty romantic lamp with sprigs of spring cherry blossom by Hannah Nunn or a delicate red heart crafted from Baltic Birch Ply. Both available from Radiance Lighting.

Make a Lasting Impression

An original print is a great gift at anytime , but one that is given as a love token is hard to beat. A visit to A Little Bit Of Art in the Books, Prints and Art passagway at The Secret Arcade is an absolute must where you will find a whole range of appropriate keepsakes .

Print available from A Little Bit of Art

Create a Love Nest

Design a whole new room using wallpaper to create an irresistible love nest! This Ibis Taupe & Magenta wallpaper by Turner Pocock is very elegant and romantic, with a repeat design of floating birds – perfect for a creating a romantic setting!

Wallpaper available from Turner Pocock at The Secret Arcade

Say it with Roses

The St Valentine's day favourite is of course flowers - from the romance of red roses to the giddiness of heady perfumes. A visit to the Beauty and Fragrance passage at The Secret Arcade is a must. Here you will be spoilt for choice with a dizzy array of all things roses from Simply Roses - beautiful hand-tied rose bouquets to handmade rose inspired toiletries and fragrant candles.

Bespoke Perfumes

What could be better than creating a totally unique perfume? Only one thing - to spend a romantic weekend in the glorious Cotswolds making it yourself and with the one you love! Visit Essentially-me to discover more......

A Secret Liaison

The Gourmet Soap Selection Box from The Littlecote Soap Co will go a long way in preparing for your evening of passion! Indulge your loved one with this gorgeous selection of handmade soaps filled with the aromas of summer fields! A full range of fragrant goodies can be found in their shop at The Secret Arcade.

The Secret Arcade is 6 months old today!

As with all newborns The Secret Arcade (TSA) has been growing and developing a big personality over the past 6 months, successfully building an impressive press archive and healthy visitor numbers. We think the current combination of shops work really well, giving visitors a unique shopping experience. The whole premise of TSA is its 'community' aspect - like minded designers who are all incredibly passionate about what they make and sell. Presenting a range of carefully edited shops under one roof not only brings great shopping to people of discerning taste but helps all arcade shops to promote themselves side by side - each receiving the benefit of the other's success. We see this cross promotion as one of the key elements of the continuing success of the TSA - all for one and one for all!

The TSA team has taken some time out over January to evaluate the past 6 months of activity which has thrown up some interesting trends on how visitors use the site. We are now busy implementing some modifications that will make it even easier to navigate the site and developing a programme of great events for the next 6 months. One of the areas we want to explore is a 'behind the scenes' look at the people who are the driving force behind the arcade shops and will be publishing weekly interviews of all TSA shop owners to find out what makes them tick! So make a date to meet these incredible people over the next few months ... and lots more besides!

Before we sign off today we thought we would leave you with a selection of some of the successes we have already tucked under our belt:

• Helen Musslewhite's arcade shop featured in Daily Candy which brought a blast of almost 10,000 visitors to the TSA site. It also led to Helen being offered two children's book commissions and an invitation to design the Christmas windows for the prestigious Smythson stationer's in Bond Street.
• Ghost's arcade shop window was featured in full glorious colour in Easy Living Magazine in December promoting TSA 'Christmas Treasure Hunt' event.
• Louise Body's arcade shop featured boldly along side a feature about Orla Keily in The Resident Magazine that serves the lucrative areas of Chelsea, Kensington and Mayfair as well as having a vast online readership.
• Marie Claire Online featured TSA entitled "Discover an online treasure trove" naming Alexia Fashion, Clara Francis and Louise Body and illustrated the site with the arcade windows of Tamara Fogle and Beautiful Soul.
• Easy Living Magazine contacted us in October '10 to see if we could recommend any of the Secret Arcade shops for their Feb/ March 2011 edition for a 'Bespoke Special' feature. After sending them a great list they chose Essentially-me to feature their bespoke perfumes.

These are just a few examples of the coverage some of TSA shops have achieved to date and if you think these are quite something make sure you keep reading to find out what our fantastic arcade shops have in store for you over the next 6 months!