JT Batchelor Limited

We took some of our Parisian friends to JT Batchelor's in London yesterday. Located at 9-10 Culford Mews near Kingsland Road station this is the go to destination for anyone working or aspiring to work in the leather industry in London. Here you can find all kinds of leather, buckles, dyes, tools, fittings, books, threads, and accessories for the leather craft and fashion trade all in one place.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Only around an hour and 1/2 away from London, if your a nature lover this is a beautiful way to spend a weekend afternoon. The gardens are huge (300 acres) so it helps to have a plan before you go. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is widely recognised as one of the leading centres for advice and action on aspects of plant and fungal conservation. Conservation programmes are undertaken on a wide range of endangered and threatened plants and their habitats. We took these photos a few weeks ago when visited some friends in Richmond, Surrey and they took us to the gardens.

Music for the masses

Little Boots
Formerly one third of indie electro rockers Dead Disco, Victoria Hesketh AKA Little Boots already had us a few months ago when she released her first solo track Stuck on Repeat produced by Joe Goddard of Hot Chip. Her follow up single Meddle is equally as strong but with a more mainstream sound. We can't wait to hear what's next!
Little Boots-Meddle

Italians Do It Better
We first heard of the Italians Do It Better record label when we heard Glass Candy's Miss Broadway during the Chloe runway show earlier last year. Since then, we've followed this label's steady stream of spacey disco releases and have not been disappointed. Home to groups like Chromatics, Mirage, Glass Candy, Farah, and now Tie Dye, the New Jersey based record label has now released it's first full length vinyl compilation.
Glass Candy-Miss Broadway
Glass Candy-Rolling Down The Hills

The Presets
We've been fans of The Presets since we worked on a project with their label Modular years ago and got a chance to hear their first EP (as well as a promo of one of the group's first t-shirt designs which is still one of our favorites, psychedelic skull and all). Now on their second full length album, The Presets still remain true to their hard, edgy sound and provocative lyrics. We've been listening to a Miami Horror remix of one of the tracks on their new album Talk Like That non stop.
The Presets-Talk Like That (Miami Horror remix)

Design your own bag

Our friends Amy and Claudio at Handbag-lab in Los Angeles have created a one-stop shop for creating your own customized handbag. Choose between 8 different styles and leathers imported from Italy as well as your choice of hardware finish (silver, gold, or antique). The Market St (below), which is an updated laptop bag design is our favorite.

Recommended by Smithy

That's right, Sir Paul has a blog too. We saw this yesterday on Paul Smith's blog on Vogue.com and since we love New York in the 60's and Bob Dylan we decided to pass it on.

Q & A with Tamara

When Tamara is not djing, digging for records or doing business development for Rocudo, she's busy buying and collecting accessories. We caught up with Tamara today at the Electricity Showrooms in Shoreditch, East London.
Who's your style icon? Why?
I don’t really have a style icon in particular…I’m prone to observing the streets around me, picking up pieces of things I like & interpreting them to fit my own style. I absolutely love southern America in the 70’s…tight Wranglers, sexy boots & giant feathered hair styles…
Favorite designers or brand?
I’ve always been one to try to find imitations of looks & designers that I like, in vintage clothing or in local design. The Laden Showroom on Brick Lane is great for local designs, with a lot of diversity. I also really dig Public Beware – 7 Dray Walk, Shoreditch
Gold or Silver?
I love them both, don’t believe in mixing them together...its a crime. They stand alone.
Favorite book?
Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock & Out
Favorite film?
I have so many favorites…’The Jerk’ with Steve Martin is on my tops, Anchor Man (I can practically recite it!), Almost Famous – fantastic fashion!
Art?
I’ve just bought a print by one of my local heroes, Pure Evil – hard & edgy – with soft & fuzzy centers…And it all spawns in east London.
What's playing in your IPOD?
Ha! I still don’t own an Ipod, can you believe it? I just bought the new Fleet Foxes album, which is brilliant…And the new Presets album…loving it. I can’t get enough of the Beats in Space podcast from NYC either.
What's your guilty pleasure?
My ridiculous vinyl addiction. I’ve been collecting since I was 15, and am running out of space. Classic rock, soul, funk, disco, 80’s pop, country…And admittedly, shopping for records at work when a song comes into my head…it’s the best.
If you had one wish?
Duh, I’d wish for more wishes.
Your favorite find? or accessory?
I think my favorite finds are accessories I bring back from small-town America for my girlfriends…I always dig up treasures there, and bring home scarves, shoes, necklaces, hand-bags…My friends always love them!
If you could go back in time and pick out anything to bring back with you, what would that be?
I’d bring back my Pink Floyd: Wish you were Here concert t-shirt that my Uncle Robert gave me when I was about 10…One of my old boyfriends stole it from me.

Tell us about the accessories finds you chose to share with us and where you got them.

I’ve brought:

My Pappy’s braces (suspenders)…he used to wear these when he would weld, and my Nanny gave them to me when he passed away – I treasure them!
My mother’s t-shirt from the 70’s, it says ‘Varoom!’ and has a motorbike on it…which is made of small little red stones. Its got some small tears in it & some stains…but its super hot, and one of my prize possessions.
A vintage 80’s Chanel belt, with gold logo razor blades…My friend Molly gave this to me because she said it was very me…supa freak!My 8th grade band hat, which I stole when I moved away – I used to play the trumpet. This thing has been a staple at many a fancy dress party, and I even wore it once when I dressed as Gwen Stefani from her ‘holla back girl’ video.
My vintage sterling silver & turquoise owl necklace, which I found at a flea market in Berkeley, California…

Louis Vuitton x Comme des Garcons

For decades, Louis Vuitton has successfully straddled the market for timeless classics and the newest trends. To celebrate their 30th year in Japan, the brand is shaking things up this fall with an ultra-exclusive line designed in collaboration with iconic Japanese fashion line Comme des Garcons. Each of the six avant-garde bags puts a spin on classic Louis Vuitton designs — like this eight-armed Speedy. The entire collection will be available at the Commes Des Garcons boutique in Tokyo on Sept. 4th.

Surface to Air x Justice

The ultimate French collaboration. Surface to Air and Justice have come together to create a super limited edition collection of denim and leather jackets. The ideal wardrobe staples for the luxe loving rockstar. Available now at Surface to Air Paris.

Core Jewels x Hiroshi Fujiwara

Core Jewels is a Japanese luxury accessories brand who's main design concept is called LUXEDGE. They mainly use gold, platinum and diamonds for their designs but for this collaboration with Hiroshi Fujiwara (below) they decided to go with something more accessible (silk and gold). These bracelets will be available at the Core Jewels Shinjuku Isetan store starting tomorrow.

By appointment only

Cassie Mercantile is a hidden treasure located in London's Holland Park area. Specializing in vintage clothing textiles and accessories dating between the 1700's and 1970's the shop is a favorite among high end fashion designers looking for inspiration for their upcoming collections. By appointment only.

Geek chic

We stayed at Hotel Avante when we visited the Googleplex in Mountain View last summer. Geek chic is the theme at this boutique hotel in the heart of Silicon Valley. With in-room Etch A Sketches, Rubic's Cubes and a Hi-Fi Lounge straight out of the Playboy mansion circa 1962, it was named one of America's five geekiest hotels by "The Today Show."

Holland and Lexer

Holland and Lexer (no website sorry) at 358 Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn is where you take your boyfriend if he wants to go on a shopping spree. You basically can't go wrong. The store owners have immaculate taste and the moody lighting and decor make for a really nice, relaxed shopping experience. Steven Alan is opening up shop across the street at 349 Atlantic Ave in late July...

One of a kind: Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn

These early 1900's doctor bags are made out of walrus. Love the lining! We found these in an antique shop on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn but forgot the shops name. Sorry Asham! It's owned by the same guys who own Holland and Lexer, a really nice menswear shop across the street. More on that later...

Yoshimoto Nara

A visit to Sotheby's last week has rekindled a long standing love affair with the artwork of Japanese artist Yoshimoto Nara. Heavily influenced by 1960's manga and anime as well as punk rock his fascinating works have gained him a cult following around the world.

Propaganda

With stores in Athens, Warsaw, Singapore, and now Los Angeles and Dusseldorf, Commes De Garcons Guerrilla Store concept is living up to it's name. To introduce the Los Angeles store's upcoming set of product releases on July 10th, the owners have created a collection of skate decks as a tribute piece to the skate and So Cal scene. The stores are usually off the beaten path and hard to find but worth the work. Here's look inside the Los Angeles store on West 4th St.

The Mighty Ronson

Mark Ronson wants to produce The Mighty Boosh's crimp song "Captain Cabinets". We can't wait to hear a longer version!

Greenwich Market, London

This weekend we found ourselves in lovely Greenwich where we ate yummy Turkish food, visited the Royal Observatory and wandered around the famous Greenwich Market. If you love a good market this is definitely one of the best ones in London, you can find everything from vinyl to studio equipment, furniture, clothing, accessories, jewelry, books...the list goes on. You name it, they have it and the prices are very reasonable. The neighborhood itself is adorable and there's tons to do so you can make a whole day out of it. We highly recommended it!

A.P.C. x Nike

French brand A.P.C. and Nike are collaborating on 3 canvas trainer styles for Spring 2009. This is definitely on the top of our list as far Nike collaborations go. A.P.C. is a long time favorite on which we can always depend on for the timeless wardrobe staples. If you've never owned a pair of A.P.C. jeans your missing out!

There's no place like home

That's exactly how we felt today at 127 Brick Lane in London surrounded by Margiela glitter shoes, Iosselliani jewerly, Alidio Michelli miniature bags (the one below is made of sting ray), and an absolutely adorable herd of toy animals. The store is actually called 127 which is also their address, we'd give you their website but it's "under construction". Thank you Francesco!

B Yoshida x Porter x Beams x Ichigo Sugawara

We are dying to get our hands on one of these! Some of our favorite Japanese companies have joined forces with photographer Ichigo Sugawara to create the ultimate Photote Bag. Available now at All Beams.

May the force be with you

These photos are from a wander around in the Omotosando Hills area of Tokyo. The first 2 are from a clothing shop that had an impressive window display of all the original molds of every Star Wars figure ever made. If you look closely you can see they have little miniature clothes. The little track jackets are our favorite. The last photo is the entrance to the Prada store (we like to think that's Darth Vader's Bentley parked in the front).