I spent a lovely morning at Crystallized and The Crystal Lounge then crossed the street to sample the delights of Liberty. The windows were a visual feast.
This time I thought they had very much the same vibe as Rachel's yellow lounge on the top floor of our house.
See what I mean?
There were stencilled room sets inside the store. Behind Liberty is Carnaby Street resplendant with candy coloured Christmas trees, hearts and pink reindeer.
I then wandered along Regent street and was apprehended by fairy tale characters outside Hamleys toy emporium, they admired my hair and I admired their outfits and bubble guns.
The gunman gave me his weapon and invited me to fill the street with bubbles whilst he took photos of me. I had huge fun with the bubbles but his pictures of the event were hopelessly out of focus, too much laughing I think.
That evening I scurried to the tiny, Finborough Theatre near Earls Court to see the musical Little Fish.
It was packed. It was also the last night so don't try and get a ticket, but do look out for it in the future. The set had been designed by my husband's niece Bec Chippendale. Bec has been responsible for creating and helping to create many a fab set for stage and screen. I have just spent an interesting half hour reading about the various productions to her credit. I thought the Little Fish set was a perfect example of how to pack a heck of a punch in a tiny space. All those doors, flaps and drawers pulled out to reveal a major prop in the progress of the story. I was worried that the ushers would eject me for taking pictures so I sneaked this one. I enjoyed the performance hugely but was just as fascinated by what the scenery was going to offer us next. This is an excerpt from just one of the wonderful reviews praising Bec's work.
'The most striking thing about this production is Bec Chippendale’s pale blue grey set which starts as flat pack before opening out into many different three dimensional locations with everyone of the many scene changes. This very dynamic and versatile set becomes a locker room with a number of swing out picture frames, a flat with the unlocking of a flap to reveal a fold out table and lit cupboard, a bed slides out from nowhere and a glittery bar reveals itself behind another flap. This is just some of the many reveals the set unveils as the plot unravels. Chippendale makes the production flow with ease and her set compliments the musical on so many levels. It is in short a triumph.'
Written in Fringe Review by Skye Crawford.
The rest of the day's adventures can come in another post. Anthropologie and the ruby slippers
Helen.
We are Helen, Chips and Rachel, partners in The Stencil Library. We design, make and sell stencils. We also teach, decorate with, eat, breathe and live with stencils. Inspiration comes from many places for us. We would like to share our inspiration and projects with you. All our stencils are designed and made in Northumberland, England. They are sent to customers worldwide.