Discovering Camden Market

Be warned: If you detest crowds, traffic, noise and narrow alleys, Camden Market is not a place you would want to be especially on a weekend.

But these are some of the things I don't mind, so we landed in Camden on a bustling Sunday afternoon. I think it's one of those streets where you have to walk down, looking at the shop facades, more than the shops themselves. 

If Brick Lane was all about the street art, Camden is all about shop fronts. It's loud, 'in-your-face', pulls your attention. There is the Camden market, which is a labyrinth of shops selling clothes, shoes and art, and it's the first 'bargain all you can' market I have been to in London. Some of the jewellery I saw looked straight out of Colaba. In fact the entire market was like a Colaba or a Chatuchak Bangkok market on acid!

I guess you need to spend a good four to five hours, to settle in and figure out this market.  Endless stalls selling unique artefacts, vintage prints, and lamps, and some of them hidden so deep you need to walk around patiently or do your research in advance. I unfortunately had to deal with a husband allergic to crowds and fast running out of patience.

http://www.camdenlockmarket.com/shops/

Street foodies will be will delighted at the stalls and variety of offerings at the Camden lock. It's quite a lovely place where you can have your lunch sitting on one of the 'scooters' overlooking the canal. Food from all over the world, fresh juice, ice creams and smoothies.

http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/cheap-eats-in-camden

Over all, I think Camden is worth visiting once, or maybe another 'less crowded' weekday when one doesn't have to constantly worry about being shoved aside or stamped upon. 

Loose Ends

I had heard and read a lot about this accessory shop in Bandra called 'Loose Ends', and been looking forward to making this trip for a while now. We set out on a wet Sunday afternoon, and after around twenty minutes of driving up and down looking for 'BEAS society' mentioned in the address, frustrated when our google map on the iphone that totally led us to the wrong place. But nevertheless, we found it, tucked away at the end of a narrow street, in a dilapidated garage.

I expected the shop to be a lot bigger but it was sweet and tiny, and they did have a delightful range of home accessories. I particularly loved the smaller things like matchboxes with kitschy indian pop designs, the plastic handbags, and wall clocks. Our new house was in desperate need of a clock, so we got a neat vintage looking one for the study. Along with it I picked up a tiny graphic- print handbag, just like that.


I'm a huge fan of the 'Happily Unmarried' range of products and I was delighted to see the whole stock. I have them all, the Gabbar shot glasses, the sardarji lassi tumbler, the wine bottle lamp, and now I have the tea- coffee- sugar tin box set to add to the collection. Winding up our trip nicely in time to get back home for some nice hot chai!


Hey I almost forgot about the fridge magnet we picked up. It reads 'I don't have an anger problem. I have an idiot problem'

A good day for Good Earth

Cloudy Sunday morning, a very fine day for a big splurge in the city. After holding on to our Good Earth gift vouchers for more than a month now, we decided it was time to make that trip downtown to get some of their ‘to- die- for’ accessories. I was almost expecting to bring back a bag full of ‘seven -grand- worth’ goodies, instead all we got was a measly two and a half items for the house. I wasn’t totally disappointed either, was pretty happy with the stuff we got, they look expensive (most important) and they go with the rest of the decor in the house (expensive looking too!). Also fulfilled my desire to at least once go to a super expensive store and shop guilt-free.

Good Earth- Located in Raghuvanshi mills, in the heart of Lower Parel, it boasts a sprawling two floor expanse of elite home furnishing, accessories and a cafe. I wouldn’t say every item is worth it’s value, but there are few pieces that are unique and price worthy. Our first pick was a white stone bathroom set comprising of a soap dish- toothbrush stand- soap dispenser, mellow and modest compliments beautifully with the bold aqua tiles in our master bathroom. We also saw a square flat light wicker tray we really liked to go on the shelf for the same room.

Our master bath

Going along with my present aqua- craze, our next buy was a six bowl stone ceramic soup set, lending an earthy touch to an otherwise sleek steel and brown kitchen. I'm looking forward to inaugurate them delicious bowls with gleaming rich tomato soup on one of these mumbai monsoon days. A spot of color on grey n' gloomy afternoons ought to cheer one up. Nothing noteworthy in the glassware section, we were looking to pick up a set of whiskey glasses, but all quite tacky. Instead got a cutesy round glass wine bottle with a stopper.

Wrapping up downstairs, we made our way to the first floor through deep purple and blue texture walls that lead us to the home furnishing section, which honestly was quite a let down. The furniture is boring and uninspiring, while the prices went up to multiple lacs. Not that I was looking to buy any more furniture, so we moved on to the smaller knick knacks- pillow covers, cushions, table cloths- which again I thought were too 'fab india' like, just thrice the cost. I was looking to spot some India- inspired kistchy prints, not something one could as easily find in a local handloom house. But nevertheless, I did find something quite interesting, so wasting no time picked it up. It's a three foot long raw silk turquoise cushion with black graphic print on one side and mirror work on the other end. It seemed one- of- a kind, and I figured this thin long cushion alone would be enough for the living room couch, instead of crowding it with many small square cushions, which is quite common. It went well on our bed as well. Glad i found this!

Our bedroom

With our kitty almost exhausted, it was time to stopover at the cafe for a quick bite. It's called the good earth 'verandah'... and i absolutely love it. The old warehouse feel, the high ceilings, the worn out- peeling off wall surfaces, the vintage prints and paintings, long paper shades flanking the columns... and an enormous enormous wine rack on the wall behind the counter. The menu was extensive- from light eats like sandwiches and muffins to pasta, an extensive wine selection and to my husband's delight 'cream cheese bagels'! I haven't seen too many places selling bagels in the city, so this was a welcome surprise. They have a variety of cheese and bread for sale as well, from greek feta to sour blue cheese and breakfast rolls. So a fulfilling toasted tomato- mozzarella bagel and lemon ice tea later, it was time to bid goodbye to good earth...scouting for candles to finish off some leftover balance off the vouchers. Four coconut shell scented candles fit the budget, and we were on our way, shopping- happy- tummy -happy back home.

Bottomline: Head to Good Earth only if you're in a mood to splurge or have a bunch of vouchers to exhaust.....or if you're super rich of course. On the other hand I give a big thumbs up to the cafe. The ambience is plesant, food's great and moderately priced, nestled within the store...quaint and quiet seeming far far away from the noisy madness of Parel.