The Couture Knitwear Room Opens Today

It's an exciting day at The Shop Floor Project. After waiting three tantalising months, the new Couture Knitwear Room is now open.

Back in August we commissioned, New York based designer, Melissa Halvorson to create an exclusive, limited edition knitwear collection based on her love of 19th Century Costume. The results are wonderful Leg O'Mutton Gloves, scalloped edged Lace Spats with alluring hook and fastenings along the back and boned Neck Corsets that are, surprisingly, very comfortable and extremely flattering!

Equipped with the wool from a small flock of goats and sheep living on her parents farm on the outskirts of New York, Melissa, a designer and university lecturer, creates the most beautiful, wearable sculptures.

Melissa often carries out the whole process from harvesting, spinning and dying the wool to pattern making and knitting. Her work can be seen in the Yarn Museum and in the new publication Vogue Knitting Cables on the Go.

They arrive wrapped in black tissue paper and in a lovely brown box, so you can keep them safe when you're not wearing them and with just one of each colour available, you truly won't see anyone else wearing these!

In Stock and available from the Couture Knitwear Room.

In stock for Christmas!

As you know all of the products sold by us at The Shop Floor Project are handmade by independent designers which normally have an order period that reflects this.

However during this festive period we have been busy ordering as many items as possible in order to satisfy demand!

Therefore we can announce that the following items are in stock and are ready for immediate delivery.

Artist Baubles

Artist books and cards

Megan Price Kitchen Linen

Modern Hosiery (except Betty Tights/Cream)

Hilary Laing Silk Scarves

Erica Weiner Jewellery

Vanda Noranda Jewellery

Stephanie Simek Jewellery

Lee May Foster T-Shirts

Lee May Foster Jewellery

Natatlie Thakur Piggy Bank Purse

Natatlie Thakur Penny Sweet Purse

Finsk Shoes

Erica Weiner shoe Clips

Please feel free to email us info@theshopfloorproject.com with any questions regarding delivery or to read more about our Christmas delivery times visit the main menu page

Sail away on a Bauble + Free Delivery Offer

Two more designs have just been added to Samantha Allan's popular All I Want For Christmas Bauble Collection.

("All I want for Christmas is a Tall Ship to sail across the North Sea") £10

("All I want for Christmas is a Steam Train just like Stephenson's Rocket" £10)

So now you can dream of sailing away in a beautiful old Tall Ship or own your very own early steam train. Available in the Bauble Exhibition Rooms

Also just to remind you that the free delivery* offer ends this Sunday. Details of the offer can be found on the top bar of the website.

More Ceramic Tea Service Jewellery In Stock!

We had such a response to Bethan Lloyd Worthington's ceramic Pea Green jewellery collection when we launched it last week (see post below) that we sold out in three days!

But fear not! We have managed to get hold of a few more pieces before Christmas, including these wonderful 'Saucer' pins which are part of Bethan's Tea Service Collection. They look great casually pinned onto a vintage cardigan or blazer.

As well as the lovely 'Delft' blue and white Tea Cup charm bracelets, there is also Bethan's Caterpillar glazed ware.

These are the last pieces from Bethan until Spring 2009, when she launches her new jewellery collection, so we advise to buy early to avoid disappointment.

Available from Jewellery Room 2 at The Shop Floor Project

Wearing your teacup on your sleeve

I have a confession to make. I am normally, and unashamedly, unfaithful when it comes to jewellery, I can change necklaces three times a day without a care, despite the fact that I have been searching for years for a 'signature' piece that I could wear everyday and it would be known as 'my necklace' or 'my bracelet'. Recently, however, my long search may be over, in the form of a humble little charm bracelet.

I have been wearing 'my' pea green Snowflake Teacup Charm Bracelet for the past few weeks and I just can't bring myself to take it off! Created by the celebrated ceramicist Bethan Lloyd Worthington, these wonderful gold lined ceramic charms, in the form of 1950's inspired teacups, teapots and jugs are hung on vintage Art Deco brass chains, fastening with a stylish clasp.

Charm bracelets have a long, romantic, history which might explain my desire to hold on tight to this piece of jewellery more than others.

Amulet or Charm from Europe, 2nd century BC-2nd century AD

Dated as far back as Ancient Egypt, the different charms were seen as ways to identify each other and to help the Gods guide the wearer and his/her possessions to the proper status level in the afterlife. Kind of an "if found, please return to" tag. Throughout history, charm bracelets have been worn by kings and knights for luck and to show allegiance. Later, into the Victorian era and into the World Wars they were used as a way to declare the love for a specific person. By the end of WWII charm jewellery, as we know it today, was a commercial enterprise. Soldiers leaving Europe and islands in the Pacific purchased little handmade trinkets as gifts to bring home to their sweethearts.

It seems now when we think of charms we picture those heavy bracelets with the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty dangling off. But in the past they have been subtle, secret objects, perhaps just with one single charm that identified a person's status, love or profession and it's that significance that is so charming about Bethan's collection of single charms.

The Tea set Charms are available in Jewellery Room 2 in The Shop Floor Project.

£24 each.

Alphabet Owl Hand Printed T-Shirts + Free Delivery

The T-shirts of Lee May Foster are possibly some of the most coveted around. Based in her studio in Cornwall, Lee May hand draws strange worlds inspired by the nature around her which are then turned into wonderful T-Shirts for men and women.

Printed onto the softest cotton t-shirts by ethical manufacturers, American Apparel, they are also cut well and wash brilliantly.

So whether you choose The Winter Hare and Tree or the Alphabet Owl you will be sure to stand out amongst the plain T-shirt brigade!

All available in the T-Shirt Department of The Shop Floor Project

Just a little reminder that we are offering FREE DELIVERY* for November (the best month to buy online for your Christmas shopping). See website or below for details.

Beautiful artist designed cards and stationary to treasure

(Birdie Folding Note-lets, by Lucy May Schofield, £8 set of six)

It's that time of year again when you start receiving greetings cards and invitations through the door, some may be pleasant to look at, others hideous, but all seem to make it onto the mantelpiece in our house. Why not show them how it's done with our selection of beautiful artist designed cards and stationary.

Lucy May Schofield's, incomprehensibly lovely, folding bird note lets, which fold to form their own envelope.

(Birdie Paper by Lucy May Schofield £8 set of six)

Or, perhaps, Lee May Foster's illustrated cards featuring strange snowy worlds, full of talking animals and exciting storms.

Winter Stag card by Lee May Foster (£2.50)

Or how about American design company I'm Smitten's colourful cards, reminiscent of 1950's children's books.

(Cards by I'm Smitten £2.50)

Aware that things can become incredibly commercial at this time of year, I think it's more important than ever to send something that the recipient would want to keep as a little treasure even, in the case of the Birdie Note lets or Proverb Postcards, perfect as presents in their own right?

Remember Free Delivery for November
(see previous post below for details)

The Christmas Cabinets Open + Free Delivery

Free Delivery*

To Celebrate the launch of the
Christmas Cabinets

We know it's November not December, and don't really approve of playing Jingle Bells in the shops in October, but as it's the busiest time for the post office, it's always wise to get your Shop Floor shopping done early to ensure your gifts arrive in time to go under the tree. That's why we're offering Free Delivery* for the whole of November!

To help with ideas for gifts this Christmas we have created a Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe inspired Gift Guide. Open the doors of the cabinets to take you to objects that you may not have usually been drawn too.

Click here to visit The Christmas Cabinets


Free Delivery Terms of Offer:

*UK CUSTOMERS Offer applies on orders over £50, please type the discount code below in the box at the Checkout:
101208FD

*INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS (please note, we deliver to all countries, but sadly, not the USA or Canada). Offer applies on orders over £100, please type the discount code below in the box at the Checkout:
201208FD

Bauble II: Limited Edition Artists' Christmas Decorations

(Fox and Hare, by Theatre de la Mode)

It's a rule in our house not to talk about the intricacies of Christmas (where to get the tree from this year, when to open the sloe gin, what everyone wishes for etc) until after Halloween. This year's it's been particularly difficult, one, because of the snow covered mountains that we can see from our studio making us feel all Christmasey, and two, because of the exhibition we've been busy curating.

(View from The Shop Floor Project)

Bauble II follows on from the success of last years' inaugural show, in which, we commission a selection of artists and designers (including ourselves) to create a collection of alternative baubles to decorate the tree.

(White Fretwork Bauble by Pieter Erasmus)

The initial idea rose out of a love for hand-made treasures that are brought out each year, every piece having a story to tell; where it's from, who brought it back from their travels, how long we've had it. We wanted to create a collection of new objects that have been lovingly made which would cause excitement each year.

(Follow the Stag, set of six lockets, by Denise Allan)

All the artists who have created a limited edition collection for Bauble II have been working on their ideas for over a six months, creating beautiful, humorous, absurd and even DIY baubles to dress your tree. The hope is that these objects are treasured and collected for future generations to enjoy.

(All I Want for Christmas, second series, by Samantha Allan)

As all the baubles in the exhibition are handmade and limited editions we recommend purchasing in advance of the 1st December.

Prices range from £9.50 to £70

Available from the Bauble Exhibition Rooms

Winter Twilight - New jewellery by Lee May Foster

Cornish jeweller, Lee May Foster, has created a new collection for winter, featuring stars, moons, leaping deer, dew drops and feathers.

Inspired by late night and early morning wanderings along the Cornish coast, the collection shines out against the darkness of winter.

Lee May has continued her love of mixing natural materials such as carved stone with vintage materials such as Czech glass and Lucite beads.

Beautiful and mystical, this collection celebrates all that is special about winter.

Prices from £16. Available from the Jewellery Department

New Kitchen Linen Department Opens

We are excited to announce the opening of the new Kitchen Linen Department within The Shop Floor Project. We launch with the work of British illustrator Megan Price.

Megan's hand printed tea towels, canvas grocery bags and aprons feature her signature prints inspired by the good old British cafe.

Travelling around the country, paying particular attention to sea side towns, Megan photographs and sketches fading signs, menu boards and items for sale such as cakes and ice-creams. Coming back to her studio in Norfolk she translates these sketches into hand printed textiles using only the best quality 100% cotton twill.

Her canvas bags already have a cult following having been featured in Vogue and Elle France, and the tea towels and aprons are surely going to follow. After a customer told me she had framed her Cafe Culture tea towel in the kitchen instead of using it, I thought 'great idea I'll do that too', but which one to choose?

Now open in The Kitchen Department.