Fashion Friday

It’s Fashion Friday! We’re so proud to be home to an amazing selection of independent fashion sellers, and we’re celebrating them today. We’re offering 10% off all fashion items until midnight on Sunday. Simply enter STYLE1 at the payment page to redeem the discount.

Shop the fashion department here.

Clockwise from top left -

Gold Metallic V Neck Wrap Dress by China Doll Boutique

Asymmetric Hem Floaty Skirt by China Doll Boutique

Alexia Lace Dress by Rise Boutique

Zip Front Dress by Jolie Moi

Bee Striped Knit Dress by Kiki’s

Posted by jenniferbaldwin on 27 January 2012
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staff picks: Sarah loves Karin Akesson's bird print

Sarah Wilson is our Head of Brand. She is charge of making sure our customers know what we’re about, and that everything we do fits with the notonthehighstreet.com vision. Her favourite item on the site is Karin Akesson’s bird print.

She says: “I seem to have become a serial wedding attender over the past few month, with lots of close friends going down the aisle. I bought this print as a gift for one of my friends who was getting married, and gave it to her on the morning of her wedding. The phrase ‘Today Something Wonderful Will Happen’ holds such a strong sentiment for someone on their big day, and it also served as a perfect yet unusual ‘something blue’ gift. The bride subsequently had it framed and it now hangs on a wall in her home as a reminder of her special day’.

Posted by jenniferbaldwin on 27 January 2012
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have you seen our Valentine's Day campaign?

We believe the best Valentine’s Day gifts are often the ones which capture something unique and special about a relationship. Chocolates and flowers are always nice to receive, but gifts that are personal mean so much more. Whether you want to remember the place where you first met, smile at the little jokes that you share together or simply remind them whose side of the bed is whose, make sure you celebrate the moments you’ve shared together.

This Valentine’s Day create a gift that shows someone how much they mean to you by saying it your way. See the collection here

Posted by jenniferbaldwin on 24 January 2012
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an interview with Alice Tait

We caught up with one of our sellers, acclaimed British illustrator Alice Tait, to discuss Roger the Dachshund, Portobello Road and commissions for Vogue magazine.

Alice in her studio with Roger the Dachshund

What is your background?

After graduating from Bath Spa University about ten years ago, I got my first big break doing a book cover for Penguin, and then a series of illustrations for The Times. I spent my first few years running around London with my portfolio by day and working in a busy restaurant by night. Gradually the illustration took over and I found myself drawing full time. I had a good studio space at Great Western Studios, near Ladbroke Grove, where I was surrounded by artists, dogs and mayhem as inspiration, and my career really took shape from then on.

What inspired you to start The Alice Tait Shop?

Around this time I was living the Notting Hill dream, walking along Portobello Road to my studio every morning, and I decided to create a print range I could sell to the locals and visitors. One of these designs was my ‘Map of London’, which was really popular and has led me to create lots more maps. My work was receiving more and more publicity, and increasingly I was getting emails from people who had spotted them and wanted to buy prints, which led me to finally set up The Alice Tait Shop.

What are your inspirations for your prints?

My first print designs were inspired by my Portobello walk into work – hence the popular ‘Alice and Chloe’ and ‘Antiques Shop’ prints. But now I simply enjoy drawing the world directly around me: anything from the different coloured ink pots on my desk to the faces of strangers in the street. My dachshund, Roger, is a constant companion and I’ve put him in nearly all of my pictures, so look out for him too! At the moment I am doing a drawing every day for a year.

Two of Alice’s prints, inspired by Portobello Road

What is your favourite print from you range?

Ooh, that’s a toughie – I love them for different reasons! If I had to choose then probably the ‘Homing Pigeons’; I am always sketching pigeons, and I noticed that much like people, pigeons tend to look like the town they come from. So this print has a posh pigeon from Henley and a not-so-posh one from Ramsgate.

What are your most exciting commission to date?

I was commissioned to produce an illustrated world map for Vogue for their recent December issue, which was great fun to do as I had lots of exotic locations to put on the drawing. Also look out for the new James Corden’s autobiography which has just been released, as I did the handwriting on the cover. And I was thrilled to design the wallpaper for the new Waitrose Cafés, any excuse to draw cakes all day…

Alice’s commissioned illustration for the December 2011 issue of Vogue magazine

See Alice’s full range of prints here.

Posted by jenniferbaldwin on 23 January 2012
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a notonthehighstreet.com Winter Wonderland

In December, we celebrated the festive season by coming together for the annual notonthehighstreet.com Christmas party, and we had some help from a few of our wonderful sellers to make sure we celebrated in style. Our wintry invitations were created by Pogofandango’s Gill and Emma. They transformed a simple snowflake design into a festive masterpiece, perfect for decorating our desks prior to the big night. In celebration of all things handmade, we also chose an assortment of handmade stamps from Billet Doux to complete the design.

The party was held at The Botanist in Kew, a short trip from our offices in Richmond. We made our way to the venue in our very own double-decker Routemaster, courtesy of Travel With Hunny .

With Rowen and Wren’s delightful glass-lined birch votives and a scatter of fairy lights strewn around the room, we were welcomed into a real winter wonderland. Each table was styled with gold table numbers by Ali’s House of String, and table runners lined with hearts and stripes Christmas ribbon by Seahorse. By Katie Sue provided beautiful name tags that were individually tied to delicious candy canes – a great idea for easy place name holders for a winter party or wedding.

A big thank you to all the partners who helped make our night so special!

Posted by jenniferbaldwin on 20 January 2012

the ultimate compliment

Ronnie Corbett (CBE) was given a special Christmas treat from one of our sellers, Layer Eight, this year. His grandchildren arrived on Christmas Day wearing matching ‘Two Ronnies Glasses’ t-shirts in honour of the famous comedian and his partner Ronnie Barker. Ronnie’s daughters Sophie and Emma are both notonthehighstreet.com fans, and bought the t-shirts featuring the duo’s iconic glasses for all his grandchildren to surprise their grandad.

Jim & Vicki Lockwood, founders of Layer Eight said “This is the ultimate compliment for us, and to have been part of the Corbett’s Christmas Day is amazing. We – like most of the nation – love Ronnie to bits and for us to help make him smile is somehow poetic after all the laughs he has given us over the years!”

Posted by jenniferbaldwin on 18 January 2012

Six sweet years

Today is our birthday! On this day six years ago, our lovely founders Holly and Sophie officially opened the very first notonthehighstreet.com offices. We’ve changed so much since then and can’t believe how time has flown, but we’re so excited to see what the next six years will bring.

Every year Holly’s mum, (and dedicated notonthehighstreet.com ambassador) Sally, spoils us with birthday treats – despite there being 20 times as many of us now as there were in the early days. On our first birthday, she tied number one-shaped balloons to the chairs of the four members of staff. This year we were given delicious shortbread biscuits in the shape of a number six, made by the wonderful Shortbread Gift Company. Our new year’s diet may be out the window, but it was certainly worth it. Thank you Sally for always making us feel so special!

Posted by jenniferbaldwin on 04 January 2012