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Christmas Shopping Survival GuideStoke Newington Retail Therapy (Militant faction)
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| . | p16 Jolting back up Albion Road from another fruitless search for that must-have Christmas gift item in the (Wild) West End? Why bother? Stick to Stokey where the living may not be easy, but the Christmas options are better than ever. On the home front
Also on Church Street is Hamiltons (96 Church St), a store with lots
of knick-knacks and affordable stocking fillers starting at 60p. They specialise in
furniture and home accessories and have lamps, cushion covers, clocks, candleholders,
bowls and vases, nice little (fake) fur-lined chairs, and a must if your special friend,
or mother, suffers from cold feet on winter nights, lovely little heart-shaped hot water
bottles at £4.50. At Rainbow Glass in the Church St Workshops (172 Church St, behind the post office) you will find an affordable range of stained glass window hangings and a slightly more expensive collection of beautiful, fused glass, fruit bowls. Designer Richard Paton also makes stained glass panels for doors and windows to commission. And he runs oneday courses for beginners so if you know someone who might be interested you could buy them a Xmas gift voucher for the course, price £45. Open: everyday 10-6 tight up to Xmas Eve. Just across from Rainbow Glass in the Workshops is Lesile McShea's pottery studio. Leslie makes unique gifts of platters, bowls and handmade ceramics. Her studio will be open on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 December from 12-6. She also runs courses. For details phone 020 7241 3676 Jewellery Almost next door there's Affinity (5 Church St). They have sets of
turquoise, rose, quartz and good old amber jewellery made up in this country from stones
brought from Asia. Average price for pieces is around £20. At Amber Silver Jewellery (182 Church Street) you will find bracelets,
necklaces, pendants, rings and earrings in various shapes, sizes and prices. All made from
different shades of amber and brought over from Poland. Earrings start from £9 and
there's a gorgeous tiger coloured pendant at £20. Ribbons and Taylor (157 Church Street) have a small but cute selection
of jewellery amongst the retro clothing. Mostly from Thailand so plenty of hoops and
pearls around. Studs from as little as £3.50. Beautiful amethyst and amber earrings at
£18.50. You'll find a mixture of old and antique jewellery at Willow (136
Church St) although when we visited the girl behind the counter didn't have the faintest
idea what anything was, 'except a lot of it's made by somebody called Nigel'. Lots of new
silver rings £24 ai a nice antique amber bracelet. The lovely Fiona at Junk and Disorder (129 Church Street) has boxes
chock full ex-Pink Soda stock. So if you know anyone who'd fancy that sub disco dolly look
then it's all here at the bargain price of 50p for anything from earrings to hair slides. For foodies For the third year, The Cooler (67 Church St) is taking (pre) orders for free-range Norfolk turkey and goose, and cooked or uncooked, gammon and this year have Turkey and Cranberry pies (must be ordered in advance act now, 020 7275 7266). For the serious face-stuffer, there are handmade Christmas cakes from Clams and the famous Carved Angel Christmas puddings. For your friends in Islington, you might choose the Coco designer chocolates (acceptably minimal packaging) but for those who care only for taste rather than appearance there is an excellent selection of fine cheeses, mince pies, foie gras, and smoked wild salmon from the famous London smokery, Forman's. And for the little ones (or the chocaholics) there are chocolate Father Christmases and angels from a Swiss chocolatier based in Devon. How do they find them? Hampers can be made to order. Open: Sun 23 Dec 9-8; Christmas Eve 9-5. |
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Tana Mana (150-152 Church St) is a veritable cornucopia of
unusual and exotic including wine glasses and cooking utensils made of palm, paper books
from recycled cotton, Indian beaded wall hangings, and Javanese pottery. They also have a
large range of silk scarves, shawls, throws, wooden boxes and jewellery. The latter varies
from brass necklaces at £28 to a stunning Peruvian black beaded necklace, a snip at
£140. Major hints all round girls. Open: every day 11-6 but do note they close at 4pm on
Xmas Eve so don't leave it to the last minute!
Gallo
Nero II (75 High St) stock a great range of the stuff that Italians do so well:
food. In addition to their own dressed olives, home cooked ham, and unfiltered farmhouse
olive oil from an estate in Tuscany, Gallo Nero offer a vast range of beautifully present
panettone, the traditional Italian treat, from £3 to £15, plus the rich, moreish
panfortei packed with honey, spices, glazed fruit and nuts. Sin in a slice. Gallo Nero
will make hampers for customers in three different sizes and a range of prices from £10
to £50+, and can also take orders by phone (0207 22 9770) a great time saver. Look out
too for a huge selection of Italian chocolates a biscuits, including Amaretti and
delicicous hand-made biscuits all the way from Sicily.