Portobello!

For uni we had to decide on a place to visit in ldn with a tutor. We could choose between Central, Camden market, Brick Lane or Portobello market.....well, i thought, i have been to camden and central so it was a hard decision between brick lane and portobello. We needed to keep in mind our tribe for our project too whilst on this visit so this then swayed me to go to brick lane, as i heard that there is a lot of graffiti art around and this would be great for my tribe but then when jo (my lecturer) mentioned that portobello, on a friday had a huge market, more orientated to fashion, i immediatley had my mind made up for me!

And what a decision! Portobello was amazing, on our walk to the exhibition we were going to (at the Brands and Packaging museum) we passed several houses all candy colours-pinks, blues, lilacs and soft greens, some of the homes renovated into small ldn memorabilia stalls. The houses reminded me of some of the homes i saw whilst on a holiday i had about 3/4 years ago, when i went to cornwall where by the beach there were a lot of houses all rainbow coloured, so my first impression of portobello was one with excitement.

The exhibition was really useful also, i concentrated on looking at the slogans and the way in which brands had different 'points of display' boards and i looked at the types of people brands used, mainly animated/illustrated women, to sell the products. The exhibition space was quite small and sometimes a little colostrofobic at times but the small old teddies and toys and sweeties gave you that little bit of comfort!

After the museum visit, me and Faith, my friend, needed a coffee, but not until we had tried (highly recommended i will add) the cup cakes from an amazingly beautiful bakery The Hummingbird. The cakes were unbelievable and the smell that pulled you inside was so gorgeous and yummy, i wanted to literally eat the air! I orded a black bottom cupcake which had a chocolate sponge base with cheesecake cream and buttercream icing on top-mmmm!..

After, we grabbed a coffee in a small cafe, (where they had these really cute mugs without any handles) but the coffee was so good and desperatley needed to give us the energy for the afternoon.....

If you guys have never been to Portobello market before, you should definately go! The place is huge so maybe plan for the whole day there! On the walk up to the market i passed lots of stalls mostly selling gorgeous dresses fit for any occasion-weddings, nights out, uni wear....all priced at £15 each-bargain! They were stunning too, i literally could have spent all my money on dresses the choice was so vast. Anywhooo so we got to the market and literally i felt as though i was in a huge charity shop, a fabulous one at that. In the 4/5 hours we spent at the market alone, i came across Prada navy jumpers at £30! a Christian Dior blue velvet suit at £150! So many racks of Hermes lookaliky scarfs some at £5 each and some in a huge bucket that me and faith were looking in for a good 20 mins that cost you a £1! Also the amount of leather satchels i saw too! So many!! They were stunning- some in tan, black quilted, soft brown, patched worked....the place was a gold mine- you just need to prepare yourself with a coffee to shop.

After our fantastic hunt through the market walking back to the station this again took us about 3 hours as we just saw so many gorgeous things and shops on the way we had to stop off. This one shop named One of a kind, was unbelievable. We had to press a doorbell for the shop assistant to let us through and when we got through the doors you could understand why, it was like walking into narnia, just not as cold! Clothes were everywhere....falling from the ceiling, coming out of the walls, racks and racks of colour coordinated clothing all of which looked like they belonged in a jumble sale but the price didnt give me this feeling! The music had a huge base too which you could feel in your throat the whole experience was so amazing..all the colours, patterns and noises literally took our breath away, also the fact that the shop has many celebrity fans in which any of them could walk in at any given time, the adrenaline was surreal.

Before we got the best slice of pizza i had had in a long time, we visited a shop called Maribou where we met this lovely woman who owns the shop. The shop sells all hand made clothing specialising in using old fabrics including brocades velvet lace and silk. We had a great chat together, i learnt a lot from the chat alone and i may use Roberto (the owner) for my creative person profile essay i have to do soon. The shop had a very quirky sense, with its bright pink walls and hand made dreamlike face desk, the shop was really inspiring as was Roberto. She told us her life story and i learnt we have a lot in common not just that we both are from yorkshire but obviously our creative brain and our love for fashion. She made it prominent that she doesn't get inspired by the trends of today she just makes the garments she has in her creative mind, she believes;

"You are born with a creative brain, a uni degree cannot give you that".

I agree with her but its shops like hers that do inspire along with her attitude.

Overall the day was great, i loved it- the company, the exhibition, Roberto but most of all the place, Portobello market i will be seeing you very soon!