Landbaby at the Bluecoat

Have you ever walked into a shop and felt instantly enchanted?  Your eyes widen and you literally become like a child in a sweet shop, you want everything.  Landbaby at the Bluecoat is one of these shops.  I have followed Landbaby for a while on Facebook and kept promising myself I would attend one of their workshops, so today I needed to buy a couple of birthday presents and I thought I would treat myself and pop in.  You are greeted by Claire who started up Landbaby in 2006, sitting quietly stitching her wares in the corner.  Get talking to her, she has some lovely stories and makes you feel welcome without being overpowering, something a lot of bigger stores could learn from.

Where ever you cast your eyes you see a charming tableau of handcrafted goodies, this is what Cath Kidston can only aspire to being.  Bags, brooches, dolls and jewellery to name just some of the things they stock, and everything in the shop is hand made by either Claire who runs the shop or other local artists and crafts people.

There were two things which especially caught my eye and have been added to my list of things I will buy as soon as possible.  The first are these cushions by Naughty Kitty showing extremely subversive  and witty prints of Royals.

The second of my favourites are these Wowls, which are made by Claire Chrystall an illustrator based in the Bluecoat.  She asks that you register where her Wowls end up living so she can log their location on a map on Facebook (check out the page Wowls), a fun idea which kids and adults alike would love.

For further information on Landbaby, and I can heartily recommend that you visit this unique cornucopia of loveliness, check out on

http://landbaby.blogspot.com/

http://www.folksy.com/shops/landbaby

Or visit at the Bluecoat Centre, School Lane, Liverpool