Caravan

After drooling over their website for the better part of a year, I absolutely had to go to the store when I was in London last summer. It was worth the trip.
The shop has the same fantastic style, smart displays, and unique items as the website. The attention to detail and quirky collection of odds and ends make this a must-​see if you are shopping in the area.

Christmas is not even upon us yet and I’m feeling jaded. What better way to pull me out of the doom and gloom of sunsets at 3.45pm than a trip to Caravan, a gorgous little shop on Redchurch Street full of things you absolutely do not need but yearn to buy anyway. Caravan, my friends, is the apogee of aesthetically pleasing needless consumption.
That aside — and really, I can’t pretend I’m not materialistic — Caravan is a pretty little shop selling some beautiful Christmas baubles, a good selection of avian themed ephemera (?!) and home ware. I particularly like their Art Deco inspired butterfly shaped glass coat hooks and Christmas decorations. Pretty, slightly off the wall and completely arbitrary, I am a big fan of Caravan.

This is another one of those random stuff shops. They have lots of house hold odds and ends, some of it’s quite obscure, for example, a huge selection of mechanical singing birds. I really can’t think of anything more irritating than a plastic robin chirping away while your trying to watch reruns of Friends or whatever.
They also have some cool stuff like concrete lamps shaped like light bulbs which is nice. They provide various items for the constant string of parties and fashion shows in the area, a lot of the stuff they sell is more like props than something you would actually have in your house (their trademark big black crows for example). I am still at the age where I spend most of my money on alcohol and clothes but for a slightly more grown up crowd, this shop is great.

The Caravan’s business idea is to selling lovely stuff that no one actually needs, which is great! It is simply just for aesthetic pleasure.
I would describe the home decoration items pretty and just so so kitsch. Like birds and vases, mix and match. The shop is very beautiful that it actually makes you want these stunning little things. Good place for hunting presents for some one that already has everything.

Anyone who doesn’t manage even the smallest of smirks when they walk around this wonderful flea market of a shop must have a heart of stone. It is simply adorable, as are its many artefacts, which are ordered much like someone’s home with hand painted chests of drawers and oversized murals on the wall. If you fancy yourself an interior designer — I urge you to take a look at the dark yet feminine styling of this space.
There really is something for every taste here and it is a great place to come for a gift that you simply won’t find anywhere else. Like objets d’art they are arranged very carefully in shelves and hanging from the wall. My Christmas wish list: the silver clogs and the lifesize tweeting Robin!

I read somewhere recently that Redchurch Street has become the trendiest street in London, an accolade that tends to fill the heart with dread. This is unfair with regards to this lovely little shop though. Selling nothing particularly useful, it’s full of pretty, decorative little bits, often with a slightly gothic, off-​kilter edge. Take the chintzy floral patterned plates, standard fodder in any Granny’s kitchen until you notice the stag beetles and tarantulas that have been printed on top. There’s plenty of Shoreditchy antler motifs too but on the whole it errs on the right side of irritatingly, ironically ‘cool’, helped by the super friendly helpful staff.

Flea market style chic best describes Caravan. I love the range of decorative and functional home accessories. Caravan makes trawling through endless jumble and car boot sales in order to find furniture and accessories with character a thing of the past. However, this is not (as it my sound) a second hand store. Everything is beautifully and newly made but yet retains a certain originality and uniqueness. This is the kind of shop that I can always guarantee to find things that I like in, just a shame that it is so much more expensive than the flea market that Caravans style derives from.