Labour and Wait

 

I felt like a child in a candy store the minute I went inside Labour and Wait. glass Jars, pure linen dishtowels, beautiful enamel bowls, pots and mugs. Every classic household item you can think of.

Brooms, buckets and dusters, many of which one could find in Mexico City's markets and street stalls, somehow presented as design pieces, carefully selected to be part of a well curated collection of timeless objects.
Labour and Wait was intended as a place to buy functional, well designed, high quality products, at a time when most retailers were tending towards cheap, disposable low quality items. I couldn't agree more with this philosophy.

After quite a few hours well spent, I left the store with a beautiful vintage linen tablecloth, a classic falcon milk pot for my enamel collection, two classic french striped Armor lux breton shirts for the kids and an addition to my list of impossible-to-travel-with items that I wish I could have bought: a gorgeous enamel sink that would have been perfect for our Kitchen in Valle de Bravo.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labour and to wait. 
A Psalm Of Life 
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow










Labour and Wait
85 Redchurch Street  London,
Greater London E2 7DJ 

London Albion Café

London has been a trend topic for a while now, ever since the Royal Wedding actually. Then it was the Queen's Jubilee and now, well, The Olympics. Just a few hours before the torch arrives to the capital it feels as if I'm already late. Anyhow, I will be posting a little guide of London that I have put together after my visit this past June.

My first review will be for Albion Café, an eatery serving typical British fare made with straightforward hearty ingredients  housed in a converted Victorian warehouse in the cool neighborhood of Shoreditch and created by no other than Sir Terence Conran.

Brick and white walls, refectory style cream tiles, rows of red Tolix chairs, factory lights, and large windows which let plenty of natural light into the place, Golden Syrup tins on the table holding napkins and cutlery with a no-nonsense vibe that feels as if you are hanging out in a mate's country kitchen (the exact vibe I wish my country house in Valle de Bravo will ever have).

I am no expert on British food, but the sausage and mash I had was delicious and had a sweet comforting familiar taste that reminded me of my father's onion soup.

At the front there is a shop as much old school farm shop as trendy organic deli, with wooden boxes full of vegetables that look straight out of the ground and stacks of glossy jam jars. Enamel pots and mugs which of course I could not resist buying, caramel candy packed in beautiful antique looking cans, strong mustard, cotton dish towels...

Loooved the place. Can you tell?

All pictures by neenalife blog

Albion Café Bakery and Food Store
2-4 Boundary Street,
Shoreditch,
London E2 7DD
020 7729 1051