Kaleidoscope Collection

Introducing the second of our collections for Christmas 2016.  We love this clash of colour and culture - channeling India, Morocco and of course Mexico. 

Mind the Gap - The London Collection of Christmas Decorations

Our ever popular collection of London Decorations is growing!  New this year we added the iconic London Underground Rondel,

another addition is the Queen's favourite Corgi, sitting regally on a red cushion and wearing her Majesty's crown.....

and a Soldier Sausage dog.........just because we still love dachshunds.

Birthday Flowers by Azendi

Birthday Flowers by Azendi are beautifully crafted flower pendants with extraordinary detailing.  They are made from Sterling Silver with Gold Vermeil. Did you know that each month of the year has a Flower that symbolises the Month of your birth.  The Romans started this tradition by using flowers as decorations and gifts to celebrate a person’s birth. We have been inspired by this tradition to present this range of beautiful jewellery, crafted from Sterling Silver and Gold Vermeil. The necklaces make the perfect gift and keepsake to cherish for all special birthdays or indeed a birth.

1,Snowdrop for January 2. Primrose for February. 3. March is Daffodil 4. April is Daisy 5. Lily of the Valley for May 6. June is Rose 7. Water Lily for July 8. Poppy for August  9. September is Michaelmas Daisy 10. Marigold for October 11 Chrysanthemum for November and 12. December's flower is Narcissus 

Creepy - crawly, Curios

Things get creepy and crawly at map gift shop, our theme for this year is Curios - those must have, rare and intriguing, even eerie objects that are perfect for spooky entertaining this Halloween.

If you're off out on the razzle, we have the perfect accessory for an instant Halloween fancy dress up outfit, without any of the hassle, (or embarrassment), these masks and glasses start at £3.95.

New products are arriving by the day......pop by soon.  

Lady V Designs - unique fabric wrapped jewellery

Lady V Designs has been an idea playing around in the back of Vincenza's mind for some time. Combining her love of bold African printed fabrics with bold costume jewellery and accessories she has launched her first jewellery collection.

Each piece is hand made and totally individual, each piece is hand-wrapped with the wonderful block wax fabric.  

Never one to shy away from a bold look.  The collection started with large hoop earrings and statement bangles and necklaces.

As the brand is evolving, smaller pieces are being added, that still make a colourful statement but are slightly more subtle and work for everyday wear. 

The whole collection is available from Map Gift Shop and Enza would be delighted to discuss any special commissions. 

Time Out Love London Awards - we have been nominated AGAIN!

"Last year’s Love London Awards saw 16,000 nominations and 75,000 votes cast for 5,000 venues across the city. That, as Led Zeppelin once said, is a whole lotta love."

We are thrilled to have been nominated again!  Regulars to this blog (who have been paying attention) will know that we won this prestigious award 2 years running.  We'd love to make it 3 in a row! We're in great company!  We're up against 2 friends Deli Junction and Harriet Wilde.

There is still confusion surrounding the name or our area.  We are big fans of Archway, both it's name and nature, and we vehemently resist the temptation (mainly led by local Estate Agents) to rebrand our beloved Archway with a name change.  In fact, we think areas such as Highgate and Highbury should consider renaming themselves - Upper and Lower Archway........But in terms of postcodes Archway doesn't exist.  We are Upper Holloway as designated by the Post Office 100 years ago, and the Time Out Love London Award has taken these postcode areas rather than the name of our town centre!  Surely it can only be due to this confusion that there weren't enough venues nominated in the pubs & bars category for Time Out to open it up to the vote?  I think St john's Tavern & Charlotte Despard (both previous winners) can rightfully feel a little miffed again.

Rant over........It’s time for you to champion your favourite bits of Upper Holloway that everyone else who lives here knows as Archway. The polls are open! So click here to have a look at who has been nominated in Upper Holloway & get voting!

Voting is open until October 31 - you can vote in as many categories as you like, but remember that you can only vote for ONE venue per category,  Once you’re done, remember to jump on social media with the #LoveLondonAwards hashtag.

A whole lotta love

It’s time, once again, for you – North London’s beautiful, general public – to champion your favourite bits of the part of city that you call home.  "Last year’s Love London Awards saw 16,000 nominations and 75,000 votes cast for 5,000 venues across the city. That, as Led Zeppelin once said, is a whole lotta love."

We are genuinely chuffed to bits to have won this award for the last 2 years....we would really love to make 2016 our hat-trick, (plus we think the shop is even better now). We've been working really hard to source new lines and we can promise to bring you the best new products on the market to thrill your friends and family this season.

The competition is currently at the nomination stage – the part where you get to reveal which local venues you love the most and why. Nominations close on September 30, at which point the most-nominated venues in each category will go head-to-head in a public vote

So show some local love and nominate all your favourite independents!