Larkin & Catcher

We’ve noticed that customers are increasingly buying a birthday card or other greetings card to go with gifts they purchase from Larkin & Catcher — so we’ve recently introduced some more cards to our selection.

This one features the iconic image of the actress Gloria Swanson and was taken in New York in the 1920’s.

 Gloria Swanson Card

Swanson was a famous silent movie star back in the 1920’s but is better known for her role as the ageing (and deranged) movie star ‘Norma Desmond’ in the 1950’s movie Sunset Boulevard. If you like old movies — especially film noir — and you haven’t seen that one yet, I’d recommend it as an all-time classic.

Oh… and the card looks great too!

We’ve just got some striking and beautifully unusual jewellery in from the Australian company Made by White. We especially love the Your Time Has Come necklace but it’s all utterly fabulous!

Your Time Has Come Necklace As I said above, this is a particular favourite of ours. There’s probably a time and a place for quiet, understated jewellery (like when you’re dead…) but, personally, I prefer more of a statement piece. And by statement, I don’t mean loud — just different and a bit quirky. So I’m always on the look out for unusual jewellery and alternative jewellery that isn’t typical and doesn’t fit into any particular stereotype. This necklace has a bit of a gothic feel to it, I believe, without looking like a typical gothic necklace. It also — for obvious reasons — reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock’s film, The Birds (there’s a fair amount of bird jewellery on Larkin & Catcher, despite/or because of the fact I am so spooked by them).

Lucky Rabbit Necklace In the past, some people used to carry a rabbit’s foot about with them for good luck. That’s way too creepy/cruel/yucky for me, but this unusual necklace to makes a far more decorative option. I particularly like the mirrored finish, the extra-long chain and the rabbit’s little ‘cross’ eyes.

Flying Monkey Brooch This brooch reminds me of those evil winged monkeys in the Wizard of Oz — it’s amazing how much I enjoy my jewellery having slightly creepy or scary connotations.  

Congratulations to Jane from Cardiff for winning the £100 for 100 words competition. The competition was relatively simple — all that was needed was a 100 word beginning section of a poem about fashion. The only catch was that it had to be in the style of Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market (for some reason that we can no longer recall…). Not that difficult and definitely worth a £100 of free goods.

Here is  Jane’s winning entry:

Clothes Market

Day and night 

girls heard the cry

“come buy our clothes

come buy, come buy.”

“Don’t look,” said Suzie

“their bargains won’t charm us,

these trinkets will harm us.”

“Look Suzie,” Said Sarah,

“look at the stalls.

One’s selling handbags,

another some hats,

one’s got gold, sequined dresses,

what do you think of that?”

Curious Sarah had to see,

and got carried away with

“buy one get one free!”

The gorgeous silk stockings,

and driving gloves – black,

the pure cotton pencil skirt

with slit up the back.

And having had two,

It was one for herself,

And another for Sue.

It was the ‘these trinkets will harm us’ section that got us; the notion of being harmed by a trinket — as opposed to, say,  a lorry or falling masonry. And ‘trinket’ is a pretty camp word — reminds us of ‘frock’, which we have a special liking for.