340 The Kings Road: Fairfax and Favor at London Après

On Thursday evening, a new pop up threw open its doors at 340 The Kings Road. London Après, a collaboration of several British brands, had arrived on the iconic street and my sister and I were invited to the opening celebration.

One of the brands behind the collaborative pop up is Fairfax and Favor, a small yet upcoming British company that specialises in making ‘affordable luxury footwear’ that bridges the gap between the country and the city, or, more importantly, beautiful boots that I have been just dying to get my hands on!

After being swept off my feet and into a pair of boots by a rather jovial man with a spotted pocket handkerchief, my sister and I  managed to pin down Marcus, the Fairfax half of the boot making duo. Then, in true Lucinda style, my sister began to interrogate Marcus for just about every detail of his journey into boot making. (I took the very important role of drinking my pink gin cocktail and listening...)

It turned out it all started when Marcus and his business partner were interning for another shoe company. After several months, the pair decided to go it solo (despite being told they would never manage it!) and try to forge their own path into the shoe business. They pooled their savings, crossed their fingers and flew out to Spain to track down a factory which was to become the future producer of Fairfax and Favor’s beautiful signature boots.

The pair went from selling boots out of the back of their cars  and popup tents to visiting prestigious country shows up and down the UK, selling hundreds of pairs of shoes, all within a matter of a couple of years. Quite an impressive feat given they were new to running their own business. Now, with bricks and mortar over their heads, I think we can say they have safely established themselves as a brand here to stay!

Talking to Marcus was quite an inspirational experience. He and his partner hadn't necessarily tried to come up with 'the next new thing'. Instead, they had entered a market with a good product and let it do the talking. They had believed in themselves, took the risk of starting a company at the young ages of 24, worked hard and come out the other side with a successful business. It goes to show that with a bit of drive and a clear vision of what you want to achieve, you can create something truly rather impressive which is a valuable lesson I feel we can all apply to our own lives. 

All too soon we had to leave the warm shop and step back out into the icy night. The Christmas lights were twinkling away and once again I was reminded just how lovely London is. Thankfully, like Fairfax and Favor, I'm here to stay. 

The popup is open everyday until December 13th so if you want to pop by for  a peek at the boots, a sneaky cocktail or to interrogate Marcus yourself, I would honestly recommend it. 

Skiing in Val d'Isère

A little before Christmas, my Dad and I packed our wooliest of socks and set off for a last minute trip to snowier climates. Our destination was Val d'Isère, a lively ski resort in south-west France, where world cup alpine events are regularly held.

I have to say, getting of the plane we were initially very worried. Since we were going early in the skiing season, we didn't expect the snow to be magnificent, but the lack of a single snowflake was definitely cause for concern... As we began to travel up into the mountains, we started to see little patches of white fluff, although not nearly enough to ski on! Luckily however, by the time we made it into Val d'Isère, we could see snowy peaks despite the fact that the village was bare.

After our first delicious chalet dining experience (canapés, followed by a three course dinner- thank you Ski Total!) and getting to know the other people staying in the chalet, we headed to bed and wished for snow.

Waking up the next morning, we were greeted with the news that fresh flakes had fallen in the night! We eagerly pulled on our ski gear and dashed for the first lift up the mountain. Our chalet was superbly placed as the lift was a literal stone's throw from our front door which made the morning journey up the mountain incredibly easy and pain free, especially since the lack of snow had meant that some of the other village lifts hadn't opened! Feeling rather smug, we noticed that our first run down the mountain left the first tracks in the new (although not very deep) powder covering the slopes!

As the week progressed, gradually more and more snow fell until pretty much all of the ski area was open. This was quite a weird experience for me as I'd never been skiing before when snow was particularly sparse and we were so confined to specific ski areas. Initially, I was worried we would quickly get bored, but instead we had a great time trying to discover the last bits of powder left untouched or a new off piste route down the mountain side. However, I have to say, my poor skis gained some nasty gouges from the thinly veiled rocks sticking out of the snow...

Our chalet (Chalet Bandire) is also definitely worth a mention. Although relatively basically decorated, the food we were provided with was absolutely fantastic and incredibly plentiful (a big thank you to our chalet team!!). The cakes baked for afternoon tea were particularly nice and I could often be found in the evenings slumped on a sofa with my second slice of cake balanced on my tummy- heaven! I love staying in chalets though for the simple reason that you get to meet other people and make friends. Dinners are a communal affair which just adds to the whole experience, making the holiday really sociable and enjoyable!

On our chalet team's day off, Dad and I headed into town for dinner. I was very excited as I'd found somewhere that served my favourite French dish- pierrade.  This is where you cook your own selection of meats on a hot stone at your table. Not only is it really fun, it means you get a variety of different meats to nibble on, cooked exactly the way you like them. Unsurprisingly, I very happily dug in and before long was absolutely stuffed full of sliced of duck, beef and chicken.... Oh and of course some lovely potato gratin!

Despite not having the most snow in the world, I had a really good fun time skiing in Val d'Isère. It had provided me with a much needed chance to dust off my skis and to see some snow before Christmas. However, after all the fantastic food, I definitely came home fatter than when I left, despite all the exercise!

'Tis the Season to be Jolly!

As the festive season is coming to a close, I thought all of you lovely readers will be far too busy playing with new presents and eating as many leftovers as you can get your hands on to want to read a proper blog post. Therefore, I thought I'd let you all off lightly with this: Christmas in pictures. Enjoy!

Winter sunshine in London

Durham Christmas lights

Fruit panettone 

Christmas day walkies

Lights on the King's Road

Lumley Castle Christmas ball

Winterville, East London

Christmas morning breakfast

Lulu trying to be taller than Sarah

The Natural History Museum 

Shiny shiny new shoes

Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the New Year!

Homeslice

A couple of days ago, two good girlfriends and I met up for a Christmassy get together. We had planned the perfect Christmas themed day: a lunch trip to the Montague Ski Lodge followed by some casual shopping. However, our plans were thrown into turmoil when, upon arriving at the Montague Hotel, we found the 'Ski Lodge' to be booked out for the entire day with a private event! Feeling slightly deflated, we headed for the only cure- a carb-infested pizza fest! So, Sarah and India took me off to Neil's Yard and introduced me to Homeslice.

Now, Homeslice is one of those places I've been rather excited to visit for a while. Marcus has been a few times before and had entranced me with tales of pizzas so large, no person could possibly eat one on their own! Therefore, my mood perked up dramatically as soon as we were in sight of the front door.

Homeslice didn't disappoint. Shortly after being seated (and a few envious looks at our neighbour's plates) we were presented with a 20 inch monstrosity, half margherita, half lamb shoulder with wine soaked goat's cheese and fresh basil. The base was thin, the crust crispy and the toppings generous. Our appetites hit with full force and the entire thing vanished so quickly, we may have well inhaled it! It was delicious- I could have spent an entire day eating the goats cheese on its own, let alone with the rest of the dish. Before long we were picking at the remaining crumbs.

Completely full and feeling re-inflated, we headed out into the chilly street, feeling bolstered up enough to tackle some Christmas shopping.

I really enjoyed our little trip to Homeslice. The restaurant is small, you eat with your hands and share a table, but I really do feel this adds to the experience- there just is no need for all the little extras when the pizza is so good!