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Gallery owner Steve Lazarides, 'A Million Little Pieces' author James Frey, and Time Out’s Around Town editor Sara O’Reilly on their favourite London shops.
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© Rob Greig
One-time London resident, American cult author of 'A Million Little Pieces'.
'Damien Hirst’s retail shop offers great prints, small paintings and books. I wish there was one in NY.' Read more about Other Criteria
'This is a great little bookshop, whose smart owners give good recommendations. Places like this are disappearing in America.' Read more about Lutyens & Rubinstein
'Hamleys is a heaven for little kids – as well as being very reliable for dads who travel too much and need to bring home presents for the little ones.' Read more about Hamleys
'Okay, so maybe this is not a shop – but it does sell something! It is truly, truly wonderful and is the only place I go to every time I’m in London.' Read more about Rock & Sole Plaice
'Big and ridiculous, Harrods is sensory overload in a shop, but always makes me laugh. Shopping there is a surreal and absurd experience but it does stock incredibly nice things that make my wife, parents and in-laws happy.' Read more about Harrods
© Lars Fassinger
Soho gallery owner who works with Banksy and Jamie Hewlett.
'Folk does excellent menswear and footwear.' Read more about Folk
'This is my sanctuary – I have spent way too much money there over the years.' Read more about Foyles
'This butcher does great produce and has great staff. I have been going there since I first moved to London.' Read more about M. Moen & Sons Butchers
'This tiny fishmonger is right next to Clapham South tube. It always has something interesting in, and my kids love looking at the lobsters.' Read more about Moxons Fresh Fish
'I had to put it in! I think this is the best place in London to buy affordable art.' Read more about The Outsiders
© Rob Greig
Sara is Time Out’s Around Town editor, an expert on the capital’s museums, attractions and kids’ events.
'Curated with as much thought and flair as any exhibition, with a mix of merchandise that reflects or – in the case of the commissioned items – responds to the V&A’s collections and temporary shows (the museum opens a separate, themed mini shop for each of its big exhibitions and there’s an excellent bookshop, too). Boldly putting the shop right at the heart of the museum has made it a destination in its own right and it’s a strategy that has paid off - visitors nip in to buy a birthday present, then find it impossible to leave without dipping into the galleries. It's great for birthday and Christmas cards, arty scarves, contemporary jewellery and quirky decorative items.' Read more about V&A Shop
'This is the place for war films and books, Airfix kits, authentic World War II flying jackets and earflap hats and lots of posters and cards featuring stiff upper-lip sentiments of the "keep calm and carry on" ilk.' Read more about Imperial War Museum Shop
'I've picked this for its huge selection of art books. There’s an excellent range for kids, too, including genuinely creative activity kits and books.' Read more about Tate Modern shop
'Priscilla Carluccio’s South Ken treasure trove of lovely things, many of which you won’t have seen anywhere else, always has inviting displays that draw you in. Sourced from around the globe, the stock includes vintage and contemporary furniture, homewares, toys, clothes, jewellery and artworks. Some things cost just a couple of quid, others thousands.'
'Off the beaten track in department store terms, Fenwick is worth the detour, even if Bond Street shops are otherwise out of your price bracket. A particular strength are the thoughtfully designed but unshowy handbags for women who use them to carry stuff around, rather than flaunting them as accessories. Staff seem to linger, loyally, for years and they’re genuinely helpful.' Read more about Fenwick's
'Margaret Howell is everything you could want from a clothes shop. Calm and relaxing with intriguing selections of books and objects, its owner is the only successful fashion designer you are likely to meet on the Northern line. The shop, with its long, top-lit space, was designed by William Russell.' Read more about Margaret Howell
'Getting in to this shop is like negotiating the door to a speakeasy or a particularly upmarket crack den. Alongside his own studio, it offers an insight into Morrison, one of Britain’s most cerebral product designers. He believes in subtlety, and quiet. And though he does sell a few objects that he has designed himself, in a mostly well-chosen industrial vernacular, this is anonymous design at its best.' Read more about Jasper Morrison
'You can never have enough maps.' Read more about Stanfords
'The property crash was London’s gain. It allowed Tom Dixon to take over what was meant to be an upmarket canalside enclave. There is the Dock Kitchen, alongside what is not quite a shop exactly, but more of a showroom. You can always find something fresh here. If it’s not Tom’s own work, then it’s the younger talents that Tom is always keen on nurturing.' Read more about Tom Dixon Shop
'Before I was a museum director, I was a journalist. Back then, I saw museum shops as the work of the devil. Now I know better. A museum shop has to work even harder than the rest of the museum to keep engaging visitors.' Read more about Design Museum Shop
'I am addicted to buying goggles for open-water swimming; I am waiting for a call to see if I have, at last, got a slot for the Strait of Gibraltar swim.' Read more about Ocean Leisure
'As soon as you step over the threshold they say, squarely, "Look, there's only flute music here." It makes me chuckle so I've ended up with quite a few flute music CDs.'
'Whenever I have the blues, I go to the stationery department in Selfridges; only New York does stationery better.' Read more about Selfridges
'I love how the manageress talks you through the fountain pens, taking each one apart as she does so, with such light but lifelong expertise.' Read more about Pen Friend
'Sophie Bradshaw, our retail buyer, and managers work with such interesting small makers and designers from across the country.' Read more about Garden Museum Shop
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