Christmas in colour: seasonal preview at Clerkenwell London

Of course, the multifaceted design space didn’t just do it because they missed the taste of turkey or needed an excuse to drink mulled wine at 8.30 in the morning – this was an official peek into their plans for Actual Christmas 2016. And what plans! There are some stores that settle for a dancing Santa and a can of spray-snow, but Clerkenwell London are injecting a dose of light, bright, colour-saturated energy into Christmas this year, with a tribal pop theme courtesy of Camille Walala (who else?). 

Camille has created a bespoke pattern in Clerkenwell London’s signature orange and her beloved Yves Klein blue that echoes the geometric map motif of the brand’s logo. It looks fantastic on wrapping paper, on Christmas crackers and as a backdrop, and brilliantly complements the bold, colourful product line-up that the Clerkenwell team have chosen for their gift collection. 

Lovely things abounded. The store was transformed into an Aladdin’s cave of retro-kitsch rainbow wonders and fine craftsmanship, including Tinct leather bags, Nomad’s Mòltair watches and Silken Favours’ gorgeous cushions. The Zetteler team are currently fighting over Cats Brothers’ tiger-embroidered jacket, working out how to incorporate Klong oil lamps into the office lighting scheme, and swapping our boring old staplers for Nacho Bijou’s dappy animal-head versions. 

Essentially, we spent the morning in a shameless orgy of covetousness and canapés – merrily munching through Clerkenwell’s Christmas menu (turkey nibbles! Orange scones! Teeny-tiny Christmas puds with clotted cream!), sipping steamy hot chocolate and quietly pitying all the winter-bound sheeple who think Christmas belongs only in December.

One thing’s for sure: we’re going to need bigger stockings this year...