Royal Festival Hall gift shop
Southbank gift shop
think Alice in Wonderland written in tiny text to create the shape of the Cheshire Cat. Small, unique furniture can also be acquired here. Many people don’t explore beyond the
Southbank/Royal Festival Hall unless they are headed to the National Teatre for a show, but the gift shop is well worth the extra walk. You’ll find yourself having that internal debate of “I want this, but do I need this”, ultimately with the answer being “Of course I need this!” Te items for sale are unusually sourced and one-of-a kind. Literature lovers will walk away with a charming Oscar Wilde finger puppet or a Shakespeare rubber duck. Teatre fans can buy a lightbox with the word APPLAUSE for the home, or any one of the National Teatre posters. Teir selection of wedged door stops is impressive, too. Every visit to Te Wallace Collection
begs a stop in the gift shop first. It’s gor- geous. If the weather forecast called for raining money, I’d head to this shop to buy all of the dishes. Art galleries will typically sell items related to or inspired by their collection. As such, the reflection of the art in the gifts makes this place so special, be-
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cause Te Wallace Collection really is an unsung gem that many tourists miss alto- gether and Londoners tend to forget. Revive the old art of letter writing with the blank stationary cards depicting the Gold Wine Cup or Manolo Blahnik shoes. Use a lens cloth featuring Te Swing to clean your glasses. Eat tapas off the small ce- ramic bowls inspired by the Spanish mas- terpieces. Tis retail experience is the fastest way to inject beauty into your life. Global warming or not, Te
Underground is getting hotter to travel on. Fans are the item to have in your purse when you step onto the Central Line to avoid arriving at your destination looking like melted butter. So give the gift of a fan! And buy it from the Fan Museum! Yes, London has a museum for everything, and there are fans in Greenwich filled with his- toric importance. Better still, make a full day of it by travelling down to Greenwich, exploring the Fan Museum, have a deli- cious afternoon tea in their Orangery, and then pick up a fan in the gift shop. Last year’s exhibition on graffiti art gave inspi- ration for the Nathan Bowen fan, which is still available.
Wallace Collection shop
Amber Raney-Kincade is the American Tour Guide in London, offering walking tours and private hire to those looking to explore on foot. Find out more at
www.AmericanTourGuideInLondon.com or follow her on Twitter @AmericanLDN
FOCUS The Magazine 19
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