Top ten at Top Drawer: finding great new brands to feature

Chive – chive.com

This company probably had one of the most Instagrammed stands at Top Drawer this year. They were everywhere and you really can see why. The ceramic corals stopped us in our tracks. They start pretty small (8cm) and reach around 23cm wide.

There were hanging, glass vases and garden plant pots. Chive also has a whole range of ceramics including these little concrete pots which we fell in love with.

Broste -brostecopenhagen.com

What? You know Broste already? Well, yeah we thought you might but seeing as their stand was ‘stand out’ and we kind of fell in love with a mirror on it we had to include them – you don’t mind do you?

When it comes to tall, fake plants these were the best we saw. The vases were great – especially the oversized ones. And the quality was second to none. Oh and that mirror? It’s huge and round and exactly what’s on trend right now. We’ll take two!

Fiona Walker Home – fionawalkerengland.com

Wow, this stand had it all and although there were lots of sections to look at we were really drawn to the kid’s bedroom goodies with their animal heads, cactus cushions – complete with cotton spikes and vintage looking quilts. But those are just a fraction of what Fiona Walker Home do. There were handcrafted vases in soft muted tones, candles, cushions, plant pots and whole range called ‘Sun print textiles’ which have a touch of the shibori about them. We think this is a great brand to keep in mind for propping.

Lomas –lomasfurniture.com

When it comes to beautiful wooden furniture and accessories Lomas has that little unique something. It’s the most tactile we’ve seen in a while. The shelves are a soft natural shape as you imagine wood would look like in a nature. Rodney Lomas creates these beautiful pieces in his woodshop in Devon’s countryside where he can fell trees for his projects. The lighting and furniture are all gorgeous and like nothing, we had seen before. This is one of those stands where you stop thinking about work and start shopping for your own home.

Divine Savages – divinesavages.com

Oh, my word! This is a brand spanking new wallpaper design company run by two guys in New Cross. We first came across them on Jenny Wood’s Instagram feed and we’ve been hooked ever since. Their strong patterns and bold colours – not to mention the fab animals in the Geometric Aviary design make us very interested to see what’s coming next from this fab duo.

Acorn and Will – acornandwill.co.uk

Ahhh, Acorn and Will is the kind of stand you need to see on a grey, wintery day. It had the brightest and boldest colours we saw all day and it could seriously lift your spirits. They had bold tinsel which we actually considered using (does anyone still use tinsel on shoots anymore?) Although the stand was in the gifting section of show and not entirely interiors we thought it was worth mentioning as the brooches and earrings were so cute and they do sell wreaths, retro accessories and a 50cm flamingo.

We love cushions – welovecushions.co.uk

If you can’t find a licensed cushion for a shoot or feature from this company then it doesn’t exist! They have literally thousands of designs to choose from – some are exclusive too. We were particularly keen to get our hands on the oil painting licensed designs from The National Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery. There’s something about a moody monarch on a cushion to set a room off. The ‘Alice Tait London’ collection is especially cute – definitely an illustrator to watch. Other collections to check out include vintage maps, Pets Rock and Bowie. As well as cushions their designs are available on tea towels, dog beds, bags and deckchairs.

Palomar – palomarweb.com

Okay, now we were first impressed by the high standard of products on the Palomar stand, but the fact that the guys were from Florence and had the best accents ever made it all the more easy to stay and talk for a bit (read between the lines here guys!)

Their designs are based on “aesthetic and functional value” which is what we first noticed. Designed by Francesco Toselli the ‘Personal globe’ allows you to pin where you’ve travelled to. It’s as beautiful as it is practical. Would make such a great prop. The Crumpled city maps were pretty cool too!

Coach House –coachhouse.com

Well, Coach House may not exactly be a new company to many of us but the stand was so big and impressive that we thought it deserved a mention. We could highlight a ton of homewares but we’ll reign ourselves into just a few. Their faux flowers are fantastically realistic. The back swivel chair with the floral backing – gorgeous. All the mirrors were stunning, but it was the green velvet buttoned back chair that literally took our breath away – now where can we fit one of those in?

Rose Cottage liqueurs- rosecottagedrinks.co.uk

Named after the cottage the owner grew up in but that’s where the cuteness ends with Rose Cottage liqueurs. Walking around a show with your work hat on, you really don’t want to be plyed with too much gin – well we didn’t. We get drunk very easily and we know we could have said “no” but when someone puts a thimble of rose flavoured gin in your hand it’s very hard to say no. It was really good. So good we had a sip of the elderflower gin too! Both delicious and available in pretty bottles. Great for a gift page – or a self-gift – if you follow my drift! Well, we thought so and that’s why they get a mention- because we’ve been thinking those gin’s ever since!