On Sunday evening I headed to Brighton for the night to stay in the Artist Residence there with a brand that I am such a fan of - Trouva. If you don't know, Trouva are an online marketplace that stock niche and independent brands and retailers from all over the UK (and have recently just launched in Berlin too!), making it a smooth and easy niche shopping experience and also supporting small independent business and giving them a global platform. I absolutely love the Artist Residence too so was v. excited to stay there again and my room did not disappoint - complete with it's own little balcony and some well loved (by me) exposed brick work, it's safe to say I made myself at home quite quickly! Following a very comfy star-fished nights sleep, we (myself, Claire and Georgia) met the Trouva team for brunch and a run though of the days itinerary - exploring some of their lovely little independent boutiques there.
First up we visited Workshop - a delightfully minimalist space filled with the best selection of homewares and clothing that you simply couldn't not love, want and need. Their perfectly curated selection of candles, plants and perfect pots, clothing and accessories, prints, books and beauty bits made me want to rush home and throw away everything I own before replenning with only the minimalist essentials from this beautiful store. We were lucky enough to choose some bits in each of the stores we visited and my picks in here were a burnt orange waffle tee (so me, obvs) and two plants that I'm really going to try hard not to kill! We were also gifted the most amazing fig candle by Australian based fragrance brand SoH Melbourne, and I am ob-sessed.
Next up was Dowse, a studio and shop owned by designer Susannah Dowse who offers her own print designs and beautiful handmade jewellery alongside pieces from other great independent designers and small businesses. A very quirky shop filled with loads of cute trinkets, pots and vases, jewellery and prints - and the super cute Frida Kahlo pot (pictured above) that absolutely had to come home with me. Each one is handmade and drawn by designer Alex Sickling so no two are exactly the same - makes me love it even more.
Our final stop was at Tidy Street General Store, possibly my fave of the three since it was filled with more basket bags than you could shake a stick at! As the name would suggest - their idea of a general store is somewhere you can buy anything from socks, to ceramics, to a bit of choccy, with them also stocking a perfectly curated selection of fashion brands such as Soeur, Rachel Comey, Ancient Greek Sandals and Ace and Jig - easy to see why I had a soft spot for this store as it's definitely a bit of me. After what felt like hours of deliberation (I'm not the best decision maker in the world...) I (obviously) finally decided on the cutest basket bag (which you will have already seen on Insta if you follow me over there too!) to come home with me. I definitely had to restrain myself from buying 356367 things though and will undoubtedly be back!
We rounded off the day in the best way - with coffee and cakes and I had such a wonderful day learning all about the three stores before jumping back on the train home to London. I'm so happy to be working with Trouva as I genuinely love the what they do and the amazing products they offer. I think its such a great way to learn about brands, designers and creatives you may not have otherwise been aware of, and it's so great to support local and independent and find something a little different. Shop all of the delights Trouva have to offer here.
If, like me, you're a big fan of both Artist Residence and Trouva then you could be in luck! They are offering a chance for you to win your perfect staycation - a two-night stay in the Brighton or Cornwall Artist Residence's hotel plus £500 to spend on Trouva.com! Click here to enter and the competition closes at midnight on 31st August 2018. Entrants must live in the UK and be over 18.
Good luck you lovely bunch and I really hope you enjoyed this post!
Rachael
x
*This post is created in collaboration with Trouva but as always, all opinions are my own :)