A Good Egg

Images: courtesy of egg.

In our current issue (Issue 95: Heritage) we feature Inès Bressand’s beautiful baskets, which are sold at egg in the UK. egg is a special shop. Founded by Maureen Doherty in 1994, egg makes and sells timeless pieces, clothes and objects. Drawing on traditional skills from around the world, it is about the pure enjoyment of shapes, colour, materials and making. In two collections a year, inspiration may come from a found photograph, a child's crayon or a poem, a process of research and design, a journey to find the perfect makers of yarn, fabric, dye and colour.

Visitors who make their way to Kinnerton Street - a converted dairy - find a place that is both calming and inspiring. egg is welcoming in a way that shops used to be. Clothes, pots, books, boots, scarves, bags, jewels, pencils and the odd jar of flowers are organised, or piled, throughout the rooms. Clothes on hooks, rails and stacks invite exploration and touch.

Image: courtesy of Inès Bressand.

egg is as much about the senses as the view. Coffee is freshly brewed and meals are cooked in the kitchen upstairs. egg has always been a haven, a secret in the centre of London, a place for young makers and designers to experiment and find their feet. It is a story of craft and colour, youth and experience, giggling and learning, that make egg so inviting. Since the beginning, supporting makers is integral to the life of this company. egg was the first place that potter and author Edmund de Waal had a one-man show, where Keiko Hasegawa made one thousand pots in a year to set in rows on the floor and where the masterly silversmith Bill Phipps hand forged silver spoons big enough for giants to stir their tea. It’s the fulfilment of Doherty’s vision of what a shop should be: a place to sell the beautiful and everyday.

egg is open! For more information visit eggtrading.com