Pierrot et Coco

The Elegant & Curious lifestyle boutique

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Delightfully Kitsch...


We're not fans of insipid children's decor, so the newest arrivals make us very happy.
We have two styles of cushion - one has a Mark Ryden-esque design with an assortment of strange creatures...and the other has an adorable doe design with blue pom-pom edging.
Both perfect for a child's bedroom, or used correctly will work in a more adult environment.


Sunday 23 October 2011

Darjeeling...the Champagne of Teas.

It's been birthday season at Pierrot et Coco, and we've received many lovely gifts of Champagne, which we've happily sipped for a special breakfast treat. However, for everyday, all day drinking we turn to the rather special tea which is Darjeeling and often referred to as "The Champagne of Tea".

Only grown in a specific region of West Bengal in the Himalayan foothills, this is the world's most expensive tea, following strict guidelines of cultivation, growth, production and manufacture. Skilled pluckers begin early in the morning when overnight dew is still present, on difficult hilly terrain, and choose the smallest shoots comprising two leaves and a bud of which 22, 000 shoots are needed to make 1kg of the tea.



We have Darjeeling No 37 by Kusmi in the decorative black and gold round caddy. A black tea with a light taste and coppery hue. We drink it without milk or sugar, but it's suited to both of these things if you prefer. We also have Irish Blend which is Darjeeling and Assam and a good tea for brunch.






So, when you are unable to drink bubbles from Epernay on a daily basis, look to the connoisseurs tea and indulge yourself this way. We have a choice of teapots with built-in filters, decorative tea balls and disposable tea filters to make drinking loose-leaf tea easy and practical.

We have a limited number of free samples available for you to take home and try.

KUSMI DARJEELING TEA PROFILE

Origin:
India (Darjeeling)

Main flavor:
Muscat and ripe fruits

Quantity needed: 3g (approx 40 cups per caddy)

PREPARATION :
Time of Day : Afternoon

Ideal Water Temperature :
85°C - 90°C

Brewing Time :
4-5 minutes

Saturday 22 October 2011

Pop-Up Children's Wall Art

We've received a lot of children's designs from France in the last couple of weeks. Possibly our favourites are the huge wall designs which simply pop-up and secure with a velcro fastening then attach to a wall.





We have "Pandaccoustique" - the guitar playing panda with a charming top-hatted bird friend and "Dragondule" the striking Chinese dragon with a pendulum-like body which swings from side to side making his eyes look from left to right.
They come in large packaging which will make for an impressive gift for a child at £18.

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Chocolate Week - Join us!


We're celebrating "Chocolate Week" this Saturday by having many different chocolates available for you to taste...We haven't decided just yet which ones exactly but there are sure to be some Mr Stanley's dark chocolate fondants, a few Charbonnel et Walker treats, some Hope & Greenwood chocolate dusted nuts, Summerdown dark chocolate peppermint crisp and if that's not enough we'll have little cups of Charbonnel hot chocolate to heat you up on a no-doubt chilly day.

We hope to see you on Saturday, it would be a shame not to partake in this British week of indulgence!

Tea Break at home

The shop might be closed, but we're still working at home, planning the chocolate tasting day (this Saturday 15th) for Chocolate Week.



To make things more enjoyable while we work, we're drinking Kusmi Tea's Four Red Fruits - one of the newest teas we received. It's a black tea from China flavoured with natural essences of cherry, strawberry, redcurrant and raspberry and makes a warming autumnal afternoon drink. Kusmi suggest we eat it with a pastry, and we think hot cherry pie would be just the thing, but sadly have neither of these delicious treats today...

Making our tea seem even more special, we are drinking it from more of our new arrivals - the metallic gold mugs with swallow design inside. And pouring our tea from the elegant tall gold teapot. We feel very swish.

Now to get on with the serious work of which chocolates we'll be sampling in the shop this Saturday...

Saturday 8 October 2011

Gift Vouchers

We now have gift vouchers available for those who can't decide what to buy for someone else...

We have a specially designed card with copper-coloured envelope for any denomination above £20. However, for if you purchase a voucher £50+ we present it in a box with Pierrot et Coco satin rosette, which makes for a beautiful gift in itself.


Thursday 6 October 2011

Introducing Stephanie Simek


I was introduced to a designer from the US several years ago when I was a fashion stylist working for overseas magazines. Her work was brilliant, but the kind of editorial I did called out for larger pieces and I was never able to use any of her designs in a fashion shoot.

Fast Forward a few years and looking for a new range for the shop I remembered Stephanie Simek and her beautiful pieces...Her Quail's Egg necklace was just perfect for us! She uses real Japanese eggs and strengthens them with resin, lines them with 23k gold leaf and hangs them on a 14k gold chain.

As our new table is decorated with a large white Egret on a long branch, Stephanie's necklaces were a perfect choice - complimenting the taxidermy whilst being completely wearable. Unusual enough to become a 'signature' piece for anyone who wears one and when not around your neck, hang in a bell jar as we have, for an interior talking piece.

Gold lined Quail's Egg Necklace £129





Trendsetter Magazine, Istanbul (we're pleased they featured Stephanie's work, we used to shoot regularly for this magazine!)


The Telegraph's Stella Magazine

We also have Stephanie's Sterling Silver human hair Eyelash necklaces : Single Lashes £24 and Double Lashes £30.




Tuesday 4 October 2011

Charbonnel et Walker has arrived

We're incredibly happy to have been chosen as an offical "Charbonnel et Walker" chocolates stockist. We are of course in good company as they're by appointment to Her Majesty the Queen.

We have a good range, some chosen for their suitablity for men (our previous chocolates from Prestat came in hot pink boxes some deemed too feminine for the men in their lives!) but all because they taste very, very good.

At our party last week, Charbonnel were pretty generous in giving us a big box of dark Marc de Champagne truffles for everyone to try. They were very well received (of course!) and the beautiful packaging of such delicious chocolates are a brilliant addition to our shop.

We viewed these Cremes Parisiennes suspiciously, thinking they were toothache-in-a-box, but we tried some and looked at each other wide-eyed in delight as we realised they were pretty fantastic. Thinking we couldn't have managed one soon turned into wondering if we could stop short of finishing the box.



The Pink marc de Champagne truffles come in a little heart shaped box, a perfect "thank you" gift, "I love you" treat or an add-on to another gift.



These are the ones we've chosen with men in mind. We know women love chocolate in all its forms, but men can quite often be more choosy. For this reason, we've gone for stylish, gentlemanly packaging in classic flavours such as dark chocolate gingers, mints, maple pecans and chocolate enrobed orange.







We've saved the best for last though...we spent a long time trying every drinking chocolate on the market, from nice looking tins you can find in the supermarket to celebrated macaron maker and confectioner du jour, Pierre Herme in Paris. None come even close to Charbonnel et Walker's tin of chocolate flakes, ready for whisking into hot milk as a perfect breakfast or suppertime drink. We advise you to buy a tin, curl up with a good book or film and luxuriate in its deliciousness!

Monday 3 October 2011

New & Rather Lovely mini's



We've received another exciting delivery from Italy, a whole host of lovely Ortigia products to keep you smelling divine throughout autumn and winter.

There's a new product (and we're the only ones in Scotland with it at the moment), a perfume oil in travel-size to match the other popular items in the mini range and it comes so beautifully packaged in a little foil box with Ortigia's signature palm tree at the top.



We have packaged these four mini's up in a gorgeous blue Ortigia bag, with a roll-on cologne/perfume oil, soap, bath salts and bath/shower gel for £25. These are a brilliant gift for men and women as it allows the recipient to try the smaller items before making a bigger investment in the full-sized products. They're also a good size for travelling with and posting as a present.


The Ambra Nera shown here is a favourite for men : Resin and Spice Wood, an Amber base of Labdanum, Galbanum and Amber Resin. Rich and Warm.

All Ortigia products are inspired by the cultural wealth and natural beauty of the island they come from – the colours, scents and aesthetics are Sicilian, and all of the plants used to create its range are indigenous to Sicily.

All Ortigia products are made from natural and traditional ingredients, such as olive oil, palm oil, almond oil, naturally distilled lavender and vegetable dyes.



We have the gift bags at £25 in several fragrances suitable for men and women and will be happy to help if you need any assistance choosing the "right one" @ Pierrot et Coco, 3 Abbot Street, Shawlands, Glasgow. 0141 649 2489

Saturday 1 October 2011

Curious & Elegant Cocktail Recipes

We've created a lovely 6-page PDF cocktail menu for you to download, print & hopefully re-use and re-use.

We used Kusmi Teas in Violet, Four Red Fruits, Apple and Rose on the night of our party.



Click here to download or view
the cocktail menu, and enjoy a "curious and elegant" evening with tea-infused cocktails of your own!