Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year..!

To all our customers, we’ve had a fantastic year in the shop and we just want to say thank you to you all and wish you a very merry Christmas! The Mark Hearld exhibition was a great success and and I’m sure they’ll be lots of cheerful people on the 25^th who are receiving his pictures for Christmas gifts! Check our website for our Christmas opening hours and pop in for a browse after the hectic Christmas rush – we have just acquired a lovely collection of vintage and out of print books, focussing on fashion, interior design and society biography. There’s a great set of original David Hicks titles, many beautifully illustrated Cecil Beaton books and even some original Christian Dior fashion illustrations... if you didn’t get to indulge over Christmas, here’s your chance! See you in the New Year!

New Beta-Plus Titles - Now In Store!

We've had some exciting new titles arrive in store over the last few weeks - first it was the fabulous Mlinaric on Decorating (which is now back in stock!), then the gorgeous new book from Christian Liaigre. Now we have (hot off the press!) not one, but five new titles from Beta-Plus!

Contemporary Architecture and Interiors - Yearbook 2009 - 416 pages of cool interiors.

Timeless Architecture and Living - Yearbook 2009 - for interiors of all ages.

Contemporary Living in Paris - sleek Parisian interiors.
Urban Retreats - the ultimate in City living.
Contemporary Living in Provence & Cote d’Azur - streamlined design one of the most beautiful areas of France.

Drop by the shop to pick up your copies, or give us a call and we'll reserve one for you - five more to add to your collection!

August Bank Holiday

Just a quick note to let our customers know that we will be closed this August Bank Holiday (Monday 25th) for a well-earned rest!

We will be back open on Tuesday at 10am, or you could always drop by on Sunday 24th when we are open, as usual, from 11am - 5pm.

Mlinaric on Decorating - book & signing

There is one new title that we are particularly looking forward to this September - Mlinaric on Decorating.

An absolutely beautiful collection of his work (and more), this is the must-have interior title for Autumn.

We are lucky enough to have an advance copy in our shop now - so please feel free to drop by, have a browse and place an order!

We are also pleased to announce that David Mlinaric will be signing copies of Mlinaric on Decorating at Potterton Books London on Monday, September 22nd (Decorex week) at 5.30pm.

Chelsea Book Day

We'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came and supported us on our first Chelsea Book Day. It was a great success, and extremely exciting for us to meet not only Stephen Calloway, Stafford Cliff, Derry Moore and Quinlan Terry, but to see so many faces come in support of the day. 

So, thank you and keep your eyes peeled for our next event!

The House Directory

The bookshop is thrilled to be featured in The House Directory. This invaluable website has been recently re-designed and re-launched. Featuring a large database of over 3,000 companies covering all aspects of interior and garden design and decoration it is an essential resource for all our customers - professionals and private clients alike.

Go to www.thehousedirectory.com for all your interior questions answered!

Follies of Europe

We are really excited to be one of the first shops stocking "Follies of Europe. Architectural Extravaganzas". With photographs by Nic Barlow, text by Caroline Holmes and an introduction by Tim Knox this book presents a beautiful and absorbing collection of the most enigmatic and diverse follies in Europe today. From the flyleaf - "The folly has given Europe a superb legacy of idiosyncratic, often experimental architecture, ranging from the Baroque and Rococo through Art Nouveau to the present day...From the magnificent power of Sanssouci in Potsdam, to the quixotic Italianate village of Portmeirion in Wales; from a contemporary fernery made of wine bottles at Westonbury Water Gardens, Pembridge, to the Villa Padierna's Teatro in Marbella all are testament to imagination and eccentricity.".
We love follies in our shop and, with signed copies available now, we hope you do too!

Happy Birthday Potterton London - Now We Are One!

We are celebrating our first birthday this month at Potterton Books London, and would like to thank all our customers for their support over the past year - here's to our next year and all the exciting books and events we're going to fill it with!

Potterton in the Big Apple

I've just returned from a trip across the Atlantic, visiting our elder sister, Potterton Books New York.

The family resemblance is certainly there. It is a lovely, warm and friendly shop, with so many wonderful design books from all around the world. Located within the Design & Decoration Building the bookshop excellently serves the Interior Design community. I was so well looked after there and with Bloomingdales next door I also managed to put together my Summer wardrobe! Be sure to visit when you are next in the City.

I also found time to squeeze in some book shopping and the London shop is now bursting with some beautiful out-of-print titles on all our design subjects, especially fashion and photography. Find Irving Penn, Diana Vreeland, Billy Baldwin, Andy Warhol, Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Harry Winston in the shop whilst they last!

May Day Bank Holiday

We are taking a well earned rest this Monday, and will be closing for the bank holiday. Do drop by and see us on Sunday though, as we are now open on Sundays from 11 - 5!

Spring at Potterton

Spring has finally sprung this week at Potterton, and we have had a revived interest in books on Gardens and Flowers. We have done our weekly window change to celebrate the arrival of Spring at Potterton (a sure fire way to ensure it rains all next week...) so do drop by to have a look, or keep your eyes out if you're travelling by.

London Book Fair

Potterton Books took a step out of Chelsea this week to visit the London Book Fair. There were lots of lovely books due to be published over the next year, of which a couple especially caught our eyes... Rizzoli are producing two titles which we think look extremely promising, one of which is a gorgeous book on Valentino (to coincide with an exhibition in Paris), due out in June - the other a luxurious photography book on London (which if I remember correctly, will come with a limited edition print). We also spied tucked away in a corner a reprint of the Savoy Cocktail book, of which (as our regular customers will know), we have had two of the original editions in store over the past year. The reprint looks great, and as soon as we get more information we will pass it on.

There was so much to see, but have definitely found some new and really exciting titles to have in store here at Potterton Books London, so keep your eyes peeled!

Stephen Calloway and Chelsea Book Day

We will be holding our first ever Chelsea Book Day - a day of events and book-signings on 25th June.
One of our events (held in association with the Chelsea Festival), will be a talk by Stephen Calloway, the V&A curator and lecturer. Entitled 'Decadence and Decoration', he will be bringing to life the opulent lives and works of the great society decorators of the 20s and 30s including Beaton, Messel, Whistler and their set.
Tickets are available through the Chelsea Festival (http://www.chelseafestival.org).

Welcome to Potterton Books London's New Blog.

Here at Potterton Books London we thought we'd start a blog to keep our customers up to date with all our news - we'll be covering new books, events, and so on, as well as interesting, exciting and inspiring things from the world of interior design and the decorative arts.
We're always happy to answer any questions, source books, and help with your book queries, so please get in touch!