FT - How To Spend It
2nd February 2008
THE CULT SHOP
réglisse
Pascale Karam-Boemond set up her Réglisse showroom in the most unlikely spot. Those on a voyage of discovery must travel to BMG Scooters at the unfashionable end of London’s Fulham Road, find the black door next to it and follow in the footsteps of Anoushka Hempel and Claudia Schiffer to the top floor where she’s established a retail studio for her website. “Réglisse means liquorice, which I love, and I sell things I love,†explains French-Lebanese Karam-Boemond, whose work with auctioneers and jewellers in the US and Paris gives her her expertise. When she moved with her British husband to London four years ago she decided to bring to the web small-scale, otherwise unavailable designers. “Some customers want to try on, touch and feel, so the showroom is an added service,†she says.
Her eye for the quirky is apparent. The oval plastic table on metal legs that looks “designer†hails from Ikea. From the drawers spill unusual jewels: Philippe Ferrandis is a star find, with his diverse mix of stones, Swarovski crystal and modernist resin shapes on brass chains (£230), 1950s-style resin flower ring (£85) and satin evening bags with semiprecious clasps (from £645). Elena Cantacuzène does neckpieces in coral and feathers (pictured below, £2,750), pewter-based gold or silver and turquoise beads strung 12 rows deep (£520) and ebony cuffs with semiprecious cabochons (£680). And Appartement à Louer’s chainmail necklaces in white, brown or grey resin and metal are a steal at £125.
Some designer discoveries morph into other areas. Peggy Huyn Kinh offers chunky silver rings with jade, amber or onyx (from £210), but also leather box bags that fold origami-style (from £340) and shiny, patinated purses, wallets and notebooks (from £75) with the lizard motif she also uses on men’s silver dog tags (£75) and collar stiffeners (from £95).
Next door, the small home studio is even more idiosyncratic: Gaetano Pesce’s flexible resin vases (from £400) and helmet-like ceramic ones by Claydies (£595) sit atop plinths by Karina Succar (from £1,000). Fringed lampshades (from £75) by 5.5 Designers hand from hooks, while antiqued Venetian mirrors by Fiorino Berton (from £270) sit alongside silver trays by Habis (from £155). Karam-Boemond’s latest venture is her own label: white silk items – backed with cashmere for a throw (£850) – cushions with photo prints (from £200) or suit bags with slogans such as “My first wedding dress†(£270). She explains: “I flirt with the fashion factor but lasting quality is always my goal.†And she stocks only a few of each item. Go soon before the rush up her narrow stairs begins. AVRIL GROOM
Réglisse, 280 Fulham Road, London SW10 (by appointment, 0845-094 2120; www.reglisse.co.uk).
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