Smug

SHOP WATCH - Feeling Smug

Smug is a vision of homeware loveliness, the perfect fix for anyone in search of well-designed products to enhance their décor. No surprise proprietor Lizzie Evans is also a graphic and interior designer, offering the Smug brand as an appealing mix of the bold and gently eccentric, from vintage furniture to natty stationery, with each room in the home lovingly catered for. Lizzie champions British designers and maintains a regular rotation of craft and print works, all housed within her perfectly located Camden Passage store.

Smug, 13 Camden Passage N1 020 7354 0253 ifeelsmug.com

Just a quick note to say that COMPANY seem to have slightly gotten the wrong end of the stick and think we're a pop up shop closing at the end of January. I wanted to clarify that we're definitely permanent but are very grateful for their kind words.

Graphic designer Lizzie Evans has decked out this lovely lifestyle boutique with all her favourite things; the result is a space that’s a labour of love as well as a canny commercial move. With its well-edited selection of home accessories, such as owl ceramic candlesticks and gorgeous teacups and saucers, as well as vintage homewares such as Welsh blankets and 1950s and ‘60s furniture (of the Formica and Maid Server ilk) you can see why she might be proud of it. Pixi makeup, rainbow kitchen accessories, homemade brooches, old fashioned notebooks, retro and knitted toys, stylish watches and clocks, colourful cushions and a range of tea towels and men’s T-shirts emblazoned with cool graphic print are further draws, and various Smug exclusives are available. 

howtospendit.com

 

Lizzie Evans has every reason to feel smug. At just 27, she presides over three floors of Islington retail that have been breathing fresh air into the area’s interiors offerings for the past two years. In fact, the store’s name alludes to an "old dictionary definition that defines it as smartening up one’s self or a room – basically, interior design”.

 

Smug came into being after Evans, who studied interior architecture, redesigned the Camden Passage space owned by her family. "I ended up renting it,” she says.

 

"I didn’t realize I wanted a shop, then it just happened.” Though not without a few detours: struggling to open by Christmas 2008, Smug popped up elsewhere – in the kitchen of Evans’s parents’ nearby home. Apparently, they were thrilled: "We were living out of a little space in the kitchen and had endless microwave meals.”

 

The store now exudes a similarly homey feel. "I didn’t want it fitted out white with glass shelves,” says Evans. "I wanted the stock on vintage furniture. But I wasn’t planning on selling the furniture… The first weekend we were open, people asked, ‘How much is the table?’ It’s now a big part of what we do.”

 

On the ground floor are the more quick-fire purchases. A stationery selection included neat notebooks (from £2.50) and chic laminated rulers by Offcut (£11), laid out on the Smug-standard vintage Formica tables (from £90) alongside a selection of cards, such as Stacie Swift’s quirky animal illustrations (£2.75). The counter is filled with crafty jewellery and retro Casio watches (from £28), soft toys made from old jumpers (rabbits £35) spill out of drawers, and there’s a stack of recycled "random wool” picnic blankets (£28), which "sell like hot cakes”.

 

Downstairs is dedicated to kitchen – and homewares, from the bestselling melamine teaspoons (£6 for six) and vintage Poole teacups (£55 for six) to Lisa Stickley’s printed oven mitts (£14) – and more Formica.

 

Upstairs, you’ll step onto a reclaimed wood floor that is in fact an artwork by Henry Krokatsis, owned by Evans’ father and brother, who run a contemporary art business one floor further up. Art makes its way onto the walls here too, as with the current exhibition by Argentinian Cesar Paternosto, while lined out on a low sideboard is the Smug Top 10 – a handy barometer for gifts that often features the exclusive rustic bowls of French ceramicist Natalie Colombel (£32).

 

Exclusives are something Evans is keen to expand on, so there’s a special yellow version of Matt Pugh’s stylized oak and walnut owl ornament (£28) and a Smug-only Bunny cushion form the now-well-known Donna Wilson (£68). After all, "It’s nice to have something other people don’t.”

Victoria Woodcock

Your newsletter from SMUG concept boutique for the month of July

On Saturday 9th July SMUG will be celebrating it’s 2nd birthday. Pop in to say happy birthday, have some cake in the yard and have a look at our new SMUG exclusives.

Yellow Matt Pugh owls – we’re very proud to announce that for SMUG’s 2nd birthday we’ll be launching these yellow topped Matt Pugh owls which Matt is making exclusively for SMUG. £28 each

Wedge by Ed Carpenter – made from untreated solid European oak with a painted edge in either blue, green, pink, white or black. At only £7.25 each why not have a different colour for each room? £7.25

Graph paper notebooks – I warn you now, these mini coloured notebooks are addictive. There are 8 different colours in the range, each with a different type of graph paper inside. Chose from checked, ruled or even honey comb to mention but a few. £2.50 each

Ceramic owl candlesticks – our bestselling white ceramic owl candlestick is now available in citron and pale blue exclusively for SMUG! £12 each

Mustard Bunny cushion by Donna Wilson – we’re also excited to let you know that Donna Wilson’s Mustard Bunny cushion is back and now being knitted exclusively for SMUG. £67.50

Lizzie the Owl – Chloe Owens has been busy hand making owls for us at SMUG from Liberty lawns and vintage fabrics since we opened in 2009. Lizzie the Owl shown above is a collaboration between Chloe and Lizzie Evans, founder of SMUG and has been a great success. We’re now working on a Louise owl named after Lizzie’s right hand woman at SMUG, Louise Gibbs. Both owls are exclusive to SMUG. £18

1950’s wooden stools – Lizzie continues to be passionate about 1950s furniture and currently has a bit of a thing about stools. Lots more in store. £30-60

Animals handmade from vintage jumpers – we love finding our animals a happy new home, if you’re after a rabbit, turtle, duckling, gosling, chicken or even a polar bear pop in and choose from argyle, cable knit, ribbed wool, chunky weave and cashmere. £18-£35

SMUG loves Thornback & Peel – you may have noticed or even bought Thornback & Peel’s wonderful hand screened hankies, tea towels and aprons from SMUG before. The big news is that we will be revealing our very own Thornback & Peel guinea pig tea towel to customers on our birthday, Saturday 9th July £13.75

Timeout London Shopping Guide
August 2010

Smug has been featured in the new Timout London Shopping Guide. It's a fantastic book and we're really proud to be mentioned four times in it - including the interview with Lizzie pictured left.

Smug
13 Camden Passage, N1 8EA (73540253, www.ifeelsmug.com). Angel tube.
Open 11am-6pm Wed, Fri, Sat; noon-7pm Thur; noon-5pm Sun.

Graphic designer Lizzie Evans has decked out this new lifestyle boutique with all her favourite things; the result is a space that's a labour of love as well as a  canny commercial move. With its rainbow kitchen accessories, Lisa Stickley wash bags, vintage-inspired soft toys and 1950s and '60s furniture (of the Formica and Maid Server ilk), you can see why she might be proud of it. Pixi make-up, retro brooches, old-fashioned notebooks, stylish alarm clocks, colourful cushions and a cute range of aprons and tea towels are further draws. The old school Casio watches for men and women, displayed in the glass-top counter, are particularly popular purchases.

This book is available at SMUG for £9.99

Smug is now also listed in the shopping chapter of the Timeout London Guidebook.

The London Magazine
August 2010


The Great Little Shop Awards

Smug is happy to announce that we've made it into The London Magazine's shortlist of London's best independent interiors and collectables shops.
Check out our listing by clicking the link above.
 
Smug, 13 Camden Passage, N1 8EA (020 7354 0253 of ifeelsmug.com)

Packed to the rafters with an expertly curated selection of retro furniture, melamine kitchenware, textiles and kooky accessories.

The Independent
June 2010

March 2011

Time for Tea

Afternoon tea at the Dorchester is Lizzie’s absolute favourite treat. Now with a little help from SMUG you can host the perfect tea at home. SMUG has selected beautiful 1930s to 60s afternoon tea table linens, both cloths and napkins, and our collection of vintage cut glass cake stands, conserve pots with silver spoons and bon bon dishes look fabulous on them.

Our 50s Formica table are even the perfect size for a little afternoon tea gathering. All you need to do is make the finger sandwiches and scones and you’re away!

Vintage cut and pressed glass cake stands, £25 each

1930s-60 Irish linen, embroidered, cutwork and utility clothes, £25-£45

Pairs of Chairs

These fabulous pairs of 1950s wooden kitchen chairs are the epitome of quirky chic. They’ll work in any room either pulling together an eclectic mix of things or standing alone as statement pieces. Stylish, sturdy, easy to clean and they work great when you mix the colours.

1950s kitchen chairs in pale blue, yellow or orange, £80 a pair

Introducing Chloe Owens Owls

Chloe’s Owls are lovingly handmade from vintage fabrics, often Liberty lawns, with bright felt and buttons. They make a stunning alternative to a pocket handkerchief for the eccentric gentleman. £18 each.

House proud
Lizzie Evans is a Camden Passage store owner and interior designer with a bowerbird's approach to style. She tells Anna McCooe how her vision takes flight

Smug - the sensation - has gotten a bad rap. Fortunately, Smug - the Camden Passage lifestyle store - is enjoying quite the contrary reputation. Since August 2009, when interior designer Lizzie Evans opened the doors of the store she refurbished herself, the space is fast becoming one of London's go-to interiors destinations and is a firm favourite for stylists and designers. Smug, for most, would be putting it lightly, but the warmth behind Lizzie's expression as she shows me around is more ardent than self-satisfied.

Why the name for the store then? "Smug is the way I want people to feel when they find something in the store they really love, as though they'd been let in on a little secret," she says. "Besides, being house proud isn't so bad, but it's about how your surroundings make you feel rather than impressing other people."

As moments in time go, August 2009 wasn't exactly optimum for opening a lifestyle store. Thankfully, this interior designer knows exactly how to work a silver lining. "Since the housing market crashed, people are putting themselves into their homes more. They are less dictated by fashion, it's okay to be interesting and if nobody else has something, all the better," she says. Opening in a recession did mean Lizzie's product sourcing had to be spot on. Every carefully selected item in the store - be it a 1950s telephone table, a hand-stitched soft toy or a contemporary artwork - is utterly unique. "The things I sell aren't cheap - I don't like anything mass-produced or disposable - and so they had to be irresistible," she says. "I have regular customers who save up each month to buy one thing."

As an interior architect Lizzie may be at the helm, but Smug is a family business. Together her family refurbished the historic Camden Passage site, restoring the waxed boards and tarnished manhole covers, and introducing more glass for greater light. The store now also moonlights as a gallery space for Lizzie's father and brother's contemporary art business, Lodeveans Collection. "My family is too creative to take orders and so we had to be entrepreneurs," she jokes.

The refurbishment of the site and now the upscale lifestyle store is just one chapter in the changing face of Camden Passage. The born-and-bred Islingtonian, who would spend her pocket money at the antiques market, is thrilled to play her part. "I could feel a change coming a few years ago. The area was always charming, but not many people were buying things in the shops. Now it is starting to thrive."

So yes, the renovate and profit dream may have burned out, for now, but with a renewed pride in individual style burning in the embers, Lizzie is happy adding fuel to the fire. The question begs to be asked: what's so wrong with being smug anyway?

To visit Smug head to 13 Camden Passage, N1 8EA; 020 7354 0253
www.ifeelsmug.com

Your place is filled with cool, quirky objects. Your art collection is amazing. And friends love the gifts you give.

Smug?

Not you: we're talking about Lizzie Evans's delectable new boutique. The interior and graphic designer spent her youth splashing pocket money on bric-a-brac around Camden Passage and now puts her aesthetics to work at Smug.

The refined retail space retains the rusty old features of the building but contrasts them with modern fixtures and contemporary art. And because the shop is packed to the rafters with an expertly curated selection of retro furniture, handmade toys, melamine kitchenware, textiles and kooky accessories, you might even call it a microcosm of cool.

And we know how Evans'll feel about that.

Smug, 13 Camden Passage, N1 8EA (020 7354 0253 of ifeelsmug.com)

www.weheart.co.uk

Smug,London
Local Islington girl, Lizzie Evans, is one of those types that are so often referred to as, 'annoyingly talented', it's a turn of phrase that's terribly easy to use in these circumstances, especially given the name of her shop.... the 'annoying' fact is, however, that interior and graphic designer Lizzie has every right to be....'Smug', her Camden Passage boutique is a wonderfully retro hotpot of inspiration that just oozes class. Kitchenware, glassware, clothing, ceramics and handmade toys are just some of the terribly cool and retro bits and bobs on display alongside retro furniture, artworks, accessories and textiles... as fabulously curated as it is designed, Lizzie's little emporium of cool would make any of us feel infinitely smug!

Bright and beautiful; so alluring you’ll want it all.

Whether they’re from decades past or by an unknown designer, Lizzie, a graphic designer, collects all of her favourite things to deck out in her boutique. In the basement you’ll find anything from rainbow coloured melamine cups to Parisian antiques, while the ground floor is filled with goods by the likes of Donna Wilson. The first floor gallery captures what Smug is all about – feeling good.

Left - Smug opened in the lively market of Angel two years ago.

Below - £5 kitsch goods. The displays are so inviting they draw you inside.

Translation by Roxana Mirshahi