Our top ten bestsellers for a cleaner world. 

This week at Pedlars is one for the Clean Freaks. We know there are lots of you our there, because a good number of our cleaning materials are amongst our best sellers. So, today we've compiled a list of our top ten bathroom and kitchen cleaning things based on sales in the last six weeks. In the true tradition of top ten charts, we'll start at number ten and count down.

Drum roll….

  At number 10 we have the Ara Mirrors. 

Number 9 is our bristle and wood doormat.

Number 8 is a new entry for our tall dustpan and brush.

Another new entry at 7  is L:A Brucket's amazing liquid soap.

Number 6 is perennial favourite The Riot Act Has Been Read tea towel.

In at number 5 are our flouro wash bags (a personal favourite).

Another new entry at 4 is our Loo Print. We expect to see that at number 1 someday soon.

At number 3; the roller towel.

At number 2 -a surprise new entry- are our magical handmade Byracka cups.

And -tah dah- at number 1 -again- are our range towels.  

Dirt….be gone! Clean Freaks unite!

This made us chuckle!

Pedlars Recommends - Our Favourite Shops

Material, Ludlow. A weekend near Ludlow this month introduced us to the wonderful Material. Part bookshop, part gallery, part card and print shop. Beautifully curated and with a sister Pop Up in London. http://www.materialmaterial.com/ And we also fell in love with Black Bough in Ludlow. Two recent exiles from London have opened this wonderful treasure trove of pottery, prints, books, chocolate and butcher’s twine.

Pedlars Recommends - Now Booking

Sziget Festival, Budapest. We keep hearing amazing things about this week-long music festival in Budapest, that has won all sorts of awards in the last few years. We haven’t been and we won’t be going this year but we’re thinking about 2013. http://www.sziget.hu/festival_english#.T8Os-XlYuI0 Abergavenny Food Festival. Not the biggest food festival in Britain but one of our favourites; friendly, compact and in a great location. 15-16 September. http://www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com/ Paul Heaton’s The 8th. A New Soul Opera. Britain’s biggest pop/folk hero ( the man behind the Housemartins and Beautiful South) premiered this in Manchester this year. He describes The 8th as ‘the longest pop song ever written’. He’s touring it this summer along with some old favourites to keep the faithful happy. We’ve booked. Tickets from the usual sources. Festival Number 6. A new festival in Portmeirion (a wonderful place). The line up looks good (New Order, Primal Scream, Spiritualised). We know some people involved and they tell us it’s going to be fabulous and original. Worth a look http://www.festivalnumber6.com/ The Angel’s Share. Ken Loach’s latest film won the Palme D’Or at Cannes. A comedy that touches on serious themes; we all laughed out loud at the trailer. Gulliver’s Travels. Edinburgh Festival from August 17th. This production by visionary theatre maker Silviu Purcărete with an original score by Irish composer Shaun Davey looks wonderful. Book now at http://eif.co.uk/gulliver 2008:Macbeth. Edinburgh Festival from August 11th. Steal yourself for this. A shocking and violent new play that looks sensational. http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/event/246780-2008-macbeth/ Dexys. Touring again. We saw Dexys (the Midnight Runners bit has been dropped) play their new album in its entirety followed by a few old faves at Shepherds Bush Empire this month. It was astonishing; raucous three minute standing ovations followed each section of the show. Now the band are touring the show. The Barbican in London sold out in hours but tickets for other venues are still available. Go! Tickets from usual sources. Ardingly Antiques Fair. Followers of our blog will know that we keep urging people who love vintage to give this a go. The next show is 17-19th July. http://www.iacf.co.uk/ardingly/ Small Publishers Fair. This is a lovely fair on a Friday and Saturday in London. Find out more at http://www.rgap.co.uk/spf.php Patti Smith Band. Touring the UK, yet again. We've booked our tickets. No two Patti Smith shows are the same and this fearless, original and supremely energetic artist always offers up something remarkable. Tickets from the usual sources. John Banville in conversation. At Daunt Books, Chelsea, 7pm on 4th July. Banville is one of Ireland's greatest writers and this is a rare chance to hear him talk. http://www.dauntbooks.co.uk/events.asp?TAG=&CID= Richard Hawley. Touring the Uk in June and September. We've booked our tickets If you haven't yet seen harley live then now is the time. The music has evolved but we're pretty sure -going by previous experiences- that this will be great. Tickets from the usual sources. DVD. Marley. Out on August 7th. If you haven't seen this in the cinema, well, you must order the CD. One of the best documentaries we have seen for years.

Pedlars Recommends - Now Showing

St. Jude’s in the City. At Coningsby Gallery, Tottenham Street, London, W1T 4RJ. The wonderful St Jude’s show some of their best artists and designers in central London; prints, painting, fabric, wallpaper. For a limited time from 23rd May. www.coningsbygallery.com

Giffords Circus. We have raved about this before; this year Nell and Toti Gifford’s magical circus offers up a show called The Saturday Book. We haven’t seen this yet, but friends who have say it’s as good as ever. Touring until mid September. www.giffordscircus.com Design Museum. Designer of the Year. Another worthwhile stab at creating ‘the Oscars of the Design World’ in London. And you can see the Christian Louboutin show while you’re there. Runs until July 4th. Hay Festival. We’re off for our twelfth annual visit next weekend. This year the bill includes Tim Minchin, Max Hastings, Mary Portas, Lianne La Havas and thousands more. http://www.hayfestival.com/wales Dark Shadows and Moonrise Kingdom. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed these two recent films by our favourite directors, Messrs Burton and Anderson. British Design. 1948-2012. The Victoria and Albert Museum. This is a must-see exhibition for anyone interested in contemporary design. At first the show seems a bit muddled (and it is a truly massive subject) but we definitely recommend a visit. Enlightenment. The Library Paintings of Hugh Buchanan. Aberdeen, Old Town House. A brilliant show by one of Britain’s finest living watercolourists. Wonderful. ‘Once upon a Time in Anatolia’ – Nuri Bilge Ceylan - 2 ½ hours of slow moving Turkish movie – but it is fantastic, a visual treat, an intriguing story and the odd laugh The Headhunter – Morten Tyldum. Norwegian thriller – and a damn good one, never a dull moment.

Pedlars Recommends - New Music

Sigur Ros. Valtari. Last year they said they were taking an indefinite break. This year they’re back with their most accessible, mellow record yet. Not their best record, but wonderful nevertheless; they have –after all- set the bar about as high as it can go. Under Dub Wood. Seven inch vinyl. The words of Dylan Thomas, the voice of Richard Burton and the music of King Tubby. Sounds odd. It is odd; but brilliant. One for collectors, lovers of original thought/music and the curious. http://www.caughtbytheriver.net Django Django. Django Django. This Edinburgh-formed, London-based band have made what is probably the best ‘indie’ album of the year. Intelligent, melodic, angular, original; get it before your friends do the same. Beach House. Bloom. Our favourite dream-pop duo return with an album that is even better than its predecessor, Teen Dream. As Pop Matters put it; ‘Absolutely golden from end-to-end’. Paul Buchanan. Mid Air. The Blue Nile’s frontman returns after an hiatus of goodness knows how long with an album of fragile, mature, often-barely-there songs. Not one for a rainy Monday morning, unless you enjoy feeling melancholy; but lovely nonetheless. Kathryn Williams. The Pond. This is something completely new from the lovely Ms Williams. The Pond is where gentle British folk music meets Portishead. Vintage beats, a rapper, gentle vocals, tape loops; it’s all here. Smoke Fairies. Blood Speaks. The Jack White-endorsed Smoke Fairies have delivered by far their best work so far; an elegant, gloomy but beautiful slice of Americana…from Sussex. Soulsavers. The Light the Dead See. This is an absolutely terrific third album from Soulsavers, this time guest starring Dave Gahan on vocals. Accessible, intelligent gothic pop at its best. King Creosote. I learned it from the Gaels. A terrific new four track 12 inch vinyl EP from King Kenny. Buy it here and get a download voucher too -http://www.fencerecords.com/shop/i-learned-from-the-gaels/ Dexys. One day I’m Going To Soar. After a 27 year break, Kevin Rowland (bona fide genius) is back with a brand new album on 4th June. We heard it played live its entirety last month. It sounded wonderful. Richard Hawley. Standing at the Skys Edge. Sheffield’s very own chain-smoking, hard-drinking answer to Roy Orbison is back with a new sound; gone are the gently twanged guitars and in their place comes a mighty psychedelic rumble. But deep down the tunes are still there and you’ll learn to love this album as much as its predecessors.

Pedlars Recommends - New Reading

Kinfolk Volume 3.The elegant, original Kinfolk is back with a new edition. This one ‘explores how we might all benefit from incorporating more of the things we love into our daily life instead of saving them for the weekend or our next vacation’. Another perfect-bound edition that is more book than mag. $18 plus $22 shipping, or buy the App. We hope to bring this to Pedlars soon. http://shop.kinfolkmag.com/product/volume-three Fork Magazine. We were recently interviewed for a feature for this nicely produced food mag that tells ‘stories of people who work with food’. Our feature comes out sometime soon but for now Issue 21 is in the shops. http://forkmagazine.com/ Doghouse Magazine.We picked up a copy of Issue 1 of this last weekend. It’s a lovely thing with 100 pages dedicated to traditional pubs and classic cafes. Issue 1 focuses on Ludlow and its surrounding area as well as on London. Offer your support by buying a copy http://www.doghousemagazine.co.uk/ The Art of Fielding. Chad Harbach. Ignore the fact that this mega selling American novel purports to be about baseball and stick with it. This is a great American novel for those that love Franzen. Terrific stuff about the things that matter. In One Person. John Irving. Irving is back at his best with a complex and tender novel. At the time of writing I haven’t finished this; but so far, so good. The Stranger's Child. Alan Hollinghurst. Out this month in paperback. This was one of our favourite books of last year. Whenever we talk about it, the essence of the conversation seems to be about whether it is as good as The Line of Beauty, its 2004 predecessor. Does it matter if they're both sensational? Jeffrey Eugenides. The Marriage Plot. Out soon in paperback; this latest opus from the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Middlesex is a big, serious, engaging page-turner about everything than can go wrong and everything that can go right in modern America. The Pedlars Guide to the Great Outdoors. Charlie and Caroline Gladstone with Kate Burt. Published by Random House in early August. A bit of shameless publicity for our very own guide to family living outdoors, based largely on our experience bringing our six children up in The Highlands. How to tickle trout, build a treehouse, cook on a campfire, organise outdoor romps, recognise clouds and loads more. You could preorder at amazon if you were feeling very kind - click here to pre-order. Pavel and I by Dan Vyleta. A spy thriller set in freezing post war Berlin. Not my usual genre but it was a really exciting read, couldn’t put it down. Never Mind By Edward St Aubyn. The first of five novels about the Melrose family. Quietly shocking. Next four are ready and waiting on the bedside table.

From time to time we uncover something really exciting at Pedlars; and the Sheila Bownas archive is just such a thing.

Sheila Bownas was a well-respected print designer who -during the 1960s- created patterns for Liberty, Marks and Spencer, Crown and many others. But she was also a keen painter and on her death a large number of previously unknown (by anyone, including her family) paintings were discovered in her studio. This collection was auctioned in 2008 where it was purchased by a collector/visionary who created The Sheila Bownas Archive.

We are proud to be the first company to work with this archive and have created a small collection of pieces using our favourite print.

First we have this lovely double deckchair, which is made in England using the best materials available. Then we have this folding stool, also made in England and good for indoor and outdoor use. Finally we have this mug, which is again -of course- made in England. These are also special, unusual pieces with a great story to tell. View them here.

PEDLARS MUSIC CLUB

Today we have six new titles at Pedlars Music Club. These are half a dozen of the best new records; in each case they are highly accessible (if demanding) albums that are, so far, only known to a few enthusiasts. Discover them here; you can read our reviews and find out what the press say. Be amongst the first!

The Queen came to the throne on 6th February 1952, sixty years ago today. The only other monarch to celebrate this extraordinary feat was Queen Victoria, in 1897. Incredible, eh? Her Majesty's official coronation happened on 2nd June 1953, but today is the day that things really happened. And if this isn't a cause for celebration, then we don't know what is.

We will be marking the Diamond Jubilee year with a number of specially commissioned works. The first of these is this exclusive-to-Pedlars print by celebrated graphic designer and artist Annemarie Wright.  The image is constructed entirely of Annemarie's finely-wrought handwriting saying 'the queen's diamond jubilee 1952-2012'. Ink on paper, signed, numbered and limited to an edition of 20 - http://www.pedlars.co.uk/page_5024.html

We have just taken delivery of a good collection of these genuine 1968 vintage Beatles on the Rainbow prints. These are very rare and in excellent, unused condition. They were printed to promote Yellow Submarine in 1968. They were drawn by Peter Max and published by King Features Syndicate (KFS-SUBA). They carry the mark of KFS-SUBA and are supplied with our certificate of authenticity - http://www.pedlars.co.uk/page_5020.html

How To Use Pedlars Prints.

Limited edition prints have become a big thing for us at Pedlars and recently a customer said to us that she would love to see how we use these prints in our life. Good idea! Here are the first results.

We have just come across a truly exceptional haul of Beatles posters from 1968. These are currently being shipped to us from America (where they were originally printed) and we expect them to clear customs within about three weeks. We have photographed our set here, they really are lovely. They were issued by King Features Syndicate (KFS-SUBA) in 1968 and are sold with our certificate of authenticity. Reserve your set now - http://www.pedlars.co.uk/page_5007.html