On Saturday, my three boys and I hotfooted it down to London for a very special housewarming party.
Our friends at the Great Little Trading Company have just created the very first GLTC showroom and we were very privileged to get a sneak preview before the doors open to the public.
It’s in Wandsworth, south London, so was a bit of a trek from the wilds of Northamptonshire but SO worth the journey.
The outside was humble. No banners, balloons, bells or whistles. Just a couple of signs to let you know it was there. But open the door and it felt like we’d literally set foot inside one of their catalogues.
It made me think of the song from Willy Wonka:
Come with me and you’ll be
In a world of pure imagination
It was such a strange sensation. To be seeing product that you’ve only ever experienced in a 2D format — either in print or online — in the flesh, felt quite surreal.
To be able to reach out and touch things, pick them up and hold them — get a real feel for the scale, quality and finish of things — was fantastic.
And the space that everything was in was incredible.
A huge showroom sectioned into ‘rooms’ showcasing lots — if not all — of their fabulous homewares.
But this was no ordinary showroom. It didn’t feel like a shop. It felt like a home.
And testimony to this was the fact that within minutes of walking through the doors The Twinkles — who are sometimes a little bit shy when they first walk into a new place — made a beeline for a table set up with little trains and buses and began to play.
Totally at ease, totally relaxed totally at home.
The boys got dressed up for the occasion in their party finest.
We had such an amazing day.
To see all of the lovely product, up close and personal — rather than on a computer screen or paper — was such a treat but best of all was meeting the gorgeous, welcoming Great Little Trading Company family for the first time.
We’ve been conversing on email and social media for a few months now, so to give them all a big hug and chat to them in real life was brilliant.
As was catching up with the other members of the testing team.
We were treated to gin cocktails — and I’ve mentioned before how much I love gin ;) — Champagne, cakes plus the best goodie-bags the boys have ever been lucky enough to receive.
It really was a really special day and we were so, so thrilled to be part of it.
But catching up and gin cocktails aside, I think the very best thing about the day was seeing how animated and engaged all the children were.
Living up to the specially made badges they’d been given, the littlest members of the testing team played, laughed and did an admirable job of roadtesting the new GLTC showroom.
I’ve made a little film to show you a snippet of our day. If you find yourself in south-west London, do go and pop in to check it out. It’s well worth the visit and I promise you, you won’t want to leave.
It feels just like home.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
Wow. It looks like a slice of heaven, so beautiful! Looks like you had a great day and the boys got stuck in x
It’s AMAZING Beth. It was a proper wonderland for the littles!! And for the big people, come to think of it ;)
Such a good idea of GLTC to do a show room it can be so hard to decide if something is going to be what you want just looking online. This way u can see the size, colours, quality etc up close.
Isn’t it? I agree — SO lovely to be able to see the things in real life before you commit to buy! The boys didn’t want to leave! :)
We adore GLTC, their stuff is fantastic quality. I am eyeing up a new rug for the kids room!
They have such lovely stuff don’t they? We bought a GLTC rug when the babies were born — really brilliant quality! :)
Ah! Absolutely brilliant! I love the video too (and the jaunty music is perfect – but you know that I’ll have that playing on repeat on my head all day now!)
Great photos…(Depth of Field…Totally appreciate good pics!) The pictures really capture the day. I love GLTC stuff, so well made. Those TeePees look very high quality too…It makes me sad that the kids are growing out of that phase of life…Mind you, are you ever too old for a TeePee?
Thanks for sharing…P.S. Major congratulations on being a BiBs finalist! Good Luck!
P.S. Thanks so much for hosting #HomeEtc too and popping across to see what I have been up to in my very short blogging life!
Thanks so much — on all counts!! My boys were bought a tee-pee for their naming day — it’s had 2 very full summers so far and I know it will be enjoyed again this summer too. I’d LOVE a bigger version for myself!! ;)
Wow! My two would love it there (so would I, to be honest!)
And, Gin in a china cup, Caro! I can imagine you gave a little squeal of delight on the inside when you were offered one! ;-) xxx
Hahaha!! You know me too well!!!! ;) Given a choice of Champagne or gin, gin wins hands down!! Especially served in a gorgeous teacup!! :) xx
I love GLTC and their products are always so lovely and great quality. This looks like so much fun and something my little ones would’ve enjoyed for sure. Thanks for sharing. The photos really capture it well too.
Aah me too Alexandra! They quality is really fab isn’t it? :)
I really really love this company. When my son was little I used to look forward to their catalogues so much. How exciting that you had a sneak peak!
I can totally see why Mellissa! I look forward to the catalogue coming myself! ;)
What a gorgeous show room!Those setups are my dream rooms for my boys!!
Also I love your kids’ outfit. I didn’t know Cath Kidston made boys’ sweaters. Too cute!!
It’s fab isn’t it? I think the boys could have happily moved in! :)
Sounds like you guys had fab day at the launch. I’m loving the storage box lights, very trendy.
They’re fab aren’t they? :) You’d have to have very high ceilings to pull that off at home though! :)
awww this looks famtastic. I love this the GLTC so much and literally want everything xx
Me too Amanda! :)