There are, as you well know, no limits to this man's talents... At Ryantown tomorrow we will have 25 copies of the very first record from REACHAROUND RECORDS Rob's VERY OWN RECORD LABEL!! As well as a brilliant record by the wonderful JEB LOY NICHOLS ( who some of you may remember did a book reading at the shop a while ago ) in a beautiful sleeve, you get a hand screen printed booklet, all signed and numbered by Rob. All for £20. How great is that. These were all printed in Rob's temporary studio space at Somerset House over the past week ( in between a lot of chatting ). If you haven't been to PICK ME UP yet you only have the weekend to get down there as the last day is bank holiday Monday, then it'll be Pack Me Up before you go go, back to lovely Hackney.

It was London Marathon weekend and quieter along Columbia Road than it has been the past few weeks. But even so, we had a lot of new visitors to the shop. Many of whom had come straight round having just met Rob and watched him at work in his temporary studio space at Somerset House. There has, unsurprisingly, been a surge of interest in his paper cuts. You really need to be standing in front of them to appreciate how fragile and beautiful they are. We have four or five in the shop at the moment, including this one. 'we had nothing, we had not much, we had enough, we had everything. please don't ever let me have too much'

I think I must be developing some kind of attention deficit disorder. It was supposed to be quite straightforward, post an image of the new badge that's been made to mark Rob's presence at PICK ME UP at Somerset House. I was looking at the badge and was reminded of Wham's 'wake me up before you go go' and then that reminded me of the video. But I couldn't remember if that was the video that Rob, myself and many, many other RCA students had found ourselves as extra's in, many, many years ago. SO... of course I had to find out and consequently have spent the best part of the day watching every Wham video available on youtube. And actually quite enjoying it. (and in case you're dying to know, it was 'edge of heaven'. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah....)

I am anticipating Rob's fan base to get even more enormous and Ryantown to get even busier once people have visited him at PICK ME UP and seen him in action! As well as Rob's amazing studio space that he has re-located to the gallery here, there are loads of other great designers exhibiting and lots of events going on. It runs until 3rd May, so if you get the chance, do hot foot it down to SOMERSET HOUSE and say hello. You can find out more HERE

Here are a few more images of some of our new Rainy Days products. The children's ponchos and rain macs are very sweet and would suit stylish 2 - 6 year olds, possibly older ( but sadly not as old as me... i have tried ). We do have a few women's t - shirts, tote bags, umbrellas and small scarves. There are also one or two water bottles, and a few tea cups and even tea pots. More photographs to come soon...

It's a miracle I ever get to open the shop on time, there are so many distractions along the way. I was on Columbia Road walking behind these three very beautiful and beautifully dressed men yesterday, marvelling at how anybody could look so elegant, and AWAKE so early on a sunday morning. I wanted to take a better photograph but got distracted by this tree, which I'm sure wasn't laden with apples the day before. After chatting to a few friends, picking up some rhubarb plants for the garden, flowers for the shop, tea and toast for my breakfast, I finally unlocked the door.

And when I did finally open the door and take down the shutters, this is what I revealed to the world!
Everyone has been so busy at the studio this past week, cutting out the new window display. And what a window. It certainly attracted a lot of attention and it looks just as spectacular from the inside as out. I'll put on some more images later this week for those of you unable to come by and see.

It was quite exciting opening up the boxes of our Rainy Days pieces. As a collaboration between Rob and Afternoon Tea, these products would usually only be available in Japan, but we have a very small and limited selection available in Ryantown. I'll post more images over the next week, but here are a few to whet your appetite...

It seems that not so many people are bringing their dogs with them to the market on sundays. Too crowded at the moment perhaps.... So, I was very happy to welcome local residents Rosco and Rio into the shop yesterday. Aren't they beautiful.

Well yes, I know that the sun is out. At the moment. But as much as I hate to say it, and you know as well as I do, it just wont last. So, this weekend EXCLUSIVELY at Ryantown we will have a small range of limited edition wet weather essentials produced in collaboration with the Japanese company Afternoon Tea. I will post more images over the next couple of days to give you a better idea of what's available. But it will include umbrellas, just the thing to shield you from any impending rain, sleet, snow or icelandic volcanic ash.

Rob brought over some new height rulers in the most amazingly vivid colours. They are screenprinted with handpainted clouds and all signed and numbered. Beautiful. Sometimes visitors to the shop will comment on the melancholy in some pieces of work but actually there is so much that is uplifting and positive too. We have a tile that says 'Believe in People', that's all. It has always been my favourite, it's such a simple message but it's one that we need to be reminded of from time to time, and if any of you haven't yet come across the wonderful Spitalfields Life do have a look. Like Rob's work, it's truly life-affirming.

What a wonderfully warm weekend. I'd forgotten what is was like to feel the sun on my face. Lovely. Columbia Road was so lively on Sunday, packed with people and beautiful flowers, and it smelt fantastic. There was a stall just to the right of us full of jasmine which wafted in to the shop along with the frankincense that Marc from next door burns in his shop FAR and as if that wasn't fragrant enough we had these golden dawn narcissi on the counter. You can never have too much of a good thing. Which reminds me...if you peek past the narcissi in the photograph you can just see our Ryantown gift vouchers. All printed by hand in the studio and available in values of £10, £20 and £50.

...the egg cups arrived, and looked lovely in the window. A kind of post - easter display.

Sunday, when the flower market is on, has always been the big day along Columbia Road, but Saturday's are always interesting too. The street is quieter and the shopping experience calmer, which some people prefer. Last Saturday I had a long conversation with someone who was visiting from Mexico. He had come to England particularly to watch Arsenal play Barcelona and to Columbia Road especially to visit Ryantown. A dedicated Rob Ryan fan AND a Gooner, he was quite clearly a man of impeccable taste.
This weekend we will be open as usual on Saturday and Sunday and have lots of new things for you including this fantastic tote bag, which is perfect for any occasion. Including football matches.

....a Ryantown egg cup is not just for Easter, it's for life.
( which is just as well, because due to unforeseen kiln calamities these wont be available until next week). And just a reminder about our opening hours this weekend. We will be OPEN on SATURDAY as usual from 12noon until 5pm, and CLOSED on EASTER SUNDAY. Have a very lovely weekend!

When asked, I once described Ryantown as being a small shop with big emotions. Love being the most obvious one. We laugh a lot in the shop, but sometimes there are tears. Something in particular in a certain piece of work that might move a customer so much they start to cry. I'm not immune, once I found it particularly hard to let go of a paper cut someone had just bought. They really loved it too of course but I took ever such a long time to wrap it up and hand it over!
This weekend we will have another new print in the shop, You Are My Universe, and it's a just as well we have a few of them because this is definitely the one that moves me right now.