Westfield Stratford Attracts a Record 47m Shoppers in its First Year

East London shopping centre Westfield Stratford City has marked its first birthday with record-breaking stats. The 1.9m square-foot shopping centre welcomed 47 million visitors in its opening year; one million within the first seven days of being open! Since then, the shopping centre has attracted around 800,000 shoppers each week. Westfield Stratford was also boosted during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as the centre was the gateway to the Olympic Park, meaning visits hit 8.5 million during London 2012. So, the Stratford shopping centre has a lot to celebrate. Between 21 and 23 September, there’ll be a whole host of fun events including circus-themed parties, free live entertainment, offers and prize giveaways. Look out for free cupcakes, cake pops, balloons and popcorn, as well as mime artists, magicians and jugglers. Happy 1st Birthday, Westfield Stratford!

Two New Designer Flagship Stores for London’s West End: Burberry and McQ

As London Fashion Week comes to a close, London is left with the legacy of two incredible new flagship stores. Burberry World opened late last week, in a beautiful 1820s building on Regent Street: the largest Burberry store in the world. The store aims to recreate all the elements found on the brand’s online shopping outlet. There are 500 speakers and 100 screens throughout the store, showing original films created in-house at Burberry. Some of the clothes are specially tagged: when you take them into a changing room or near certain screens, you’ll be shown catwalk footage or details about how the product was made. I can’t wait to try this out!

Over on Dover Street, the long-awaited McQ London flagship opened on Friday. The three-storey boutique features Alexander McQueen’s secondary, more affordable label, as well as some of the most spectacular designs from the brand’s former fashion shows. “We want to create a story and a home for McQ and the flagship on Dover Street is an extension of this world,” said Sarah Burton, creative director for the Alexander McQueen brand (and designer of Kate Middleton’s wedding dress, you’ll remember). “The store will offer special catwalk pieces alongside ready-to-wear collections in a rich and immersive McQ environment.” According to Vogue, that means fancy shag pile carpets, suede-walled changing rooms and velvet chairs creating an intimate boudoir feel for the shop.

Meet The Very Hungry Caterpillar at Waterstone’s Piccadilly

 Finally, one for the kids: on Saturday, you can meet The Very Hungry Caterpillar at Waterstone’s Piccadilly. Between 11.30am and 3.30pm, there’ll be fun activities and story time in the bookstore. The Caterpillar himself will be making appearances every hour, and you can even help Waterstone’s make their very own Hungry Caterpillar in store. Call 0207 851 2400 to find out more.

I’ve loved Rob Ryan’s intricate papercuts for a while now. Since being introduced to his work by the fantastic Domestic Sluts last year, I’ve made the pilgrimage to his Columbia Road shop, Ryantown, bought this skirt from clothkits, and been given a beautiful framed print for my birthday. Yes, I’m something of a fan.

So I was thrilled to be invited along to last night’s private view of his latest work at The Air Gallery on Dover Street. It turns out, I’m not the only one who likes his work – the slim gallery space was packed. (Hence my less than perfect pictures of the art, above.)

Despite the crowds and the heat, I had a great time, and loved the new pieces on show. Seeing so many of the large original papercuts (rather than the prints) up close was fantastic, and really showed just how much skill Rob puts into cutting such tiny shapes into each and every section of the paper.

And the gentle curling of various pieces of cut paper really gives life to the painstakingly cut flowers and leaves on the numerous trees and foliage in his work.

My one quibble was some of the pure, whimsical romance of earlier work I’ve seen seemed to be lacking last night. Maybe it was the crowds, or the amount of black paper on show, but there was more menace and melancholy to the work. Needless to say, I prefer the more positive, romantic, colourful ones.

If you like art with a difference, you should definitely go along and have a look. Particularly if seeing Rob’s work in Central London is easier for you than getting to his shop. Although I can’t promise you won’t end up perusing his website for a little piece of Ryantown for yourself after seeing the show.

The Stars Shine All Day Too by Rob Ryan is on at The Air Gallery until 20 November. Opening Times: Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm. Saturday, 11am-4pm. Sunday, 12-4pm. Free. For more info, see www.misterrob.co.uk or www.tagfinearts.com