Cambridge Satchel Company Opens Debut Seven Dials Store
If, like me, you’re a fan of the Cambridge Satchel Company, you’ll be thrilled to hear the brand is opening its first standalone store in Seven Dials. Located on Short Gardens, the store will open in two phases: first as a pop-up store on Saturday this week in time for Christmas, and open until January. Then the rest of the shop will be completed in time for London Fashion Week in Feburary, where they’ll have an exclusive Bloggers Lounge. I’m really looking forward to this one.

Zaeem Jamal Opens New Kings Road Boutique
And here’s another store with a split opening, combining Christmas and London Fashion Week. Luxury eveningwear brand Zaeem Jamal opens its new flagship boutique on London’s Kings Road today, coinciding with the area’s late-night Christmas shopping evening. However the official celebrity launch is planned for London Fashion Week in February, where the brand will also launch a bespoke shoe service. Pop in to peruse the boutique’s two floors, with the ground floor dedicated to ready-to-wear dress, gown and accessories collections, while the lower section features a swish private bespoke area and suite.

Harvey Nicks Jewellery Designer Showcase: 6 Dec
Head to Harvey Nichols on Thursday between 7pm and 9.30pm for a special evening showcasing their beautiful jewellery collections. Enjoy up to 20% off on the evening, plus sip on complimentary Champagne and sample funky bejewelled canapes while you shop for that perfect Christmas gift. Stylist Melissa Lund will be on hand, running a Jewellery Clinic offering top tips on how to wear this season’s key trends, stones and colours. Make sure you RSVP: eventsrsvp@harveynichols.com

Quintessentially British Christmas Shopping on Sloane Street
On 6, 13 and 20 December, there’ll be special shopping events taking place on Sloane Street. Look out for a host of traditionally uniformed British butlers. Lining either side of the street between Basil and Pont Streets, the butlers will be on hand to open car doors, guide visitors into stores and provide information about Sloane Street’s luxury retailers. In full uniform and holding umbrellas, the butlers will act as beautifully dressed beacons on wintry evenings, welcoming all Christmas shoppers to the street.

The smart jewellers of Bond Street, Conduit Street and Grafton Street in Mayfair have allowed students from the Royal College of Art and Central St Martins to take over their window displays for a week.

At a private view last night, top-end jewellery shops such as Asprey, Chanel, Cartier and Tiffany were full of students and tutors from London’s top art colleges.

My highlights included a display of intricate paper bees; a rotating case with magnifying glasses trained on a diamond bracelet; and an interactive TV screen where you could see yourself in a princess-like tiara.

The Street Lights project runs until 15 May 2011

Do you fancy making your own bespoke designer jewellery? Check out the classes at the London Jewellery School where you can learn to make jewellery from beads, silver, wood, perspex, glass, resin, haberdashery and recycle vintage jewellery.

The London Jewellery School is located round the corner from Hatton Garden, an area known for being the centre of London’s jewellery trade, so there are plenty of places to look for inspiration on your way to class.

I took an evening taster class working with silver metal clay. We were each presented with a tiny lump of silver clay which we rolled flat, embossed, cut into shape with a little cookie cutter and decorated with a sparkly stone. Finally the piece was blow-torched. This left a small white blob with a crust which brushed off leaving a shining silver pendant.

Making a silver pendant from scratch in two and a half hours initially felt rather ambitious, but the class was well paced and everyone had a lovely pendant to take home. Tutor Sima Vaziry was reassuring and experienced, explaining each step clearly and making sure everyone finished their pieces. Most of my coursemates had some experience of jewellery making, and a couple were regulars at the school, but as a beginner I didn’t feel overwhelmed.

Often craft classes require little more than tables, chairs and biscuits, but the London Jewellery School workrooms are set up like a well-stocked professional studio. The taster class was a fun and friendly introduction, but the school was equiped with the facilities and expert tuition to give you the skills you would need to embark on jewellery design as a career.

The silver metal clay taster evening class costs £35. www.londonjewelleryschool.co.uk

The fabulous Christmas Craftacular was held at Bethnal Green’s York Hall yesterday. Women, men and someone dressed as a panda queued round the block in the sunshine to buy handcrafted presents.

Organised by Bust Magazine, this popular craft fair brought the best independent designers together for a cool indie shopping experience. While the DJ’s played the greatest hits of Tiffany, hoards of shoppers descended on the 50+ stalls selling handmade cards, bags, jewellery and other cute gifts.

As well as shopping, there was a Tatty Divine tombola, crochet your own moustache classes with Prick Your Finger and Christmas bauble decorating with The Make Lounge. I spent a fun hour helping out with the bauble making and couldn’t resist decorating one of my own to take home.

The next Craftacular will be in 2011, keep an eye on their website to find out more. www.bust.com

If you can’t wait that long, you’ll love We Make London’s 2010 Christmas Fair, 4 December at Chelsea Town Hall. We Make London has an equally brilliant mix of exciting talented designers and is perfect for present shopping.

Don’t forget to check out our Christmas Shopping in London guide.