What To Do, See & Buy: Alessi; Slogan T-shirts; Acne; Wreck-It Ralph; Pop in Notting Hill
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According to the catalogue notes, this amusing new item from homeware designers Alessi is "a bionic experiment that aims to celebrate, through an aptly playful metaphor, a typological archetype that can be found on desks everywhere". In other words, it's a beaver pencil sharpener. £37, alessi.co.uk
Get shirty
From Lennon emblazoning 'War is Over' on a plain white tee to Frankie insisting that we 'Relax', the slogan T-shirt is a sartorial symbol of our time – when else have people expressed themselves by wearing text across their chest? Stephanie Talbot's bold new book, Slogan T-shirts: Cult and Culture, is a compendium of commentaries on the T-shirt as 'exhibition space'. £17.99, bloomsbury.com
Hat trick
Doff your cap to a bright idea (sorry) – top hat ceiling lights. From designer Mr J, the pendant lights are made from 100 per cent cotton, classic British top hats, over a stainless-steel frame, and will add a touch of Alice in Wonderland oddness to your dining room. £82, notonthehighstreet.com
Top gear
Swedish fashion house Acne may have the most unfortunate name in the industry (it stands for Ambition to Create Novel Expression, obvs) but their new men's collection is really very good. With simple shapes they are able to get away with colours that even Matisse might have called "a bit much" – exemplified in this classic crew sweater in, er, 'mustard yellow'. £130, mrporter.com
Half-term hit
Woe betide the parent who seeks to entertain their children at February half-term. But you can always depend on Uncle Walt and your local picture house. This year's offering, Wreck-It Ralph, about a computer game character suffering an existential crisis, has the cross-generational appeal of Disney's best.
Pop culture
Popcorn: an overlooked food group. Not for much longer if the founders of Pop in London's Notting Hill have anything to do with it. Proudly carrying the title of 'Europe's First Popcorn Boutique', Pop offers a bewildering range of flavours (Bloody Mary popcorn anyone?) and will even deliver. 15 Blenheim Crescent, W11, popthewebsite.com
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