Who Was That Mustachioed Man?

Facial hair has made a huge comeback in the last few years. Whether you fancy being a big, bearded lumberjack, or a waxed mustachioed dandy - there's a facial furniture trend just for you. Mutton chops will be next - you mark my words.

So, for all of you who are considering a little fashionable hirsutism, here's something to aspire to.

I found this excellent fellow in the Porte de Vanves flea market in Paris - it's a charcoal and pencil drawing - but its origins remain mysterious. All I know is that he looks like he would very good company at a dinner party (unless they were serving soup, which could obviously turn messy).

We like him so much that we've started collecting a series of bearded and mustachioed portraits - keep your eyes peeled for the rest of the hair bear bunch in coming weeks.

For more follicular fun have a look at the marvellous Beard Revue - a blog devoted to facial hair in all its myriad forms.

Do Monday Mornings Make You Feel Like This?

So. It's a Monday morning. In February. With sub-zero temperatures and rain. During a recession.

But never fear - there are still reasons to smile.

Like these excellent Halloween masks made by Harco the late Sixties. Now available at F-art in Cheshire St.

Illustrated Book Of The Week - Follow That String

Freshly published this week. I'm delighted to present this little treasure by my very dear friend Deborah Brown (and her excellent co-author Kathy Bacovitch).

The book is a charming melange of photography, collage and illustration, inspiring and stimulating for kids and adults alike. With Warholesque colours and a zany surrealism reminiscent of Peter Blake, this is Pop art in more ways than one...

See what I mean?

Belgian Window Displays: Retro-A-Go-Go

I don't know why I love the Annemie Verbeke window displays in Antwerp so much, but they definitely strike a chord. I think it's the odd combination of 70's kitsch and avant garde that gets me going. A sort of David Hicks meets Andy Warhol with a little bit of 'Are You Being Served' thrown in there.

And speaking of 'Are You Being Served' - isn't this Brussels hairdressers exactly the sort of salon that you can imagine Mrs Slocombe going to?

I bet they do a lovely lavender rinse.

Loitering Without Intent

This Parisian graffiti art is the work of FKDL aka Franck Duval, a 45 year old father of 3 whos' ambition is to 'Always have the freedom to make street art throughout all the city and make people happy with my collages' His work is easily identifiable by the paper collage element and his signature fkdl stamp

Spitalfields Antique Market - The Horn of Plenty

Normally, the phrase 'antique market' strikes fear into the very heart of me. Visions of overpriced Limoges figurines dance in my head, and I resign myself to searching through hundreds of pieces of clumsy Victorian mahogany in the faint hope of finding something worth looking at.

But I can't say enough good things about Spitalfields Antique Market, which takes place every Thursday in London.

That's probably because it's not really an 'antiques' market. It's a great combination of stylish bric-a-brac, eccentric curiosities, and inspiring junk. It also boasts the best dealers for vintage menswear that I've ever seen in London.

On a good day, you could find a ridiculously large number of children's tamborines waiting to be displayed.

Or an amazing Victorian scrapbook, full of surreal juxtapositions that would put Terry Gilliam to shame.

But by far my favorite find of recent weeks is this incredible 1930's colouring set from Czechoslovakia. The graphics are fantastic and it's in immaculate condition - barely used.

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even the detailing on the pencils is worth looking at closely.

The set was made by L&C Hardtmuth, a pencil company founded in 1790 and the creators of the worlds first modern pencil lead. More information about Hardtmuth can be found at Bob Truby's Brand Name Pencils - a very beautifully designed site devoted to ones man's extraordinary pencil collection.

Hmm...Maybe I should start collecting pencils....

Many thanks to Jennifer at Spitalfields for allowing me to shoot the colouring set in such detail...

Smiling Through Perversity

I don't know about you, but all this good taste is making me itch. Let's have some proper old-fashioned sex and violence shall we?

This magnificent bit of smut is another find from my Brussels trip., It was discovered in one of the many excellent antique stores on Rue Blaes.

I don't know anything about it, but I do know that looking at it makes me want to open a '30's style brasserie, just to make it the centrepiece. I can't imagine anything better to look at while enjoying a plate of steak frites. 

I particularly like the fact that despite the erotic carnage taking place, and the obvious distress of most of its participants, the bearded man in the centre is loving every minute of it. Good on you, mate!