Empire Drive - Gosforth, Newcastle

I'm a bit of a home and interiors buff. In a previous job, I looked at home and lifestyle trends for home interior clients, and this confirmed my love for all things beautiful for the home.

This is something for which my love has seriously developed , and when we bought our flat last year, I was determined to make the interior styling was a good mixture of my favourite interior styles - Scandinavian, mid-century modern and salvaged.

I've recently been looking for a few new pieces for the flat, and luckily, I heard from James, owner of mid century modern/antique furniture store, Empire Drive in Gosforth, Newcastle - a handy 20 minute drive from where I live.

It's fantastic that James' business in thriving in the North East, where we have such a hotbed of great independent home product designer-makers, restorers, retailers and interior enthusiasts.

James' dad, who'd been involved in the antiques trade for over 30 years and has a significant knowledge of all things antiques, which he's passed down to him, offered James a space to work out of in Sunderland when he was looking to expand into the furniture business and sell on lovingly restored pieces.

Now with his business based in Gosforth, James has a fantastic array of mid-century modern and antique furniture for sale. He also has a selection of furniture available online - I've got my eyes the Ercol drop leaf table.

Empire Drive is open to the public 3 days a week; Thursday-Saturday 10am-5pm 

All images courtesy of James Newrick.

Fashion: Urban Outfitters open in Newcastle upon Tyne - Part 2

Those lovely boys over at the North East's daily arts and culture dispatch, KYEO (Keep Your Eyes Open), have written about Urban Outfitter's new Newcastle upon Tyne store, including some thoughts from yours truly. There's also a thoroughly hilarious video to watch of the boys in-store, surveying UO's retail landscape. You can see my original post about Urban Outfitter's Newcastle's store here.