Home & Gift Pop Up Shop

This Autumn, Caramel is pleased to announce the launch of its homeware collection. Two years in the making, it opened this week in a pop-up on London’s Elizabeth street, an airy, light-filled space which is a paean to many design adventures and creative ‘anima’ - the result of collaborating with global artisans who are each deeply connected to their landscape.

In the 21 years since Eva Karayiannis set out to create a label or rather, a community which shared her love of passion, craft and an unflinching eye for detail, a large part of her creative agenda always focused on the many ways in which we might live and feel better. These were beautifully designed clothes certainly, but they were also a joy to wear.

Karayiannis has explored headboards in brown and blue velvet and lampshades with bold red rick-rack trims made to the best English traditions; stools which double up as side tables in rattan or eco-friendly stripe Rilsan made by French craftsmen and recall lazy afternoons brocant-ing in Parisian flea markets; crochet blankets working with crafts studio, RKO in Georgia and otherwise traditional Flokati rugs collaborating with artisans in Greece using natural materials and dyes.

The cushions, wallpaper, throws, table linen which build on signature in-house designed prints – ditsy or blousy florals, bold geometrics - evoke a strong sense of place. A foray into blue chinoiserie and toile de jouy takes European chintz, prints which riffed on Mughal art and which rose in popularity from the 17th century as a starting point.

Dye cotton yarns are made in non-toxic AZO free dye while handwoven textiles in India are made at a registered non-profit organisation employing 100 traditional weavers in Pradesh, India.

Made from hand-loomed organic Indian cotton, these pyjamas and nightwear are so delicate they are referred to in India as 'woven wind' and were once the preserve of Indian royalty.

How else to enjoy a burgeoning exploration of homewares? In merino cashmere kimonos and playful stripe pyjamas  - in which, Karayiannis jokes she spent many of her university years studying and indeed, her bedroom is not only a haven for slumber but where she designs, draws and retreats to for creative inspiration.

Now open - Caramel Home & Gift, 48 Elizabeth Street, London SW1W 9PA