Tag: Edinburgh

Discovering Edinburgh with MINI

To celebrate the launch of the new MINI Cooper automatic, the British car manufacturer approached us and asked to design a driving route around some of our favourite places in Edinburgh.

What we love the most about MINI is how the company combines the tradition of this iconic British car model with the latest innovations and trends. We think that Edinburgh is also the perfect example of how old and new can work together and we’ve wanted to reflect that in the itinerary we’ve created. From the latest coffee shops and fashion stores to the quaint beauty of the Old Town and the magnificent views from Calton Hill, have a look at the map at the bottom of the post and plan your visit to Edinburgh with Future Positive and MINI!

9 AM – Brew Lab

Start your Edinburgh road trip at Brew Lab, a specialty coffee shop serving single origin brewed coffees and espresso. The custom made espresso blend created and roasted by Has Been is brewed using traditional methods that bring out the coffee’s best characteristics. With pastries from local bakery Le Petit Francais, as well as cakes from cake shop and café Lovecrumbs, Brew Lab makes a perfect spot to start your day in Edinburgh.

6-8 South College Street

10 AM – Old Town

Edinburgh’s Old Town is the oldest part of the city and one of the most popular with tourists. While you’re here, it’s worth exploring the majestic buildings of Edinburgh University including the Old College and McEwan Hall in Bristo Square. Take a stroll down the Royal Mile, at the centre of the Old Town, leading from Edinburgh Castle to the beautiful Holyrood Palace. Also, don’t be afraid to explore the narrow streets and hidden courtyards around this part of the city as it’s where many great small restaurants and cafés are located.

12 PM – Stills Gallery

Stills Gallery is Scotland’s Centre for Photography. Located just off the Royal Mile, Stills hosts four exhibitions each year that showcase the work of photographers and artists from around the world. Photography enthusiasts can also enjoy facilities such as dark rooms and a digital lab, as well as attend a wide range of courses throughout the year. The exhibitions at Stills are free and the gallery is open daily from 11AM – 6PM.

23 Cockburn Street

1 PM – Timberyard

Family-owned Timberyard has been opened for just a couple of years but it’s already one of the most talked about restaurants in the city. Aware of sustainability and the environment, Timberyard uses ingredients from small and local suppliers, breeders, producers and growers. Enjoy the delicious menu and don’t forget to explore all the different spaces of the restaurant, including the yard and the growing patch, where the owners grow their own herbs.

10 Lady Lawson Street

2:30PM – Dick’s

Continue your trip around Edinburgh and stop for some shopping at Dick’s. This menswear store opened in Edinburgh’s Stockbridge neighbourhood in 2012 with the idea of bringing together a curation of selected menswear collections, accessories and homewares. Dick’s supports small and independent manufacturers who produce quality products that will stand the test of time.

3 Northwest Circus Place

3:30PM – Life Story

Keep on shopping in Broughton, another great area for discovering small businesses in Edinburgh. Life Story is a design concept store owned and run by designers and partners in life Fee and Adam Storey. The store stocks carefully selected lifestyle products, art, lighting, homewares, furniture and taxidermy.

53 London Street

4:30PM – Calton Hill

Park your car and get ready for a little hike to Calton Hill, one of Edinburgh’s most iconic attractions. From the top of this mount you can enjoy spectacular views of the whole city, including the Old Town, Arthur’s Seat and the North Sea. Calton Hill is also home to contemporary art gallery Collective and numerous buildings and structures such as the National Monument and the Nelson Monument.

6:30PM – The Compass

Drive down Leith Walk and arrive to Future Positive’s neighbourhood, The Shore. Known for its excellent food offer, The Shore is a hidden gem for many tourists. Although it is hard to choose, one of our favourite restaurants in the area is The Compass. This gastropub offers great dishes at affordable prices – don’t leave without trying the desserts! The Compass’ kind staff and relaxed atmosphere make it the perfect last stop for the end of your trip.

44 Queen Charlotte Street

Route Map

Do you have any additions to our road trip? Share your Edinburgh favourites with us in the comments section below.

November 18, 2014
Edinburgh Roxburgh’s Court Art Project

The Chris Stewart Group, The City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh College of Art have recently partnered up to transform Roxbourgh´s Court – an undiscovered gem in Edinburgh’s Old Town – into a destination.

More than 30 Product Design students from Edinburgh College of art have entered a competition to come up with an innovative urban design to bring more attention to this area of the city. In teams, the students presented a total of 9 different entries from which 3 have been short-listed and are now part of a competition where people can vote for their favourite entry to be turned into a real project.

Douglas Bryden, Programme Director of Product Design at ECA emphasised on the challenges of site-specific designs and how the students have responded to them:

“The design brief set by The Chris Stewart Group provided a great opportunity for Product Design students to learn more about one-off site-specific design. We challenged the students to research, design, and finalise an installation design concept for the site at Roxburgh’s Court within a day. The students responded incredibly well, working intensively to explore a variety of creative approaches to change Roxburgh’s Court and the adjacent closes into an interesting destination for both tourists and local residents. The students are very excited about the potential for the winning design concept to be evaluated and developed for fabrication and installation at Roxburgh’s Court.”

Our favourite entry is Night guide, which proposes illuminating Roxburghs Court for pedestrians during night hours using motion sensors and LED strips. You can see all the entries and vote for your favourite on the link below:

www.lateralcity.com/roxburghcourtartproject

October 12, 2014
Edinburgh: Fortitude Coffee Merchant

Fortitude is a new specialty coffee merchant and espresso bar serving delicious brew to the people of Edinburgh. They work with London based Workshop coffee who are committed to roasting the sweetest, cleanest and freshest coffee to make the perfect cup.

Fortitude also stocks coffee beans from some of the best small-batch roasters in the UK and are happy to help anyone choose the right beans for the right brew, as well as supply all the tools and advice to brew at home.

They are the newest addition to the coffee scene in Edinburgh and definitely worth a visit when you’re in the city. We love their coffee, cool interior, branding and friendly atmosphere.

www.fortitudecoffee.com

Fortitude Coffee Merchant

3C York Place, Edinburgh

May 14, 2014
Studio & Shop Visit: Common People

A couple of weeks ago, Barclaycard Freedom Rewards contacted us to invite us shopping at one of the local businesses in our city. We chose Common People, a Scottish menswear label which just opened its first flagship store in Edinburgh last August.

Common People was founded 3 years ago by Kestin Hare, former Head of Design of English label Nigel Cabourn. After working in the industry for 10 years, Kestin decided to move back to his hometown, Edinburgh, to start his own brand.

Common People focuses on quality, craftsmanship and local sourcing while creating affordable products as the same time. With a small team of three designers and a brand manager and designer, Common People has already made a name for itself in the Japanese and South Korean markets, and is now planning an expansion in the UK.

The label’s customers are people with appreciation for premium quality and an interest in local sourcing and production, who show a support for British brands. These values are reflected in each of Common People’s designs – with pieces completely made in England and Scotland – and also with the label’s collaborations with other British brands.

If you’re in Edinburgh, don’t miss Common People store on 46 St Stephen Street, Stockbridge. During our visit and after a few minutes checking all the amazing pieces on the racks, we decided to take home with us a pair of petrol blue brogues similar to the ones on the photos below!

www.commonpeopleclothing.co.uk

December 18, 2013
Studio Visit: Emily Millichip

For a while now, we’ve been wanting to visit Emily Millichip’s studio. We met this Edinburgh based designer at the Stitch Lounge and really liked her aesthetics and the bright fabrics she uses in her designs.

Emily’s studio is based at the Art’s Complex, which used to be a colossal office space now converted into studios for local artists, designers and start ups.

We spoke to Emily to find out what inspired her to become a fashion designer and know more about her favourite places in Edinburgh. Read the interview after the photos.

When did you first start designing? Also, who or what inspired you to become a designer?

I started designing in my early twenties, mainly through an extreme hatred for all of the clothes that were in the shops. Things have improved in the UK but for a while there seemed to be a misconception that the country was populated by 16 year old supermodels. I was really into the style of the 1950s and was ordering clothes from California. Eventually I thought that it would be cheaper and easier to learn to make the clothes myself. It was also probably the result of getting a ‘proper’ degree and doing a string of horrible jobs in admin. I decided I needed more colour in my life and waved goodbye to being able to pay my rent on time.

What do you draw inspiration from?

I am inspired by high trash, interesting people, crazy grannies, reading, adventure, music and cheap red wine. When I have time I look at personal style blogs as I find them much more relevant than fashion magazines which bore me to death. I also like to go on solo camping trips and get drunk on rum and concoct new plans around the campfire.

When you’re designing, what woman do you have in mind?

I am always designing for myself. I tend to imagine an amazing scenario I want to be in and then go about making the outfit I would need for such a scenario. This involves a lot of imaginary trailer parks and trips to Mars. Frequently it involves ridiculous Hawaiian prints, silver sequins and pink wigs. In reality though I have mostly made some great outfits to go and buy milk from the shop.

Tell us about your favourite places in Edinburgh.

My favourite places in Edinburgh are all of the beautiful old graveyards, Portobello Beach, little old man pubs and anywhere in Leith. Leith is amazing. Why would you want all of the dignified grandeur of the New Town when you could have the chaos of Leith?

www.emilymillichip.com

December 3, 2013