Our opening hours this Christmas are as follows:
Thursday 20th - 11.00am to 6.00pm
Friday 21st - 11.00 am to 8.00pm
Saturday 22nd - 11.00am to 6.00pm
Sunday 23rd - 11.00am to 6.00pm
Monday 24th December to Tuesday 1st January - CLOSED
Wednesday 2nd January - 11.00am to 6.00pm
Please note that during this period there will be no mail order service. You may place orders, but they won’t be picked and posted until the 3rd January.
Thanks to all our customers for their support this year, and have a happy Christmas!
The Christmas Mail Order Elves are working flat out, so have asked me to tell everyone that it is now time to place your last orders.
Today is the deadline for EUROPEAN ORDERS to be placed - if you are placing an order please make sure we have a contact telephone number as your local courier may need to contact you.
The deadline for UK orders is Wednesday 19th December. Our courier service is next-day, so if you must have it before Christmas please make sure to select UKMail rather than Royal Mail First Class.
Please bear in mind we are very busy, to please place your Christmas orders as soon as possible!
Finally back in stock! And just in time for Christmas… our Enamel Candle Holder.
Christmas must really be getting close - we see now the arrival of brightly coloured wrapping paper, cheering up our grey December afternoons.
This Christmas we welcome back our traditional range of patterned papers, featuring designs from Eric Ravilious, Enid Marx, Edward Bawden and Jonathan Gibbs.
And joining them for the second year, we have papers from young London designer Esme Winter. Surely a must for every well-dressed present.
Available in store now.
Christmas is traditionally the time we find lots of new gift ideas, and this year is no exception. So let us introduce our Christmas 2012 line-up:
To start with, some toys, and a couple of old classics; the Gyroscope and the Kazoo.
To go with our best-selling Pinhole Camera Kit and Radio Receiver Kit, we now have a Morse Code Kit. Ideal for technically-minded and inquisitive kids of all ages.
And for the young entomologists and ornithologists, we have a Bug Identification Kit and a Birdwatching Kit.
For the older outdoors enthusiasts we have a Survival Tin, which includes a compass, fishing kit, sewing kit and mini knife, while the stainless steel Mini Multi Tool can be used as a screwdriver, wrench, ruler, bottle opener, can opener, wire stripper, wood saw and knife.
The Survival Tin includes an emergency whistle, but we thought we’d supplement this with the classic Acme Thunderer. And while you wait for your rescue, why not make a nice brew with the Storm Kettle? A favourite with outdoor enthusiasts worldwide, this formidable device will boil water in even the foulest weather.
To complete the backwoodsman’s kit we have the world famous, windproof and almost indestructible Zippo Lighter, and a Pocket Sharpening Stone - perfect for our Opinel or British Army Knives.
The Maglite Flashlight is a design classic, with heavyweight machining and a lifetime guarantee, and its little brother the Maglite Mini comes in a handy hard case.
We welcome the return of a couple of old Christmas favourites, the Kid’s Dustpan and Brush Set ( start them early ), and the German Nutcracker.
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without games, and we think a set of Playing Cards ( and a game of Newmarket ) is a great way to spend an evening. We also welcome the return of our page-a-day Pocket Diary.
Many of us here are keen cyclists, and we think this Dutch Puncture Repair Kit is a great little set, while the handy Mini Mess Tin can be used indoors or outdoors, in the studio, kitchen or office.
Th perfect vessel for our Italian Shaving Soap, we have found a beautiful Shaving Mug, and for a touch of luxury we have the famous ‘Major' Travel Shaving Brush.
We know many of customers are dog owners, so we have put together a great range, including this rope Dog Lead, made by the master rope makers at the Chatham Dockyards, and this professional Dog Whistle.
We love this traditional heavyweight ceramic Dog Bowl, and the perfect accessory for all pet owners must be our best-selling Rubber Grooming Brush.
And for the person stuck in the kitchen on Christmas Day? Why not treat them to an Enamel Stewpot or an Enamel Casserole - made in Austria by Riess these versatile pots can be used on the hob and in the oven, and are perfect for turkey stew on Boxing Day ( and the day after, and the day after that… )
All of our Christmas products are available in store, or on our website.
Once again SCP have been very helpful in organising and co-ordinating all the Shoreditch shops of interest, and they have designed a map for the ’Shoreditch Christmas Triangle’. Although slightly outside of the strictest limits of the triangle itself, we are part of the wider Shoreditch Rhombus and so we can present the map here - with Labour and Wait included on the Eastern fringes.
( Click on map or here for a larger, downloadable copy of the map ).
The map highlights all the design-based shops in the Shoreditch area, with their plans for Christmas events, and is the perfect guide to what is happening in December.
As mentioned below, we will be open until 9pm on Thursday the 8th of December, and we will be serving mulled cider and mince pies, so come along and beat the Christmas rush!
The French jams are arrived!
One of our perennial Christmas bestsellers, these French jams are perfect for presents or as a treat for yourself - we have six flavours: Rhubarb, Fig, Black Cherry, Quince, Greengage and Pear.
They will be on the website very soon or, if you can’t wait, drop us an email at orders@labourandwait.co.uk.
After last year’s blizzard-hit whiteout we’re hoping this year’s Christmas Shopping evening will be a bit more enjoyable! All are welcome on the 8th of December for mince pies and mulled cider.
All the shops on Redchurch Street and Calvert Avenue will be taking part, including Anthem, Aesop, Hostem, A.P.C, Sunspel, Luna and Curious, Tracey Nuel, Ally Capellino, Leila’s Shop and our new neighbours Carousel Emporium, so you can make a Christmassy East London night of it!
Thursday 8th December, 6 to 9pm.
We will be open as normal on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd December, and for last minute shoppers we will be open until 8pm on Thursday the 23rd.
We will then be on our Christmas holidays until Tuesday the 4th of January.
Thankyou for your support and custom this year, and we wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
