We are delighted to announce that the Christmas Wednesdays are back. Join us for an evening of mulled wine, Christmas carols, hot chocolate and much more. The shops on Columbia Road will be open from 5 – 9 pm on the four Wednesdays in December 2021, along with carols from St Peters Church Bethnal Green.

This is the chance to enjoy the wealth of creative and lovely gift ideas stocked by over 50 independent retailers on Columbia Road without the Sunday crowds or having to queue.

Longer opening hours at Milagros on Wednesdays this year will ensure that you can shop and browse in comfort and at your leisure at a time of day to suit you as we will be open from 11 AM on Wednesdays in December.

Here is a list of some of our favourites shops along the street

“The Mexican is familiar with death. [He] jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it. It is one of his favourite toys and his most steadfast love.”

Octavio Paz: ‘The Labyrinth of Solitude’

The Day of the Dead is, despite its name, a joyful celebration honouring the passing of loved ones. On this day it is believed that the spirits of the ancestors return. They are honoured and remembered by their families and friends on Earth. Flowers are an intrinsic part of the festival . Yellow flowers such as marigolds, are used to decorate homes so the spirits can find their way home. Flowers symbolise the transience of life.

Columbia Road Shops will be celebrating London’s Day of the Dead Festival on 30th October 2021 from 12pm onwards.

The Street is a stage and we invite you to join us & come other than you are.

Expect Mariachis, a day of the dead beauty parlour, Day of the Dead Yoga at 12pm, a parade at 2pm and  4pm, a skeleton mermaid sings Besame Mucho,  a skeleton family & the best dressed dog competition …..

Milagros has partnered with artist Frea Buckler to offer an edition of six new encaustic tile patterns. These are inspired by the work of Modernist Mexican architects Luis Barragán and Ricardo Legoretta – two brilliant visionaries whose use of bright colour, clean lines, carefully formulated compositions, and homage to inflections of pre-Columbian design helped birth a modern and optimistic Mexican aesthetic. 

Tiles are in fact particularly emblematic of Mexico’s complex design heritage, and their story is one that wends its way around the globe following both trade routes and colonialism. The blue and white pottery of imperial China can be traced into the iconic ‘azulejos’ of Portugal, and similarly, encaustic tiles originated in the 1500s in Spain, at that time still highly influenced by a Moorish aesthetic. These tiles were used as ballast on galleons destined for Mexico – effectively placeholder weight, in anticipation of the ships being loaded up with treasures from the New World destined back for Spain. However, encaustic tiles eventually started being made more cheaply in Mexico, and today Milagros sources theirs from a small family-run workshop in Patzcauro. 

Encaustic tiles are a particularly sustainable building choice: being made of concrete, they’re extremely hard-wearing. Their pigmentation gives an extraordinary depth of colour, especially after they start to develop a patina from use and age. Spanish monasteries have encaustic floors which are still looking gorgeous after half a millennium!

These tiles measure 20 x 20cm, and are made using molds similar to cookie cutters, in a hydraulic press. Their pigmented surfaces are 5mm deep, and composed of marble dust and cement. The body of the tile is then made of a concrete derived from volcanic stone aggregate. Given the small scale of the operation, variations in colour do occur. For Milagros, this is part of their joy. The weathered blues, well-mellowed yellows, pinks and oranges of this edition evoke the deep calm of sun-saturated afternoons. 

Frea Buckler is a Bristol-based artist working in installation, screenprint, and sculpture. Her practice centres on colour, and the interplay between urban and domestic forms. She studied at Central St Martins and the University of West England, Bristol. Her work has featured at the Royal Academy and Davidson Gallery in New York, among others. 

‘The repeating nature and modularity of tile patterns was really interesting to me’, Buckler says of the project. ‘There wasn’t just the pattern of the individual tiles to consider, but the overall impression they would make in a grid, and the almost endless possibilities of rotating them against one another. In my own work, I often avoid pattern, choosing instead to opt for asymmetry.’ She adds that it was a pleasure to operate within the constraints set by the tile-makers themselves: she had to develop her designs within a limited colour palette. Drawing on her practice of screen-printing (and, indeed, some of her own screen prints), the tiles’ manufacturing process also felt very intuitive to Buckler, which permitted a high degree of improvisation. Having worked on them so intently, she would love to bring them into a gallery context – ‘they’d make a great installation!

The port and resort city of Acapulco lies on Mexico’s Pacific Coast and features in more than one song. In its heyday in the mid-20th century, it was a romantic getaway for the international jet set: Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton for the second time there, and Jackie and John F. Kennedy honeymooned there. And it gave its name to a one of the great classics of 20th century design. The Acapulco chair has no known designer, though Mexican Cecilia Len Barra claimed to have given it its name. One persistent rumour surrounding the Acapulco chair’s origins is that a French tourist was suffering in the Mexican heat and took his cue from the string hammocks, which date back to the Mayans, to create an aerated seat.

Whatever its origins, the Acapulco chair represents the happy marriage of Modernist theories of furniture, the joyous colours of the mid-century tourism industry, and classic elements of Mexican design. The chairs’ tripod structure recalls pre-colonial artifacts and can be seen in several traditional items still being made today: morcajetes carved from volcanic stone, for instance, or pottery. (Their three legs are also much better for uneven ground, which makes them a good choice for outdoor furniture!

They can come in a range of shapes (round, avocado-shaped, or with a straight seat and back), but are composed of steel frames, which are then strung with extruded polythene. This stringing is continuous, and the result is that the chairs can adapt to the weight of the person sitting in them, making them incredibly comfortable. This concern for the body of the sitter makes them of a piece with all the other famous chairs of the twentieth century – the Panton, the Wishbone, the Wassily, or anything by the Eameses.

We source our Acapulco chairs from a tiny family-run workshop in the state of Guanajuato. They get the frames from a nearby foundry, and do the stringing themselves. Whenever Tom visits, he chooses out the colours himself, and if often able to combine the trip with a dip in a local thermal spring, so, we’re told, “It’s relaxing on all accounts”. Once the chairs are assembled, they cannot be dismantled. Given their unusual shape and how much volume they occupy, you can imagine that they are quite difficult to ship! Consequently we only have very limited stock of them. But we can guarantee that margaritas taste extra delicious when sipped in one!
That’s all from us for the moment. We’ll have some other exciting announcements in months to come, but for now, please enjoy your summers and hasta luego!

Salud, Milagros

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we thought we’d highlight two remarkable women! Suzy Broome is an NHS speech therapist, a mother of four, and does all of her own tiling! Below, she shares some of her advice for those of you (ladies or gents!) tempted to try it for yourselves.

And if that still seems like a bit of a scary prospect, we’ve also spoken to Rosie of Rose & Black in Bristol, painter-decorator, tiler and wet room installer extraordinaire! Rosie will work closely with clients across the Portishead, Clevedon and Bristol area to create bespoke spaces. She can create beautiful wet rooms to the specifications of individual access needs and loves working with clients to create spaces with optimal mental health in mind. Rosie is also extremely well-connected with other local contractors, including carpenters and plumbers, so can assist you in organising a complex job and take some of the logistical stress off your hands! Oh, and she also does furniture restoration. So if you want to renovate your home, why not support a women-owned small business in the process?

Find Rosie on Instagram at @rose.and.black.bristol or her website https://www.roseandblack.co.uk

and Suzy Broome on instagram @suzybroome

Suzy Broome: Tips from a self-taught tiler 

What got you on to doing your own tiling? 

My background is in art and design, so my home has always felt like an extension of my interest in making and self-expression. Even when I was as young as ten, I remember painting a wall in cow print (much to my parents’ horror). When my now husband and I moved into our first rented house together I laid a new lino in the kitchen and wallpapered a feature wall to create a more personal space for us (much to our landlord’s delight). We are very lucky to now own our own home with our four children. Creating a bright, visually interesting and blooming gorgeous space for us all to share together is incredibly important to me because I believe it helps to encourage creativity. And tiles are just such a good way of injecting some real character, pattern and colour into your home.

Did someone teach you? 

Ultimately, the reason I started tiling myself and completing other DIY tasks was down to budget (or lack of it). Because I’m a visual learner, tiling just felt like a process that made sense to me! I’ve always said, if you can do a puzzle, then you can tile.

A lot of DIY comes down to confidence: the confidence to have a go yourself and also the confidence to get it wrong! I’ve just learnt as I’ve gone and not been precious about making mistakes. I started by tiling a simple bath backsplash in our previous home. Then I tiled a large open fireplace, a kitchen, a herringbone parquet floor and a couple of bathrooms! I actually really enjoy tiling. It’s like anything creative, you can just lose yourself in the process and it can feel quite therapeutic.

Do you have any tips for doing your own tiling?

I always start tiling by laying the tiles out in the space and deciding where they look best. You generally always have to cut a tile, so deciding where the cut goes is your first step and how you want the pattern to look. For cuts, I tend to make a paper tile template (the same size as the tile of course) and then I use this to measure any smaller or awkward spaces that need tiling into. Then I use a marker pen to draw the template onto the tile ready to be cut. Another tip that I do when tiling, is using left over cardboard packaging to cut out little square spacers! These go in between the tiles to keep them equally spaced and to stop them from slipping or moving. In fact, getting the kids to cut them out is an activity that keeps them occupied for a good while too and is environmentally sound as it means you don’t need to buy the little plastic spacers. Of course the cardboard needs to be roughly the same thickness otherwise you’ll have different gaps between your tiles! I always have a mini level to hand too and sometimes draw pencil lines onto the wall to keep me from going too wonky.

Any tips for working with handmade tiles in particular?

One of the things I love about using handmade tiles is that they’re all unique. Each one can be a slightly different shape or size to the last. They’re also very tactile to work with. As such you can feel the creative process and skill that has gone into making them. When I tile with handmade tiles I worry a little less about being completely precise with a level or spacers. Instead I lay them, then step back and look at the wall as a whole, then tweak slightly if needed. Handmade tiles really do provide character because there is so much variation. You’re not just looking at square upon square of exact copies, you’re looking at unique, individual squares.

As a woman I feel really passionate about urging other women to pick up a tile or a tool and just have a blooming go. If you don’t have access to tools then put a call out locally to borrow what you need, or hire what you need. If budget allows then go out and invest in a few simple tools that will help you to get started. Put that shelf up, lay the floor, tile the wall. None of it is as hard as you would expect it to be and you’ll surprise yourself at what you can achieve if you just have a go! There’s a wealth of YouTube videos and books out there to take you through every DIY task imaginable! So just give it a go, you’ll save yourself a lot of money and you’ll feel immense pride at what you’ve achieved.

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Rosie of Rose and Black

I started my business 11 years ago when I moved to Bristol, because I needed a job and I’d already previously been to college in Yorkshire where I studied art and design and did some painting and decorating. The two together made for a dream team!

After decorating for a few years, I decided to learn how to tile by taking a course at UK Pro Tiling. On the course I found out that I could attend a Schlüter Wet Room course after, so I signed up! [as a consequence, Rosie has both Schlüter and UK Pro Tiling accreditation]

My favourite aspect of tiling is polishing the tiles when I’ve finished and seeing the results. My top tip for working with handmade tiles is to check their width and size against one another. They can vary, so use levelling spaces to help even things out! Planning your layout is key.

Ceramic or porcelain tiles are best for splashbacks. Gloss finish is an easy wipe option and water resistant, so perfect for the kitchen! At the moment I’m seeing mostly large metro tiles in a herringbone layout for walls, which looks amazing. I love the tiles with decorative motifs and I love the story behind them: knowing where and how they are made, and who made them. Artisan is always my favourite. Having handmade accents in your home is so important – it’s a human touch and makes me smile when I see them.

This year, I have a lot to feel excited and positive about, because I will soon be moving house! I’m really looking forward to creating my own wet room, but my theme for our new home more broadly is to design it for our mental health and happiness. I’m sure I will find the space to add some decorative tiles to a small space like a tabletop or a little cosy reading corner somewhere!

Somewhat belatedly, Milagros wishes to say wish Adios to Trump! Of course there is much left yet to be done, but we are moved and inspired by the words of Amanda Gorman, poet of the Biden inauguration:

“We are striving to forge our union with purpose.

To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.

And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us”

…

But one thing is certain:

If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change, our children’s birthright.”

Maintaining community is a collective labour of love. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, we want to recognise all forms of love and all those who labour for a more perfect union, and a world where our “Anti-Trump device” niche becomes out of date.

No matter how you’re marking the occasion on the 14th, you can’t go far wrong with chocolate, so below we’ve added some information on our Mexican hot chocolate.

Chocolate is the earliest stimulant drink brought to Europe, predating both coffee and tea. And archaeological finds indicate it has been consumed in South America for millennia: traces of cocoa beans have been found on pottery shards in Honduras which date consumption of the plant at least as far back as 1400BC.

Of course, it would not have been the chocolate we know and love today, but a bitter drink made from the beans of the cacao plant. Sugar was not added, nor was the plant matter turned into a solid sweet, for centuries, and even then only when the Europeans got hooked.

Our chocolate is made in the city of Oaxaca, by manufacturers La Soledad, who have been in operation for over sixty years. A few businesses in the city started quite basic processing about a century ago, and to this day their facilities are quite minimal: they mill the beans in quite small mills, then add spices and sugar. The raw beans get poured in at the top, and then a gummy chocolate mess comes out the other end, which is then pressed into bars and wrapped in foil.

Tom first started bringing it over in small amounts for his own conception about twenty years ago, but in recent years, the hot chocolate stall at the back of the shop on a Sunday has been his daughter’s venture. To sustain it, Tom now imports around 200kg of chocolate every year, and we’re now pleased to offer it for order on our website.

To make your own hot chocolate at home, you can add chilli flakes for some spice, or heap it with whipped cream. We recommend frothing it with what we in the shop refer to by the highly technical term of a “twizzling device”, but is more properly known as a molenillo. Made of wood, you roll it between your hands at speed. If you don’t have a molenillo, you can use a whisk.

That’s it from us – buena salud, as ever, and we hope you are getting through this last of the dark winter months.

Hasta la vista,

Milagros