Archives for “Shopping” tag

I love photography and I try to reserve some of my time for it even now when school consumes practically all of it. Whenever I need anything related to this hobby, I can be sure to find it here.

FotoŠkoda is a unique place not only because of the building it is located in but mostly because of its conception – five floors full of photography – a huge store selling both new and used equipment and all kinds of material, repair service, studio, printing department and more services including photography courses and exhibitions. All of this under one roof and situated in the very centre of Prague – right by Wenceslas square.

Even though buying stuff online and having it shipped to our homes is a normal thing to do I still like to go into such stores where I can see the goods in real, try them out or ask the seller in person. The staff here is professional and really helpful, they were always nice to me even when I annoyed them with my questions for a half-hour and ended up not buying the product

If you run out of film, need a passport photo, your camera gets broken or you just want to buy some photography books, this is the place I recommend.

You can go to an antique shop, search for gorgeous pieces hidden between tons of bizarre objects. Or you might prefer having a wide selection of well taken care of and delicately chosen items in one place. I am sometimes in the mood for the first process, but I just must appreciate it if someone’s done the work for us common folks. Nanovo is a shop which did it, and how! In case you want to see a piece of Czech design history sit on your shelf, this is a great place to go to.

Guys from Nanovo are sensibly selecting pieces they were surrounded with since childhood. Let me quote: ‘This positive relationship with uncomplicated objects endowed with graceful curves remains inside us.’ I browse their site just to remind myself of how pure and useful design can be and also I am often trying to recall where I saw the object before – was it my friend house? Grandma’s cottage? I also appreciate their taste and work done completing and saving these items.

In case you want to invest in a long-lasting piece, that was appreciated before in the past or crystallized into design evergreen with years, visit the online shop or better arrange an appointment in the studio. I believe you will proudly bring home an item which will remind you of not only your stay in Prague, but also of everything good what’s passed, giving the hope for everything good that is ahead of us.

Like (almost) every woman I like to go shopping for clothes. I try to combine the visits in classical fashion chains with the ones at young Czech fashion designers shops – with clothes from them, you have quite a chance that you won’t meet half of Prague in the same outfit. I took in affection the brand Leeda. Every time I go there, I buy something new (and that is also the reason why I should not go there too often).

Leeda is an original Czech brand, created by a duo of designers Lucie Kutalková and Lucie Trnková. Their collections are thematically tuned and you can always find some extravagant models as well as normally wearable to the office and for leisure time. I find it interesting that Leeda is also cooperating with people from other creative areas (art, architecture, graphical design etc) – eg. the world-known architect Jan Kaplický was concerned in one of the collections named Leeda Kaplicky.

From time to time Leeda throws fashion parties to sell out old collections. It’s always a small event with a nice atmosphere – the small shop and its surrounding is full of people, chatting over a glass of wine and some chips.

P.S. Leeda is now known among movie stars – Tilda Swinton and also Kim Cattrall went shopping there while filming in Prague

The hall number 22 is one of my favorite places where I go regularly –  the vegetable market takes place there. It is an oasis of fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers from local provenience (although you can also find there imported commodities) of course according to the season. It is actually quiet nice to see how the goods (hence seasons) are changing if you go there regularly. Now, I go there each Saturday to buy mainly apples, pears and pumpkins

Some people can not understand, why I tend to buy vegetables there if I do not live in the neighborhood. But it’s simple – the rate quality/price compared to what you can buy in supermarkets is definitely better, in spite of the fact that I like to support local farmers (one note: some are only re-sellers, but you still have plenty of local ones!).

Another favorite represents a small stall with authentic Vietnamese food (and would-be Chinese food). The stall is quite well hidden – you will find it in a small side street just under the hall number 8 schedule. Try any kind of phở soup, bún chả or bún bò khô, it´s delicious! To compare, you can check out the fusion Asian cuisine SaSaZu, which is a music club and restaurant under one roof.

I like receiving presents, but giving them even a little bit more. If I have a problem with gift selection or am only looking for some inspiration, I go to Naoko. I always stay there for a while – the shop is packed with many interesting things to see and buy, hence I have to watch my wallet carefully. If you like things with idea and uncommon design, you will definitely like Naoko.

Naoko is situated in Revoluční street (near the shopping centre Palladium) and has two shops side-by-side. The first is Eat & Drink, where you can find various things designated to cooking, eating and drinking. The second one, Home & Fun, is full of household and garden accessories, stuff for amusement and sport and last but not least funny „personal” accessories (if as a kid you were craving for a bath duck and never got it, you have a chance to compensate this with style

Naoko has a nicely done website, which works as an e-shop as well. The website is in Czech only, but you can check it to see the range of goods and also the prices.