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Radley Stories

In the Studio

New Picture Bag: Radley Dog and Friends Visit The Observatory

10 May 2024

Radley dog is taking you on an adventure through time and space with our latest collectible picture bag. Along with Ruby cat and more of their four-legged friends, they’re taking over The Observatory - inspired by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. One of our favourite spots to visit in our home city of London.

This stunning scene, including the London skyline and a shooting star, is brought to life with signature craftsmanship details. Inside you’ll find three compartments to keep you organised. 

We asked our artisan makers to share how they create such an intricate scene. Here’s a quick breakdown.

  • The four techniques used are screen printing, embossing, glitter printing and embroidery

  • There are 11 appliqué pieces 

  • And 18 sections of screen printing

  • It takes at least six hours to complete the front panel of each bag

We also caught up with our London Design Studio to ask them where the inspiration for this work of art came from.

Zizi, Director of Design:

“We started off thinking about time travel. This season’s trends are so vintage-inspired, we take so much inspiration from the past. And gradually that developed into looking at London’s most iconic historical buildings. Nothing marries those two themes together quite like the Royal Observatory.”

Alice, Designer:

“We wanted to create our own version of an observatory, featuring Radley and his friends stargazing on a rooftop. London has an artist’s dream of a skyline that’s perfect for the intricate scene we like to create with a picture bag.”

“London has an artist’s dream of a skyline that’s perfect for the intricate scene we like to create with a picture bag.”

In case you’ve never visited before, let us tell you a bit about the Royal Observatory, the inspiration behind the design.

  • The site was chosen by none other than Sir Christopher Wren, the architect behind St. Paul’s Cathedral

  • It’s the home of the Prime Meridian line, representing Longitude 0. Every place on earth can be measured in terms of its distance east or west from the Prime Meridian

  • Greenwich Mean Time is the reference point for every time zone in the world. This is the yearly average (or 'mean') of the time each day when the Sun crosses the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory Greenwich

  • It’s home to the Great Equatorial Telescope, one of the largest refracting telescopes in the world (Radley dog is looking though a miniaturised version in our design)

See more of our Scottie’s adventures in our picture bag collection. And stay up to date with the latest news on Radley Stories.