E1life aprilmay2016

ISSUE 2 APRIL/MAY 2016

Take me, I’m yours

BE YOUR OWN BOSS FUNDING FOR STARTUPS VINYL REVIVAL CELEBRITY CAFE IN E8 GET CREATIVE CHEF MARTIN MORALES

Walk on the

Eastside

For the best bars, restaurants & going out out in East London

PLUS LILY EARLE’S NEW BEAUTY COLUMN

BUSINESS

A RT

FOOD

DRINK

MUSIC

P R O P E RT Y

SOCIAL

THE BEACH HOUSES MARGATE

Beachfront homes for ÂŁ485,000 Just 90 minutes from London, The Beach Houses offer a totally unique development of just 11 two bedroom, contemporary beachfront homes overlooking stunning Westbrook Bay, Margate.

With uninterrupted sea views along the Kent Coast, these homes are a modern retreat and are the perfect seaside getaway to enjoy with family and friends.

A development by

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contents

P 12 Crowd funding is in fashion

P 16 Street scene

P 30 BDQ (breakfast, dinner, quirky)

P 32 Spinning plates: Martin Morales

P 42 In the Lion’s den, Chris Hayden

P 47 Beautification with Lily Earle

P 49 Hidden art treasure

P 56 Shoreditch staycation

P 66 EastEnder, Leon Linford

PUBLISHER: Rosie Coxshaw EDITOR: Renate Ruge CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Nicky Acketts ADVERTISING DIRECTOR:Loretta Williamson BUSINESS AND PROPERTY: Eric Woollard-White ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Ed Gibbs FOOD AND DRINK WRITER: Liam Barker MUSIC WRITER: Nick Atkins LIFESTYLE WRITERS: Anna Burbridge, Polly Dowson, Lizzie Frainier and Heidi Ruge FEATURES: Lisa Doust FITNESS: Russell Dovey SOCIAL MEDIA: Charlotte Clarke ACCOUNT MANAGER: Nicola Euesden PHOTOGRAPHY: Adam Trussell STYLIST: Charlotte Mumford HAIR & MAKEUP: Janey Demarne Printed by Polestar - Circulation: RCP Media - Published by RC Publishing Ltd: 0203 011 1194; info@e1ife.co.uk While every care is taken, RC Publishing Ltd cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited submissions, omissions or errors. Prices correct at time of going to press. All rights reserved.

RCP

BOOZE & SCHMOOZE

Business networking event

IN CONVERSATION WITH

LEVI ROOTS & OTHER SPECIAL GUESTS

Thursday 19 May 2016 The Boiler House, Truman Brewery, 152 Brick Lane, E1 6.30pm ‘til late

For tickets & sponsorship call: 0203 011 1194 www.rcpromo.co.uk/RCBN

S I LV E R J E A N S . C O . U K

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1. YOU’VE GOT MAIL Message in a bottle. A spiffy drinking den has recently opened in these parts. Raise a toast to The CTC trading company, which is run as a cooperative: a quarter of the business belongs to the staff. Serving up super quirky drinks, like the pleasingly fizzy concotion pictured left: ‘RoyalMail-Aged Air Mail’. The Cocktail Trading Company Brick Lane, E1 6GQ

image: C.C Man

Powering up our hot barometer this spring…

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thecocktailtradingco.co.uk

2. CHEESED OFF Food trend: Mac and Cheese. Get carb loading as this gooey dish is back on menus all over town. “We all have a favourite comfort food, but for most people Mac and Cheese is more nostalgic than any other and throws back childhood memories. It’s a humbling, comforting dish that makes you feel good,” says Tom Aitkens from Tom’s Kitchen. tomskitchen.co.uk

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3. GROOVY BABY Rocking with neon pops of colour and a seriously Seventies vibe, this vintage style clutch has us reaching for our flares with Saturday Night Fever playing over in our heads. Who says old bags can’t be in style? £20. rockmyvintage.co.uk 4. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES Clashing florals are in style.

Check out our fashion shoot, photographed at Columbia Road.

Shrinking violets need not apply. At home, pop a posy in this hand-made globe vase in pastel pink, £14.95 from Annabel James. annabeljames.co.uk

5. THE WRITING’S ON THE WALL The university of life meets the gallery of spray-paint, walls and hoardings.

The street art that adorns everyday Shoreditch makes our lives more colourful. Ever wondered what it all means? Walk through the evolution of this medium in our borough while learning how to appreciate what we might overlook every day. shoreditchstreetarttours.co.uk 6. TOO HIP TO BE SQUARE Think yourself hip? Know any hipsters? Then recommend they read this. Peter and Jane are long gone. Instead it’s about characters like Niven, “a non-linear campaign provocateur for a bandwidth trendship engagement agency”. Like most hipsters, he has no office and carries his modified electric typewriter from coffee shop to coffee shop on his motorised unicyle…

The book shares hipster must dos, like collecting old things that are fashionable – say a vintage washing bowl – highly prized because it looks neither retro nor valuable and is therefore both.

The Ladybird Book of The Hipster by Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris Penguin Random House UK, penguin.com

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8. RAW HIDE The stunning glass atrium bar at Gaucho Broadgate has had a makeover and the terrace is open.

The Grill is back in the business of serving signature sizzling steaks Buenos Aires style and mixing up stellar cocktails in sparkling glass and cowhide environs. Sink a Black River Cobbler with Lillet Rosé, pear liqueur, fresh pear purée and wild blackberries for an after-work fix. broadgate.co.uk/GauchoGrill 7

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7. CITY DWELLERS ALERT Boutique hotel brand, Z hotels has opened a chic new abode near Fleet Street in the city. There are rooms with top drawer views over city rooftops and a new café deli on the ground floor. We recommend the cheese and wine sessions – served complimentary for guests. Non-guests can sample a delish range of olives, prosciutto, wraps, flatbreads, salads or a fine bacon sandwich washed down with a very cheeky shot of wheatgrass, lime, chilli and tequila. thezhotels.com

9. DOG-FRIENDLY FLICKS No date for the cinema? Why not take your dog instead. Pooches are welcome at pop-up cinema Oscar & Rupert, found in the basement of London Fields bar, Wringer & Mangle. There will be doggy popcorn and ice cream on offer, along with a special service to take your dog out for comfort breaks, so that you don’t miss a thing.

10. ITALIAN JOB Pasta pilgrims book a class at Burro e Salvia, where the ‘pastificio’ (pasta shop) is putting on spring-summer step-by-step pasta workshops at its Shoreditch and East Dulwich restaurants. Hosted by founder and head sfoglina Gaia Enria, you’ll learn how to fold a plin or throw some tortellone or cappelletto shapes, from £40 burroesalvia.co.uk

in your space

We asked, you voted. Here’s your pick of pie and mash shops.

L.Manze, Walthamstow

A typical pie shop with the original decor. Think white tiled walls, mirrors, marble floors and tables and hustle of the market outside. manze.co.uk

Eel & Pie House, Leytonstone

There’s always a happening atmosphere thanks to the popular take away service.

Buy a bottle of chilli vinegar (packed with pickled chillies).

It originated from the spice trade imports to the London docks and has been an essential condiment ever since.

F Cooke, Hackney

With sawdust covered floors and a steady supply of stewed and jellied eels, the place hasn’t changed much since it opened in 1900. This shop is notorious for liquor made to an original recipe of stewed eel juice blended with parsley. Owned and run by Bob Cooke and his family, the restaurant is adorned with family pictures. With very generous servings, it would be hard to find another plate of food in London at the same price.

G Kelly, Bow

Founded in 1937 by George Kelly, this shop still makes its pies by hand in-house at the bakery using a recipe handed down through three generations.

Slightly different to the rest, this place has never used eel water in their liquor. Their recipe is wheat flour batter, salt and parsley. Seasoning is left to you and they never colour the food. gkelly.london

Eastenders Pie & Mash, Poplar

Find quality frozen pies for under £2 to take home, and quality meat pies that are rich and filled to the brim. They also offer Quorn mince pies and a pensioner’s special for just under a fiver that includes a cuppa tea, pie, mash and a fruit pie and custard for pud – bargain.

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Alfresco eating and drinking is nigh. Look out for our feature on the best roof top bars and terraces in our June/July issue. Tweet us with your favourites @e1Lifemag or email info@e1ife.co.uk

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party party

José Pizzaro

BOOK LAUNCH, BROADGATE CIRCLE Sexy Spanish eats took centre stage at the party to celebrate the top chef’s new cook book featuring the best-of-Basque cooking with family recipes from San Sebastian and beyond. The landscape, ingredients and traditions of this region are close to Pizarro’s heart.

There was a convivial vibe as the crowd enjoyed top tapas and smoky jamón ibérico (carved straight from an impressive ham suspended over the counter) Jamón, jamón! Basque by José Pizarro (Hardie Grant, £25.00) josepizarro.com PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE MCCABE

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BUSINESS

springtime for startups There’s no prescribed best time to start a business. Many things need to come together before pressing the ‘go’ button. But maybe the time is now to take the leap and begin making those first baby steps towards turning dreams of being the boss into reality?

BY ERIC WOLLARD-WHITE

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IN STYLE

Money is always a key factor, assuming of course you’ve already cranked out that winning idea, whether it be on a beer mat or in a smoothly reasoned business plan.

With banks paying lip service to lending to businesses – rather than actually dishing out much-needed cash – and private ‘angel’ investors and venture capital firms looking for pedigree and a clear financial return before committing funds, where else can you turn for a leg up on the road to getting backing for your big idea?

Crowd funding is increasingly becoming a realistic and achievable option. It’s not as big in the UK yet as it is in the US, where some $30 billion plus was raised by businesses via crowd funding platforms in 2015, but there is plenty of choice with many larger mainstream established platforms and more niche players catering for projects in specific industries and sectors.

Not all the money raised via crowd funding is designed to deliver a financial return as part of a typical investment model; some platforms focus on generating support and backing based purely on offering people the chance to be a part of the overall experience coupled with rewards such as official merchandise in return for your money.

Shoreditch-based Phundee.com is a refreshing gateway to anyone with a business idea rooted within the creative sector; much more than just access to money, the company has created an eco-system, with mentoring and learning from best practice of other startups and links to major brand partners operating in the creative industry space.

For CEO Ashon Spooner, the seed of his business idea was inspired by an experience at Kingston University, where he went to study film making.

On his first day, in a lecture, he was casually informed that: “99.9 per cent of people studying film will not

break into the British film industry…

Be here because you are passionate about film, or go find courses that offer internships or placements, because film isn’t one of them.”

He explains: “That was the catalyst which inspired the creation of Phundee, in a non-traditional but revolutionary new format. Once, coming back from Disney in 2014, I decided to open up the platform enabling a wider market to participate.”

Now, the platform offers financial hope and more to startup companies in nine business categories, covering film, theatre, music, art, fashion, dance, photography, literature and creative technology.

And while in the wider crowd funding market around 70 per cent of all projects fail to achieve the investment they require, those using Phundee benefit from a 50 per cent success rate. So what’s different?

Says Ashon: “People, passionate about the arts can change the world.

In that vein, my company is an endto-end service for entertainment and arts. We care about the funding, production and distribution of projects that use us to raise money.

However we don’t just see ourselves as a transactional site for projects – like other platforms – our root is a deep connection to the arts world.”

Unlike other crowd funding platforms, Ashon and his team help to incubate the majority of projects before they launch, making sure they have all the necessary tools in place, such as getting content ready, designing rewards for backers and organising press and the social media activity.

“We pair our project owners with Ambassadors – influential people within the crowd funding or

The Flow Show This Hackney-based charity fashion show event successfully raised £3,668. It was created in 2013 to support The Tommy Vine Fund, which helps creatives to make their dreams a reality.

“The Flow Show’s” Romy Waller says enthusiastically: “The support which Phundee supplies as a crowd funding platform kicks the ass of the support most normal people get from their friends.

“When preparing for our show, we fully relied on the boys. They gave us a desk space at their trendy offices in East London and dedicated many hours into calming us and helping us curate what was truly and inspiring event.

“A year later, we’re still getting phone calls about more press they’re pushing our way... The help and kindness never ends!”

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BUSINESS held positions at major banks, such as Credit Suisse. This is paired with a very hands-on board which plays an active role in short and long term goals of the organisation.”

Future plans for the platform include the release of a new version of the website, incorporating feedback from thousands of users over an 18-month period. And despite being a homegrown E1 business, Phundee supports arts and entertainment projects nationwide – with ambitions to expand

SHOW CASE

entertainment and arts space, who mentor projects through the process and open doors for successful project owners once their projects are made,” he says. “A good example would be a filmmaker connecting to one of our Ambassadors that help them navigate the film festival circuit once they have completed their investment and made their production.”

Beyond that, the platform seeks to bring relevant partners into the mix who will help to actively match projects which meet their criteria with their own communities as a resource to drive and prove demand, eliminating the need for projects to rely solely on family and friends to raise money.

As an entrepreneur himself, Ashon understands the challenges facing business owners, especially in the early stages of development.

He says: “The biggest challenge is assessing people and making sure they are the right fit for your organisation. You have to be a really good judge of character or learn how to be one really quickly. We have a super awesome team, who are dedicated to bringing all the different facets of the business to life.

“We have managed to attract expert developers, former senior product designers at Apple, and senior management that have previously

Ada. Ada. Ada. For Zoe Phillpott from Shoreditch the dream was to tell the story of the world’s first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace, who created the first complex program in 1843 and then was written out of history.

Zoe successfully raised £5,199.

She created Ada. Ada. Ada. to tell her story to as many people worldwide as possible, using a programmable LED dress that “would make her proud.”

Explains Zoe: “The successful crowdfunding campaign was our first step and we have now been invited to Europe, Scandinavia, USA and the Middle East – as we seek out ever more businesses, schools and festivals to share her inspirational story. Crowd funding for us was a complete unknown yet it was an incredibly supportive process where we received invaluable guidance throughout.”

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its reach internationally too.

As with any business, tracking success is vital and understanding clearly what success looks like for the company is also a priority for Ashon.

He says: “We would like to be the go to destination for entertainment and arts, just like Facebook became the destination for social communication, within a system that supports ideas and funding all the way through to distribution.

“I would like to see our films win

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CLEANING UP

Dirty Laundry

Oscars, our theatre projects win Tony Awards and our fashion designers to take centre stage at Fashion Week.

I ask myself everyday: how best do we serve our community online in the digital space and also offline in the real world? We stand on the intersection where technology and the arts meet and that combination becomes more important as we grow nationally and internationally.”

As well as the global ambitions, the company’s location has been a key feature of the creation of the business identity, ethos and investment focus.

Added Ashon: “Shoreditch is an incredible, thriving and bustling environment, not only is it a fantastic arts centric space, but the tech environment is second to none.

With Old street being named Silicon Roundabout and Campus London (the working space by Google) based within Shoreditch, we thought it the perfect environment for us.”

The team behind “Dirty Laundry” are part way through raising £8,640 of funding to shoot the pilot episode of their neo-noir web series, set entirely in an East London launderette. The series follows 5 characters in a slow paced story, full of tension and highly stylised – transforming cinematic quality content into short form for a global online audience.

Co-creator Jason Bradbury says: “We’re very excited to have finally launched our crowd funding on Phundee. They’ve been instrumental in the preparation of our campaign and have supported us every step of the way. Crowd funding is important to us not only for the monetary rewards but for building our audience – and we’re sure that Dirty Laundry will resonate with people around the world.”

Cuts The Movie

“Cuts” is a feature length documentary focusing on the hairdressing salon Cuts in London. It was founded by James Lebon during the post-punk, New Romantic scene of the early 1980s and is still going to this day.

Hackney-based Sarah Lewis used Phundee to raise £21,725 for the project. As an international, independent filmmaker for over twenty years, Sarah has produced and directed documentaries, short films, commercials, experimental films and corporate videos in Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Africa. Her documentaries have aired on ABC in Australia and Channel 4 in the UK. “This crowd funding company is 100 per cent involved with the arts so they were passionate about our project,” she explains. “They gave us personalised attention and put much work into reaching our crowd funding target.”

The Oki Oki Show

Currently aiming to raise £3,240, this is the brainchild of actor Josh Okusanya from Hackney. The project is an online comedy sketch show, with characters played

by Josh, who has been inspired by his own life experiences and challenges. He says: “It’s been an amazing process and the fact that they focus on entertainment and arts is a blessing because there are many crowd funding sites that try to do everything. They have really helped me throughout the training process getting you ready for your campaign and making sure you’re doing the right thing at the right time to make your campaign successful. They’re all passionate about the arts and great at what they do.”

Marionette

Natasha Marburgher is an East London-based film producer who used Phundee to successfully raise £2,400. The funds were used to buy art materials and hire a studio and location for filming and visual effects. Her short film without dialogue is entitled Marionette. She said: “It was my debut as a Writer-Director, and I had teamed up with an amazing artist in the USA to turn it into a music video/short film, so I wanted to do the project justice. I therefore chose my crowd funding platform wisely, I went with this amazing group of entrepreneurs who know what they’re talking about and are really well placed within the arts crowd funding circles in London. They also add the personal touch to crowd funding, which is very important to me, and they provided support throughout. The campaign was successful and the project is half way to completion.”

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Blooming marvellous

Spring calls for funky florals and rainbow hues.

PHOTOGRAPHY:ADAM TRUSSELL STYLING:CHARLOTTE MUMFORD MAKEUP:JANEY DEMARNE

Opposite page: suit by ASOS; trousers £40; blazer £60; t-shirt Zara basic, £9.99; shoes from Zara, £39.99; sunglasses from Quay Australia available from Topshop, £25.

This page: shirt, vintage; multi-coloured jumper, Scotch & Soda, £114.95; jeans from Topshop, £42; trainers by Reebok at Urban Outfitters, £60; sunglasses by MONKI, from ASOS, £10.

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This page: orange and purple dress from Scotch & Soda, £369.95; shoes from River Island, £35.00.

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Left: sheer puffball shirt, Miss Sixty, £105; cream and black splatter print trousers

by Samsoe & Samsoe, £84.95; cream and peach bag from The Cambridge Satchel Company, £165; shoes Reebok from Urban Outfitters, £60.00.

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This page: top, vintage find; multi coloured trousers from Scotch & Soda, £74.95; shoes: Topshop, £59; bag Skinny Dip £30.

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MIRROR MIRROR LONDON 56 56 PENTON PENTON STREET STREET LONDON LONDON N1 N1 9QA 9QA TEL: TEL: 020 020 7713 7713 9022 9022

HERE COMES THE SUN, PEOPLE. GET OUT THERE AND STRUT YOUR STUFF.

PHOTOGRAPHY: CHARLOTTE MUMFORD

KEEPING IT REAL

SUN IS SHINING

Street Style

Matt: “I’m going record shopping today at Love Vinyl. My favourite drinking holes are The Merchants Tavern or Night Jar. I like to feed my face at Dino Rib at The Blues Kitchen. I own a hairdressing business in Shenfield, Essex; foureighty.com.”

Wearing: Basquiat sweater; Mr Saturday Night tee; jeans from H&M; Redwing Moc Toe boots; tote bag from Is It Balearic? (record label); Rayban Wayfarer sunglasses and a splash of Keihls Musk cologne...

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Christian: “I’m a fashion photographer, I live just off Brick Lane. I’m just sending a few emails while on my break. The best place to eat and hang out around here is Café 21 on Hackney Road.

There’s a great homely vibe with really friendly people.

They have a cool piano and a roof garden not many people know about. It’s candlelit and they serve great burgers – an ideal place to take someone on a date!”

Wearing: glasses by Bailey; jumper from Rokit; jeans from a Japanese denim specialist off Brick Lane; shoes are Doc Martens.

Zoe: “I’m a florist and I’m lucky enough to be starting a job with Jane Packer next week, I can’t wait! I like visiting Columbia Road flower market for inspiration and the atmosphere is buzzing. East London is a brilliant place to find adventure, from the latest new cool bars to just enjoying the sunshine in the open spaces around Canary Wharf. The Everyman Cinema there has a stylish statement bar and shows some beautiful classic movies.”

Wearing: vintage denim shirt dress; skinny jeans from Top Shop; sparkly shoes by Vans.

Sarah: “I cycle everywhere in the east. I’m just out and about, enjoying the buzz of this sunny evening and headed for a drink later at The Barley Mow, Rvington Street.”

Wearing: cardigan and jeans from Cos; green jumper H&M; shoes from a Dover Street market sale.

Hannah “Me and my boyfriend are from Dublin and are staying here for the weekend on Brick Lane, so we’ve just been eating are way around the area.

We’re here at Ace Hotel to grab a coffee.”

Wearing: hat from Adidas (borrowed from my boyfriend); jumper from Missguided; jeans are Topshop; bag is from Zara; trainers are Adidas.

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UP YOUR STREET

Think of Columbia Road flower market and you see vibrant colours, petals, freshly cut blooms and the hustle and bustle of the early morning weekend crowd. Looking down, as the day and trading draws to a close, there’s an alternative picture to behold. An abstraction of the day, which is prettily documented in a mini coffee table book along with a slice of history.

WORDS:RACHEL SEGAL HAMILTON PHOTOGRAPHY:JOANNA NEURATH

When the stalls are packed up and the stallholders long since gone, photographer Joanna Neurath picked up her camera to capture another view. Every Sunday Columbia Road Hackney is home to London’s biggest dedicated flower market. This book, book number 7 in a collection of photographic beauties from Hoxton Mini Press, is the collation of over a decades worth of documentary by photographer Johanna.

Neurath’s Columbia Road looks to the gutters.

It’s an interesting view of the periphery where you see strewn petals, upturned buckets and polythene wrappings and polystyrene cups.

Markets have always held a special allure for photographers of urban life. André Kertész documented flower sellers in Paris. Eugène Atget did the same for flea markets. So did Bill Brandt in London. Street photography is about authenticity and improvisation. It’s about embracing

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the everyday and the unexpected. It’s about chucking yourself, camera-first, into the throng and seeing where it takes you. And what better spot to do this than a market? Like a touring theatre, it roars in at dawn, transforming the street into a makeshift stage, festooned with eyecatching wares, peopled by a cast of boisterous barrow boys, meandering tourists, curious locals, savvy regulars. A proper slice of the city – which, by the end of the day is gone.

Originally Columbia Road was a path used to transport cattle down to Smithfield’s slaughterhouses, by the mid 19th century the area had become a slum. In 1869, philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts bought the land and redeveloped it, building a covered food market there. Initially the flower market ran on a Saturday but later switched to a Sunday to suit the East

End’s many Jewish vendors. Head down that way now and you’ll find stallholders whose market lineage goes back generations, as well as a newer contingent of Hackneyites, selling flat whites, vintage fashion or graphic art from the Victorian shops that line the street.

Shot over a decade, Johanna’s images capture the joyful humour and energy of the market. The kaleidoscope of flora. Shopping bags brimming with goods. Abstract patterns reflected in windows. A little dog. You can almost feel yourself being jostled around; almost hear the traders’ patter around you. But this isn’t that brash, in-your-face school of street photography - in fact, few faces are visible.

Johanna’s approach glories in random moments of harmony between colour, texture, light and form. People are almost incidental, neat visual

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UP YOUR STREET

Columbia Road by Johanna Neurath is published by Hoxton Mini Press, £12.95 (hoxtonminipress.com).

echoes for the foliage - the green sweets they eat and green trousers they wear resemble plant stalks. In this resolutely democratic frame, a shoe-clad foot isn’t automatically more important than a polystyrene cup simply because it happens to have a human attached.

Come 3pm, as the market closes and petals congregate, like snow, or confetti, on the floor, Johanna turns her lens on what’s left behind. Flowers and leaves, scraps of shiny packaging and bright orange netting, scattered across the floor or floating serenely in buckets of water, become captivating still lifes. Traditionally

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“Come 3pm, as the market closes petals congregate, like snow or confetti, on the floor.” the still life gives an artist license to organise a set of objects very deliberately. In vanitas paintings flowers feature in meticulously composed arrangements of skulls, fruit and other objects intended to symbolise the fleeting nature of life. More recently, photographers Robert Mapplethorpe and Irving Penn took elegant, close-up still lifes of flowers against plain backdrops.

And with the still lifes of contemporary advertising, every effort is made to emphasise perfection and convince us we should buy the product.

What Johanna presents appears at first to be the opposite of all this. The mess, the detritus, the odds and ends that couldn’t possibly be sold. And yet they’re beautiful. Himself no stranger to street markets, Henri Cartier-Bresson said, “Poetry is two elements that are suddenly in conflict.” Here, that’s the rough, asphalt road, with its cracks and faded yellow markings, or the mucky water, and those delicate, crumpled, still startlingly vibrant petals. Looking at them, we remember that these are not living organisms.

They’re cut flowers, dead plants. Maybe we’re not so far from the vanitas. After all, the French words for still life are “nature morte”. Johanna directs our attention to something we’d normally ignore or trample underfoot without a thought. She elevates it. A reminder that there’s poetry to be found in the least likely places.

PREVIEW

book end

C’MON, GET HAPPY! Shining the spotlight on dishes that are oft simply a sad side to the main event, this clever recipe book is written by author and columnist Jane Baxter and Leon co-founder John Vincent and it celebrates each salad as a meal in itself. There’s inspiration to whip up a healthy and summery no-fuss meals at home with prettily colourful and light dishes like pink quinoa or spanish-style ‘Paella Deli Salad’ as well as meatier alternatives including grilled lamb and goat’s cheese and ‘Very Peri-Peri Chicken’.

Get stuck into these satiating salad recipes, illustrated with kickass photography. Not a limp lettuce leaf in site. Leon Happy Salads is out on 2 June, priced £15.99.

Pickled photography by Helen Cathcart.

IN A PICKLE Local girl Freddie Janssen is the founder of F.A.T, a supper club host at Lyles and purveyor of pickles, kimchi and sauces (stocked around town). She’s been taking the markets by sweet storm too, especially at Druid Street Market where foodies enjoy her original ideas using South-east Asian inspired ingredients. This Dutch girl grew up eating onions from a jar to go with her satekroket (croquette with satay filling). While working for an Indonesian restaurant, she was introduced to crunchy sweet and sour Dutch Asian pickles called Atjar and still can’t get enough of the tangy flavours. “The different textures, colours, flavours and levels of spiciness were the most exotic and awesome thing I had ever tasted.” Freddie proves you can pickle almost anything and you expect to see fruit (like nashi pear) in her repertoire. Her debut book, Pickled is out now, Hardie Grant, priced £15 and is full of tips like using a hot brine to speed up the process, so you can get in a pickle in just a couple of hours.

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MAKING IT

Nice cuppa Rosie

Ex fashion high-flyer turned ‘tea lady’ Natasha Kelly is serving up top-notch cuppas at the corner of Broadway market – and that’s just the start of it... This stylish entrepreneur and mum of four is also brewing up an online tea business and developing a snazzy range of teaware too.

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STORY: RENATE RUGE Soft relaxing music is playing in the bleached white airy space, Tiosk. Comforting scents of vegetable broth simmering on the stove emanate from a small stairway that leads to the kitchen below. My eyes prick slightly with the herby, spicy aromas that will go into making soups served fresh every day for lunch.

Tearistas (yep, that’s the tea pro version of barista) work fastidiously with pots and tea leaves and timers among shelves lined with tall glass jars of black, green, white and herbal teas. It’s a sanctuary where you’ll find tea and (if you’re lucky), sympathy on tap.

Every pot of tea has been timed to perfection, for instance green, white and Oolong teas are always brewed with cooler 80 degree water as boiling water brings out the bitterness.

When Natasha and her business partner, Nicola opened up in 2014, they tested each tea to find the perfect brew time. “We serve the black tea in bone china cups, as is tradition and the cooler teas, like the white tea and Oolong, in a glass,” she says. “There’s been a surge in the number of coffee drinkers who know exactly how they like their perfect cup. That’s how we like to serve tea: taking out the fuss of making it and serving customers their version of a perfectly made brew.”

Natasha previously worked in the fashion industry

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for brands like Nicole Fahri, Michael Kors and Donna Karan, spending many years shuttling back and forth across the Atlantic to New York on the red eye working out all the logistics of opening new stores.

Her experience in operational planning, installing till systems and setting up training gave her a brilliant back ground for opening her own shop. “Nicola and I both led very similar lives, both in senior corporate American fashion roles and both with a big gaggle of children – four each to be precise! So, Tiosk came about when we met up one Christmas, bemoaning why we were putting so much effort into our corporate jobs, realising that at the end of the day no one is going to thank you...”

“Tiosk is just the start and the shop front or showcase for our tea brand. I have lived in this area for over ten years. People like new things here. It really felt like it would be a good addition to the area.” A trip to a Stockholm spa inspired the use of copper in the store’s table tops and lighting design.

“The look is simple and contemporary but it still feels comfortable and easy. Copper is a lovely grounding material, natural without being rustic and the older it gets, the nicer it looks,” she smiles.

“It’s a big undertaking and you are on 24/7 – there’s never not a message on my phone. Supermarkets are limited in the choice of tea on their shelves and the

Little Black Book NATASHA’S FASHION PICK

69B on Broadway market is a sustainable fashion store, (69bboutique.com).

The-Acey is a great online ethically minded, grown-up fashion store owned by Holly, one of our regulars. (the-acey.com)

DELISH GLASS OF WINE

Pinch is possibly the tiniest, cosiest wine bar you will ever visit. Totally charming, it’s in E8, (pinchhackney.co.uk).

Try top drops or enjoy a glass of wine at Sager + Wild on Hackney Road (sagerandwilde.com).

options are very old fashioned, so our concept is to sell and serve teas people may not have tried before.”

Their interiors range features Japanese pots made from olive wood and glass (from a brand called Hario) and handmade ceramics from Kana London, a local potter whose earthenware dishes are used for the ‘wholesome bowls’ of dahl or soup served in the café.

As this is such a foodie street, the concept had to offer more than simply a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

Initially they had the food made and delivered daily by the well-known macrobiotic chef, Nicky Clinch but the margins weren’t great, so now cooking on site means the team can be mindful of waste, making to order depending on what the market demands.

People often come in and ask for a latte. We have a wide range of lattes, however none contain coffee and so people often discover a new latte they love like Matcha, chai, rooibos and more. “You can have a ‘Sunshine’ latte that is a slightly sweetened tea drink with tumeric in it – a healthy giving super latte.”

The Best Kept Secret part of the menu features delights like green earl grey, honey bush – a sweet and softer rooibos style tea, Moroccan mint tea, Jasmine pearl and an addictive tea called Genmaicha, a Japanese steamed green tea with popped rice.

“People like to have recommendation and try something different like Milk Oolong,” says Natasha.

Next up, there are plans to open anther two or three shops in London locations, based on a slightly different model than our Broadway Market flagship. Meanwhile the development of the tea range goes on and the team looks forward to summer and iced teas. We say “chars” to that. Or you could always stick to ‘Posh Builders’ to keep things simple. It’s served in bone china of course…

‘

IMAGES: courtesy of Good Eatings.com, dojoapp.co and Tiosk.

BEST SLICE OF PIZZA

One of my favourite things to do is to eat at Story Deli on the corner of Brick Lane.

From outside it’s just a door and you could miss it. I perch at a bench and enjoy a delicious slice of their really crispy pizza, (storydeli.com).

Loose leaf teas, served with some good East End humour and just a little sympathy plus super healthy nourishing lunches.

Tiosk, 33 Broadway Market, E8, facebook.com/tioskuk.

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FOOD & DRINK

BDQ

B U S I N E S S LD I N N E R LQ U I R K Y

Our hot-right-now dine out guide to suit your occasion.

WORDS: RENATE RUGE

BUSINESS

BELLISSIMO LANIMA 1 Snowden Street, Broadgate West EC2A 2DQ. 020 7422 7000. lanima.co.uk

The business of doing business at Lanima (the name translates as ‘soul’) will take you on a voyage of gourmet discovery around Italy. The menu is based on authentic dishes and ingredients, the quality of which will not fail to impress your lunch date. Black focaccia hails from Italy’s breadbasket, Puglia and is teamed with olive oil from Calabria. Wines are sophisticated and from lesser-known regions like Lombardy and Emilia Romagna. The food, like the setting, impresses at every turn. A ravioli cushion floats gently in lobster broth. It’s a flavoursome elixir with a kick of chilli warmth and tiny diced vegetables. Each dish is precise and beautiful. Next: a pile of tuna tartare with sweetcorn is served in an avocado swoosh and sprinkled with edible flowers. A winning combination. Crab salad follows and has light-as-air crispy soft shell crab, garnished with avocado pickled cauliflower and prettied with dots of sea urchin jam. My lunch date basks in the sunshine flooding in to the minimalist space and says he does not want the seafood adventure on a plate to finish. Progress. Beetroot pasta with candied fruits and a fresh silky burrata hit a high note of excellence, though I suspect the Tortino alle Nocciole e Fragole – a strawberry and hazelnut tart with some very smooth milky ice cream – may have just sealed the deal...

Age and glasses of wine should never be counted ITALIAN PROVERB 30

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DINNER CULTURE CLUB RIVINGTON GRILL 28-30 Rivington Street, EC2A 3DZ. 020 7729 7053. rivingtongrill.co.uk Maybe it’s the comforting warmth of the ginger in the Moscow mule served in a copper mug, the generous pots of fat olives or the smiling bearded barman that makes this place feel like a) you could have been here before with its timeless atmosphere, or b) you fancy coming back for a solo dinner at the bar as that’s where the action starts and some great takes on a gin and tonic are mixed. As the Grill is found in Rivington Place, it’s stacked with pieces from surrounding galleries – their names duly credited on a board at the door. ‘Life without you, never’ is the neon slogan that lights up the restaurant wall. It’s by Tracey Emin.

Owners, Caprice are into pushing British art (according to the smiley barman). And this theme is continued in the food… modern British all the way with best of British produce. The good brasserie fare with excellent service starts with sweet Dungarvan Rocks’ Irish oysters served on ice. It comes agreeably with a glass of Gyéjacquot Champagne and jumps out as a logical choice for entree from the paper menu. A savoury hit in the form of scotch duck egg is meaty and satisfying. Spiced succulent spatchcock poussin with crispy fries is a must-order. Grilled sea bass, sprinkled with capers and doused in lemon butter, is light and perfectly cooked. Treacle sponge pudding and custard makes for a hearty Brit finish. What ho chaps.

QUIRKY

SweetSpot Make a pit stop at this sweet as cherry pie shop.

The cake counter, found just inside Albion, in the Boundary building has a sweet mix of home baked goodies made from scratch on the premises.

Be spoilt for choice by fairy cakes, Gingerbread men, warm chocolate brownies and some exceedingly fluffy scones. Our favourite is the ginger iced cup cake. Sure to be a hit in the office should it be your turn to get in a round of Friday buns. albioncaff.co.uk

HELLO SAILOR! TOM’S KITCHEN @ HMS BELFAST HMS Belfast, The Queen’s Walk, SE1 2JH. 0207 940 6316. tomskitchen.co.uk Quayside at HMS Belfast (the Second World War Royal Navy warship moored on the Thames) is Tom Aiken’s recently-launched deli and bar. A brilliant 58-cover rooftop has stunning views overlooking Tower Bridge, The Shard and the London skyline and a cosy deli is found ‘below deck’. The café is a choose-your-own affair with gourmet sarnies like chicken and chorizo sandwich with beef tomato and spiced mayo; more exotic salads such as roast squash salad with rocket, pecorino, sage and honey and homemade sausage rolls with piccalilli and lambs lettuce. Freshlybaked cakes – think orange polenta or homemade Jaffa cake – are moist and moreish and call for a large pot of tea. Upstairs on the terrace bar, order a nautical themed cocktail, like The Black Pearl (blackberry infused gin, lemon, and blackberry liqueur, poured over crushed ice) or go overboard for The Lifeboat Sidecar (blackberry and vanilla infused cognac, Cointreau and lemon juice).

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MADE IT

Funk.Soul.

Food Entrepreneur, chef, cook book author, restaurateur and arts producer, Martin Morales mixes music with colourful Peruvian cuisine, art and culture. Launching iTunes Europe with Steve Jobs and three successful restaurants, this man sure can spin success.

BY RENATE RUGE

‘

Each restaurant we create is completely different even though it may carry the same name as (Ceviche) Soho.” Martin waves a hand around the Alexandra Trust Dining Rooms built by Sir Thomas Lipton in 1938, now his Peruvian restaurant, Ceviche Old St. The ceilings are high, the tiles metro and the walls are hung with coloured splashes of modern Peruvian art.

“Lipton built it for the working people of East London,” says Martin of the corner building on Baldwin Street. “I was so inspired by its history and what it represented in its time, that we opened up here.

Our philosophy is to be inclusive not exclusive. We promote the idea of people eating together, those from the

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local area with an international crowd.

They may have different amounts of money to spend but they are all welcome. It’s our most democratic audience. People are attracted to the huge bar – one of the longest in London – it makes everyone feel at home. Hipsters, city types, creatives and families all eat here.”

The bar of which he speaks stretches its wooden arc along the breadth of the room curving around to reveal chefs busy prepping lunch service and slicing slithers of fish, chopping up chunks of cassava for chips, while chickens slow roast on a spit. The rotisserie fills the room with mouth-watering scents.

“We’ve restored the signage, the Victorian tiles and the seating,” Martin goes on. “Bringing it back to its former

grandeur and beauty was important to us. We respect what it once was.”

The restaurant doubles as a contemporary Peruvian not-for-profit art gallery. Works are replenished as they are sold. “We are a highly creative team of individuals; our main focus is on food, but we don’t have boundaries, so we work with food across music, art, TV, cinema and charity and love to blur the lines and create new experiences. We’ve just launched Ceviche Old St Gallery, which features works from 50 of Peru’s top contemporary artists.

“Saatchi and the Modern Art gallery are helping us. Claudia Trosso works with me on co-curating and hanging the works. We also have an app called the Ceviche app. Behind each work, there’s a Bluetooth sensor so when

Left: Martin Morales; above: fresh Ceviche Clásico.

you go near a piece, you can check out the painting and the artist as well as find out more on the food and drinks. It’s an audio as well as visual app so that visually-impaired are able to navigate and listen to everything relating to the art and dishes. We work with Moorfields Eye Hospital.”

Martin’s grandmother Mamita Naty was an Andina and there’s a picture of her in Andina, which lends the Shoreditch restaurant its name.

“I’ve always had that connection with the land as grandmother was a farmer. I started cooking when I was nine and it is something I am deeply committed to and passionate about,” says Martin who’s been a commis chef, a barman and a DJ. “At university I would create and produce events where I would cook

and then DJ at the same time (The Global Kitchen). I was always into music and food – that relationship with hospitality has always been there.”

Music encircles the room. It could be Peru Boom, their bass heavy album from Martin’s own record label Tiger’s Milk Records featuring Peruvian DJs from Lima’s party scene.

“I started out by making the tea for people on a record label. Before long, I was running marketing campaigns and working for record labels like EMI Music, launching artists like KT Tunstall and Joss Stone before I went to work with Steve Jobs on the launch of Apple iTunes for Europe. I worked with him for four years. I also worked for Disney on concerts and launched artists like Miley Cyrus. I’ve even worked with the Muppets,” he smiles.

“I started out by making the tea at a record label.

Before long, I was launching artists like Katy Dunstall and Joss Stone before working with Steve Jobs on the launch of Apple iTunes Europe.”

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XXXXXXXXX

Martin’s passion for cooking led him to do supper clubs at his house, then pop up restaurants, before selling up his home and putting everything on the line.

“Four years ago I sold my house and put every penny I had into opening Ceviche Soho in central London.”

Martin speaks quietly and with conviction. His eyes shine with passion for his home country’s art and cuisine. He has grown with his business in this area.

“When I first moved to London and to the East End, I lived in Dalston.

That was in the late 90s about a street away from Ceviche Old St. I have seen this area grow and thrive and go through its bumps, challenges, ups and downs.”

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Martin set about introducing people to the beauty of Peruvian art, music, culture and food.

“East London was key to my mission, as this is where the most exciting creatives live and work.

Old street and Shoreditch is a hub for architects, advertising people, video directors, musicians, tech companies, the fashion industry and lots of startups. I relate to this area and I know many people here with a very good senior

network of CEOs, pioneers and exciting entrepreneurs but I also love working with young people and creative new talent.”

Andina opened two years ago, the aim to provide a “safe haven” from the noise and provide people with a breather from the building works, the traffic noise and the crazy bars of Shoreditch outside. “I wanted light and fresh food, a place people would feel great and we do that through the dishes. I feel we are one of the most creative and colourful dining options in the East. Visually this is an industrial place. We live in a pretty grey country, where the buildings can be aggressive and we offer somewhere that’s warm and friendly with a focus on feeling great and a

Clockwise from above: healthy, brunch dish; Martin hard at it; Victorian dining room at Ceviche Old St; tasty Huevo Criollo.

MADE IT

CHEF RECOMMENDS...

SECRET SHOREDITCH:

wherever you want to virtually.

We can create fulfilling and multidimensional projects.”

It all starts with food. The kitchens are at the heart of Martin’s Peruvian restaurant business and ethos. “Our dishes are fresh, healthy, colourful and playful. It’s accessible, fine dining food without the fuss just with joie de vivre and colour instead.

We’re blurring the boundaries between cooking, photography, art and music.”

As a man who has to spin many plates, Martin recommends taking time out. He runs four times a week and says: “Fitness is crucial. Be good to yourself, your family, friends and team and make time to daydream. This will help you to relax and think clearly. Your best new ideas and strategies will follow. Steve Jobs said: “Trust that the dots will connect in future”. And I have and I do.”

‘

knockout place for breakfast and brunch, all manifested in the art and music. We’re still one of the most alternative places around.

“The influences on our cooking come from all over the world – my team is from everywhere and we are united by being in London but influenced by what’s going on in Berlin, New York and Sydney as well as by indigenous South American people from 5000 years ago and migrants from Japan, Spain and Africa, which creates a creative fusion cuisine.

As an adventurer East London is somewhere that is receptive as what we are doing is innovative and pioneering and new. East London is full of adventurers – people who have travelled and want to travel more. They have confidence about where they are from but want to see more and are curious. Post recession that idea is growing more and more.

In recession people felt stifled and confined by locality. With digital technology you can go

There’s a really cool place in Shoreditch.

It’s a small custom bike shop, that also sells clothes. I’m a biker and have toured lots of Europe and Ireland.

Now I drive around a Vespa 300.

GO-TO ITALIAN:

Burro e Salvia on Redchurch Street. I like to go there for a bowl of pasta, especially the tortellini, which reminds me of my childhood and a café in Peru called Three Little Pigs.

MUSIC:

I really like to shop at Sister Ray Records and Rough Trade in Brick Lane.

FASHION: Pam Pam is

the UK’s first femaleonly trainer shop and I love going in there to buy trainers for my wife.

It’s between Bethnal Green Road’s kebab shops and Brick Lane’s vintage emporiums.

DRINK: Pisco cocktails and we have one you can take away. Pisco punch dates back to the trade routes to San Francisco.

TASTING NOTES: CEVICHE OLD ST

cevicheuk.com The restaurant has a Victorian feel but has a colonial Peruvian edge to it, encompassing a collection of cuisines: Afro Peruvian, Andean, Amazonian and Japanese. The delicious ceviche is a must. Try the Don Ceviche dish of light and fresh seabass, with tangy amarillo chilli tigers milk, sweet potato, red onion, limo chilli. Deep fried pork bites with a hot amarillo chilli cream are tops.

DON’T MISS: pollo a la brasa chicken and a side of fat cassava chips.

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eat streets

Deep pan? Pffft... Grab a little slice of heaven at these pukka pizza places.

BY LIAM BARKER

image: Adam Trussell

TO MARKET, TO MARKET: SUD ITALIA The window to woodfired pizza truck heaven is wide open at this retro Citroën H van, where friendly staff dish up handmade authentic Italian pizza and fast. Ingredients are top notch, using only fresh buffalo mozzarella Alburna, which is delivered twice a week from Salerno and authentic Parmesan cheese aged for 24 months. The dough is made using 00 Napoletana and wholewheat flour, which, along with the 24 to 48 hours dough raising, makes it easily digestible. The menu changes every couple of months. Try their signature slice, ‘Sud Italia’, which comes fully-loaded with buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, basil, Parmesan and rocket. Excellent eats.

WHERE: Old Spitalfields Market, EC1 6EA. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:30AM to 3:30PM. BIG IT UP AT YARD SALE Yard Sale started out selling pizza from a backyard in Homerton. These days you can find their mini pizzeria in Clapton serving up 18” sharers or 12” individual stone-baked sourdough pizzas. Who says there are rules though? If you want to eat an 18” to yourself, go right ahead. Much like East London drum and bass crew Rudimental, Yard Sale is king of the collab. In the past Montys Deli, Deeneys & White and Men Can’t Jerk have all

THAT’S AMORÉ

featured here, so keep an eye out for them.

WHERE: 105 Lower Clapton Rd, London E5 0NP yardsalepizza.com PIZZA ON TAP AT CRATE A brewery and a pizzeria, in an idyllic waterside location in Hackney… what a great combo! A trip here can easily turn into a pizza-fuelled, reggae-filled, boozy fest leaving you wondering where

Toppings

SODO PIZZA CAFÉ are kept simple Making a good sourdough isn’t at Sodo a skill it’s a science. At Sodo pizza café they go about things with Heston-like meticulousness just maybe without the white lab coats. Their dough is fermented for up to 48 hours, then blasted in a pizza oven at over 450 degrees. Toppings are kept simple and local where possible, the cured meat being a sure fire winner. It’s an intimate little candle-lit spot with exposed brick and space for around 30 people. Perfect for date night, though don’t forget to save room for a serving of tiramisu (with two spoons).

WHERE: 126 Upper Clapton Rd, London E5 9JY sodopizza.co.uk

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your evening went. Creative juices flow strong throughout the menus. The Kashmiri Dahl pizza is an unexpected stroke of genius. Wash it down with a speciality brew from their ‘can collection’. We opted for the sour beer, brewed with wild yeast much like you would find in a sourdough. If you’re a pale ale fan, you’ll love it.

WHERE: 7, The White Building, Queen’s Yard, E9 5EN cratebrewery.com NICE SLICE: VOODOO RAYS Find a little slice of NYC in Dalston. Voodoo Rays serves up huge 22-inch pizza by the slice. The tunes are always banging and there’s always something new to try. At four quid for a monster slice you’re spoilt for choice. And don’t forget some garlic mayo to dip your crust in. It will certainly keep the vampires at bay.

Talking of vampires, after midnight, just dare to ask for a slice of the ‘Full Moon’…

WHERE: 95 Kingsland High St, London E8 2PB voodoorays.com

Wash it down with a speciality brew at Crate.

TOP IT OFF: HOMESLICE Thanks to some ingenious flavour combos they have been brave enough to put atop a pizza base, Homeslice has built up quite the following.

We’re talking chorizo, corn and coriander and goat shoulder, Savoy cabbage and sumac yoghurt. You get the drift. You can either order your pizza by the slice, or plump for a whole twenty incher. Don’t worry if you and the other half doesn’t quite see eye to eye on toppings, just order half and half. Not only that, drink as much wine as you like and they’ll measure with a ruler and charge accordingly.

WHERE: 374-378 Old Street, Shoreditch EC1V 9LT homeslicepizza.co.uk

NIGHTLIFE

Start early, finish late or not at all. The better the places, the better the night. Go hard or go home.

STORY BY LIAM BARKER

4AM

5PM 1. HOWLING HOPS, HACKNEY Long gone are the days you’d go somewhere because they have your fave beer on tap. Howling hops is the UK’s first dedicated tank bar.

That’s right: 10 beers, fresh and unfiltered straight from the source. Perfect for a pint to start the night.

7. SOMINE, DALSTON KINGSLAND It’s like having your very own Turkish grandma on call 24/7. Fresh stews, soups and bread are prepared daily. You may even catch the old ladies knocking out fresh bread in the early hours. Get yourself a proper Turkish meal whatever obscene hour it is…

None of that doner rubbish.

2AM 6. THE PICKLE FACTORY, BETHNAL GREEN Despite the name, pickle producing days are over for this place. The factory now boasts a booming sound system with sets from London’s finest underground DJs, and the party don’t stop until six in the morning! £10 entry. 13-14 The Oval, E2 9DU. thepicklefactory.co.uk

131 Kingsland High Street, E8 2PB. somine-restaurant.co.uk 11PM

5. LA CABINA, HAGGERSTON Half dive bar, half tapas bar. La Cabina is an underground tapas den serving up little Seville inspired plates and pretty darn reasonable cocktails. Better still, it’s open until 5am on weekends and erm, yes that phone booth on Kingsland Road is the entrance. Something refreshing like a Tokyo Collins, sort of like a Tom Collins in a tall glass with lots of ice, yuzu and lime.

Queens Yard, White Post Lane, Hackney Wick, E9 5EN. howlinghops.co.uk

232 Kingsland Road, E2 8AX. la-cabina.com

7PM 2. MAGIC ROUNDABOUT,

OLD ST

Yep, In the middle of the chaos of Old Street roundabout you can enjoy street food from Burger Bear and White Men Can’t Jerk. Along with cocktails designed by none other than Mr Lyan of Whyte Lyan. Grab a quick bite and get the party started.

Old Street, EC1Y 1EB. magicroundabout.co

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3. NIGHT TALES BAR, LONDON FIELDS Setting up home in a huge open plan New York style loft overlooking the city, Night Tales are serving up killer cocktails from background bars and there’s special guest DJs as well as live music. Once you’ve found the right door, dial 207 on the buzzer to get in.

207, 1 Westgate Street, London Fields, E8 3RL. ntbar.co.uk

8PM

9PM

4. NINETY EIGHT, SHOREDITCH This little house of fun will bring out your inner child at the right time of the night. Descend down the spiral staircase underneath curtain road and you’ll find a crazy crockery clad house of wonder with punchy cocktails and live DJs. Rock on!

Morrell House, 98 Curtain Road, EC2A 3AF. ninetyeight-bar-lounge.co.uk 38

noise

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BY NICK ATKINS

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GIGS

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Basia Bulat, in da house.

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noise LION COFFEE + RECORDS

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Chris Hayden, Lee Gibbs and Chris’s fiancée, indie record label owner Mairead Nash.

A roaring trade

When he’s not touring the world with Florence and the Machine, drummer Chris Hayden is busily providing Clapton locals with fine coffee and sweet music.

STORY BY ED GIBBS It’s not every day that you can walk into a café to find it stacked high with vinyl – and serving live cuts on a Sunday. But then again, Lion Coffee + Records is anything but your average coffee-drinking locale.

The brainchild of rocker Chris Hayden and local business owner Lee Rigg, Lion offers a cosy, front-room type of vibe where atmosphere is king. It didn’t take long before Chris’s fiancée, indie record label owner Mairead Nash, jumped in as well.

Together, they’re forging a unique space in a lesser-known corner of the East that’s ripe for discovery.

“Yeah, it’s very cosy,” Chris admits, the day before he jets off to South America on another tour with his rather successful ‘other’ job. “The capacity’s only 60 or 65 people. We’ve had Courtney Love play before, Gruff Rhys and Gabriel Bruce – all those guys

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brought down a good 200-plus people trying to get in the door. The place certainly creates an atmosphere.”

Although Chris and Lee have been Clapton locals for over a decade, it was only in 2014 that the pair decided to take the plunge and go into business together.

“We’re both music lovers, and I’m a musician, and we both drink a lot of coffee,” Chris says laughing, summing up their mutual desire to launch a café-with-a-difference. “We always had an interest in blending records with coffee. Plus we wanted a space where we could host gigs as well. Now, every other Sunday, we have an event called Clapton Unplugged, which basically brings in local talent and local artists, generally unsigned, to play.”

Although they bristle at the notion of gentrification affecting their neighbourhood, Chris admits the

surrounds have changed a lot over the years, and much for the better.

“When we first moved into the area, it wasn’t that much of a desirable area to go,” he says. “But within the first six months of moving here, new shops started popping up. And the pubs became places you wanted to sit in – no more dark windows and sticky carpets. Some would call it gentrification – although I wouldn’t call it anything near that. It’s got better.”

For those unfamiliar with Hackney’s uber-cool neighbour, Clapton offers an off-the-beaten-track, in-the-know vibe – helped, no doubt, by the lack of tubes and trains.

“It is an interesting place – it’s kind of in-between everywhere,” Chris says.

“You have to catch a bus to get here, so you don’t get all the hoards coming in for a big night out. It’s only seven or eight minutes from the centre of

Hackney, but that makes all the difference.”

In the two years since they launched, business has steadily grown, he says. Added to that, there has been a surprise resurgence in people buying vinyl.

“There’s actually been a rise in record sales, for the first time in 25 years,” he says. “Being an independent, we stock around 2000 classics like The Beatles, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, which all go pretty quickly, especially the original mono pressings. Any big, new releases like Tame Impala do really well too. The Maccabees sold like hot cakes. And soundtracks tend to sell fast. So it’s a real mix. There’s never one day that’s the same, which I like.

And there will always be something different playing when you come in.”

“When he’s not touring the world with Florence and the Machine, drummer Chris Hayden and his partners in Lion are busily providing Clapton locals with fine coffee and sweet, sweet music...”

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HEALTH & FITNESS FITNESS

JUST DO IT

BY RUSSELL DOVEY

Coffee can improve your workout The odd coffee can make exercise feel easier and reduce symptoms of fatigue.

One cup at the right time can help you to exercise harder and for longer.

Caffeine is said to improve physical performance and is most evident in endurance (aerobic) sports lasting more

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than five minutes like running, cycling or rowing. Grab a pre-workout brew at one of my favourite local cafés: Railroad: as this Hackney café consistently delivers a top java hit, 120-122 Morning Lane.

The Shoreditch Grind: This old faithful corner coffee bar on Old Street

roundabout takes coffee seriously and the edgy music will get you going for the rest of the day, 213 Old Street.

Nude Espresso Roastery: A micro-roastery, this is the place to find Londoners discussing the merits of Nude coffee at length. Roasted around the corner from the Brick Lane café, they source their beans from around the globe. 26 Hanbury Street.

Shake it, shake it

The shake weight roller is a weight that you shake with two hands in front of your chest, similar to a vibration plate.

The additional movement gives your muscles constant tension which speeds up toning and pumps oxygenated blood into muscles fast. A cool benefit is that the weight doubles up as an abdominal roller. £29.99. shakeweight.co.uk

IMAGES: Coffee cup, Kit Montague. Main image: courtesy of Aerial Yoga

There’s a new fitness craze hitting East London, which is sure to take your work-out to new heights.

Aerial Yoga in Whitechapel teaches students how to achieve proper postural alignment through relaxation, rather than effort.

Producing a peaceful state of mind and a wonderful feeling of lightness, classes will alleviate muscle tension, increase joint mobility and improve core strength.

Book a class with a few friends, relax, stretch and snap some awesome pictures for Instagram – it’s an all-round winner.

Got a healthy juice recipe you’re obsessed with?

Tweet us @E1LifeMag to sip and share.

WELLBEING

juice it up

Supercharge with organic juices, vegan smoothies and healthy shots to nourish your body with minimal effort. Savour the vitamin flavour and drink up your greens. BY CHARLOTTE CLARKE

Rhubarb

This outlandishly coloured vegetable that thinks it’s a fruit makes deliciously comforting puddings.

Despite subtle differences in sweetness, colour doesn’t indicate a variation in the taste or freshness, so don’t be scared picking up a bunch of green stalks. Rhubarb can be found with or without leaves, but keep in mind that only the stalks are edible; the leaves are toxic. Stew it with a little water over a low heat for 20-30 minutes, adding sugar to taste (field grown stems will need more sweetening).

Use apple or orange juice as a replacement for some or all of the sugar.

to drink THE KICKER

JUICE OF LIFE

IN THE RAW

James White Ginger Zinger

Lifesum Green Juice

NOSH

For Swedish health app Lifesum (lifesum.com) nutritionist, Frida Harju, has got together with Londonbased juice maker Crussh to develop a juice based on data analysis of 30,000 Londoners to see what nutrients they lack and what health issues affect young professionals in the city. Nutrients people fall short on include Vitamin E, Zinc, Niacin and Omega 3 – Lifesum Green gives you a lift and a vitamin hit.

Veggie juice range, Raw Veggie is centred around the philosophy and practice of living an organic lifestyle, starting with food and drink.

Switching to organic consumption is equivalent to eating several additional portions of fruit or vegetables a day as they contain far greater amounts of the essential vitamins and minerals we need to function well. From the new range of drinks, our favourite is the mango, avocado and spinach. noshdetox.com

Still asleep at your desk come 9am? Try James White’s Ginger Zinger – this little shot packs and punch and is sure to perk you up. Unlike other alternatives we tried, this has a great natural taste with no artificial additives or preservatives and is fully certified as organic by the Soil Association.

TRY...

A GREEN PEPPER, CUCUMBER, KALE, PEAR AND GINGER PRESSED JUICE AT ANDINA, SERVED UP BY BARMAN ZORTAN, REDCHURCH STREET, SHOREDITCH.

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Perfectly

defined beautiful

eyebrows

by Sa ndy Ha m ber

With over 18 years professional aesthetic Semi-Permanent Make-up experience, only a handful of technicians can match Sandy’s artistic flair, perfectionism and expertise, combined to give you outstanding results. Whether your brows have thinned with age, are over plucked, or you simply want to improve their shape and look but already have a lot of natural hair, Sandy’s New MICRObrow will create a stunningly beautiful natural brow that gives your whole face definition.

For more information and to see examples of Sandy’s work contact: 01277 230 330 or go to: thebeautystudiomedispa.com 10% DISCOUNT off a set of brows, quote E1 Life magazine.

A floral history It’s over 30 years since Angela Flanders set up a hand-painted antique furniture studio on Columbia Road. Filling her store with the scent of dried flowers, she was inspired to create her own potpourri mix. An instant hit with her customers, who requested other bespoke blends and her emporium evolved into a perfumery.

A self-taught perfumer, Angela follows her instincts and feels free to experiment with blending layers of different combinations to craft her boldly unique fragrances. Her work is loyally followed by those in-theperfume-know, building her perfumery into a quietly iconic brand, culminating in winning a coveted fragrance industry FiFi Award.

Angela’s original perfumery on Columbia Road is a near-perfect restoration of an original Victorian shop, and visiting is like walking through time. A fragrant haven amid the bustle of Sunday’s flower market. angelaflanders-perfumer.com

Beauty notes

East London’s creative heart has a long tradition of perfumery. As spring blooms, enjoy a floral fragrance spritz.

STORY: LILY EARLE

Fragrant faves Based in Hackney Wick, this up-and-coming British beauty brand crafts simple, organic skincare using minimal ingredients.

Lightly spray this scented spritz to hydrate skin and cool your mood in moments of stress. And, breathe! Skin and Tonic Rose Mist: £20.

ILLUSTRATION: Sarah Daniel, sarahdanieldesign@btinternet.com

skinandtoniclondon.com

Bloom is a Spitalfields showcase for independent perfumers and now offers the opportunity to blend your own professional quality, unique scent.

Bespoke Perfume Lab: from £55.

bloomperfume.co.uk/ bespoke

Genuine botanicals are rare in modern perfumery. With high levels of natural ingredients this botanical fragrance adapts and smells differently on each individual, creating a more personal perfume than a standard synthetic scent. You beauty.

Liz Earle Botanical Essence No.1: £49.

lizearle.com

DIY Fancy the real deal rather than a mere dab of scent? Look out for Lily of the Valley in the flower markets, which smells heavenly and comes into season around May. For inspiration, check out That Flower Shop (@hattieflowers) on Instagram for witty and whimsical creations.

MAKING SCENTS PEPPERMINT Why? Peppermint oil can help

brighten skin, its aroma makes us feel more alert and refreshed.

How? Add 2-3 drops of peppermint essential oil to your body lotion in the morning.

ROSE Why? Rose oil is perfect for

gently toning and hydrating skin.

How? Add a few sweetlyscented drops to your moisturiser for a little mood boost. Inhale deeply when applying. Bliss!

LAVENDER Why? Famed for its mind

calming and skin soothing properties, lavender oil is also an effective antiseptic.

How? Add a few drops in a warm bath to unwind, followed by a drop or two on your pillow to encourage sleep. Good night.

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Eat, drink & just be

Mem & Laz Brasserie

Fine Mediterranean cuisine EXTENSIVE BRUNCH MENU SET LUNCH Available 7 days per week ANY 2 COURSE £8.95 & 3 COURSE £10.95 (Additional £1 charge at weekends)

Please ask for the daily specials menu.

We cater for private parties.

Party menus can be arranged on request.

PARTY MENU Available for all occasions, starting from £12.95 per person 8 Theberton Street Islington, London N1 0QX To book call: 0207 704 90 89 ALL LAMB & CHICKEN DISHES or 0207 226 22 11 ARE HALAL.

ART SCENE

Flowers Gallery

Abstract thinking New season exhibitions bring modern works and installations in corners of the East End that are sometimes underground.

BY POLLY DOWSON

FLOWERS GALLERY 82 KINGSLAND ROAD E2 8DP. The largest out of our five picks, Flowers Gallery is a huge 12,000 sqm space, consisting of three different rooms all of an impressive size. Slipping Glimpsers, the upcoming exhibition from 14 April for one month, shows the bold abstract work of George Blacklock, painter and Dean of Chelsea School of Art, and actor and filmmaker Gary Oldman. The much-anticipated exhibition has come to London following its huge success in Mexico last year and celebrates the great friendship between the painter and actor, which has encouraged the development of ideas and the links between the artists’ different fields. flowersgallery.com ELEVEN SPITALFIELDS, 11 PRINCELET STREET E1 6QA. As the centre of Huguenot Spitalfields, Princelet Street already feels like 17th century London, but stepping across the threshold of Eleven Spitalfields takes it up a notch – the reason why the exterior of the gallery has recently been used as Helena Bonham Carter’s pharmacy in the film, Suffragette. Owners and architects

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ART SCENE

Chris and Sarah Dyson have combined their home with the gallery space, meaning that art is displayed on a personal and human level, in domestic spaces rather than blank canvases. The current exhibition (on until 29 April) is entitled Sands of Time by Greta Kirk Anderson and is a dreamlike collection of photographs from the Middle East of humanity surviving in the face of extreme political crises. Book ahead for personal appointments and enjoy this small but wonderful exhibition in your own silence – a far cry from central London’s galleries! elevenspitalfields.com HALES GALLERY 7 BETHNAL GREEN ROAD E1 6LA Founded over 20 years ago by the ‘two Pauls’, Hales Gallery moved to its current location in the Tea Building in 1992 (the same as Pizza East). Having represented the likes of Frank Bowling OBE RA, Hales has a long history of creating immersive and dynamic exhibitions in the single-room gallery by both established artists and emerging talent. The upcoming exhibition focuses on Thomas J Price, a Londonbased artist whose huge cast bronze sculptures of heads will fill the concrete space, the subjects of which were observed in the areas in which Price has lived (including our own borough of Hackney) and have been geographically named. The perfect spot for some pre-pizza culture! halesgallery.com RIVINGTON PLACE IN RIVINGTON PLACE EC2A 3BA The first gallery to be built in the UK since the Hayward Gallery 40 years previously, Rivington Place is home to the Institute of International Visual Arts (INIVA) and Autograph, the Association of Black Photographers both working to demonstrate the diversity of cultural identities. The RIBA-award winning and architecturally beautiful building provides two very different gallery spaces: one light, air-filled with huge street level windows, the other more dark and moody. The next show starting on 22nd April will see the moving photographic work of Shahidul Alam illuminated by candlelight, which aims to break the silence around political disappearances in the Chittagong Hill Tracts area of Bangladesh. Don’t miss the café (also serving cocktails!) and the Stuart Hill Library focusing on contemporary African, Asian and Latin American art. rivingtonplace.org

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NEW ART PROJECTS Slightly further afield by Broadway Market and tucked underneath a new housing development is the wonderful New Art Projects gallery. 15 months ago, art dealer Fred Mann saved the industrial underground space from becoming a car park for the flats above. Now, the four interconnecting rooms play host to the artists who Fred represents, all of whom technically great at their particular speciality – think the most beautiful lifesize realist pencil drawings. The mishap curating is only added to by the sound of water from the apartments’ pipes, creating a bizarrely serene underwater atmosphere.

Starting on 25 March is an space-age exhibition by Matthew McCaslin called Electric Banana, a show of his site-specific work that focuses on the use of electricity. newartprojects.com

Above left: 11 Spitalfields; above: New Art Projects

MUM’S THE WORD

Swallows and Pramazons Navigating living in the city while juggling school, life, work and kids, our local columnist, TV producer and working mum, Violet Day welcomes spring and all it brings.

The screaming of sirens, gouts of smoke billowing, the clamour of firemen running.

Was my flat on fire? No, yet again they were just filming an episode of London’s Burning next door. I only realised when I peered out in my nightie and recognised an old actor friend having a fag under my balcony.

Let me introduce myself: I’m a full-time working mum and that was what it was like living in my first flat in E1 – bang next door to the oldest surviving music hall in the world, the deliciously atmospheric Wilton’s. It’s a sort of metaphor for life in this part of London: chaotic, exciting. You never know what’s going to happen next.

Now the peeling columns of Wilton’s regularly offset performances of Beckett or Eliot, exhibitions or crafting sessions. Previously both a saloon bar and a Methodist mission (thankfully not at the same time) it’s still used in filming. What made me think of living there? It must be the time of year. You know the season has truly changed when the buggy-fit Mums return, en masse, to the parks, only now I am among them. I have joined the ranks of those in technical leggings that don’t seem to do anything remotely technical – it still feels like I’m the one doing all the work. I want leggings that work like the mechanical trousers in Wallace & Gromit. I first became aware that spring might finally have sprung when the golden light flooding into my bedroom only illuminated the fact that the place I happily sleep in would probably warrant a horrified woman from Birmingham from TV’s Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners to scour it with a tanker full of bleach.

But the urge to spring-clean never lasts long.

The restlessness I feel has far more to do with that buzzy feeling of first sunshine making me long for an

afternoon joyfully wasted in the old Truman Brewery drinking cocktails, rather than entertaining a bored five year old, quietly, around a partner miserable with man flu. There are too many temptations that come with living around here. I don’t want to sit about watching Thomas the Tank Engine – I want to get the family up and out and doing things like hitting Colombia Road before it’s so busy that everyone gets swept along like one big horticulture-loving Tasmanian Devil, arms reaching out to snatch three unusual fuchsias for £2 and a bagel each.

Spring must surely mean new clothes as well? That’s what the vintage addict that lurks, unconquerable in the depths of my deepest desires tells me, leaving me unable to resist falling into Spitalfields Market for a rummage or a bustle around Brick Lane, before heeding the siren call of Hanbury Street for a fondle of silk and polyester.

There are just too many choices that have changed as I have grown with this area. The novelty of purposefully mis-directing folk looking for the tower of London has worn off a bit now, as has the custom of mooning the Ripper tours when they stop outside your window. It seems my appreciation of E1’s history has won and now I relish the heritage whose ghosts we live with: the gangsters and the swells, the murderers and the artists. Fournier Street’s higgledy-houses and Hawksmoor’s proud churches. The East is a place that is made and remade, again and again.

Of course, my East isn’t your East: like anywhere in London, it’s is a moveable feast. Something keeps us here and for each of us, that “something” is different.

I met my partner here. My work is here. My son’s Wiki entry, when he becomes Lord Mayor of this fair city will start with: “Born in East London in 2010...”

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EDUCATION

School’s in

News for the kids EASTERN PROMISE Education secretary Nicky Morgan is proposing that all local authority-run schools should become academies by 2020. E1 already claims some outstanding schools of all stamps. English Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary school in Wapping scored a whopping 100 per pent in its last Ofsted inspection, while Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School, Stepney, topped it’s category too. They’ve obviously learned their lessons well.

Future Learning Recognising talent at a young age and developing individuality is key to fostering tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.

Choosing a school that genuinely nurtures students in vital life skills such as developing confidence, encouraging creativity and fostering a love of learning is very much at the forefront of parental thinking when applying for independent coeducational day schools in London.

It’s about stretching students academically, but not at the expense of their involvement in extra-curricular activities. One local school leading the way is Portland Place School, who according to ISI (October 2015) is, “successful in its aim of developing individual pupil potential in terms of their personal, social and academic development, within a secure, friendly, inclusive and supportive environment.”

Making sure students have the necessary skills to succeed in their future careers is key to preparing entrepreneurs of the future. Helped on by extras like participation in the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme or performing on the stage at the RADA Studios. Parental involvement is of course central to a child’s development.

Portland’s careers’ programme also involves parents, who give regular talks to students on subjects as diverse as hedge fund management, architecture, chartered accountancy, research and journalism. In encouraging individual talent, children learn to embrace the world around them, leaving school with the determination to persevere in order to be successful in their working lives whatever challenges lay ahead. “Our daughter was an introspective character with confidence issues. She has blossomed so much since she started school and has never been happier,” says a local parent.

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DROPPED A CLANGER? Before Transformers, Minions and Octonauts, children had to make do with blue-string-eating mice and a saggy old cloth cat. Show the kids what the genius of Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin created with a few puppets and a lovely way of storytelling at the V&A Museum of Childhood’s exhibition: Clangers, Bagpuss & Co. Until October 9, you can see how what created as far back as the 1950s is still banging and whistling its way into our hearts today. vam.ac.uk CHILD’S PLAY Toddlers and what to do with them? It’s a never-ending question. Fortunately Tower Hamlets has 14 children’s centres, which offer a wide range of services for families with children under five. For parents, for carers, if you need an occupation for your little one – while you get CV advice or information and support – you’ll be welcome. Then there’s the brilliantly named Idea Stores: libraries with bells and whistles – including a specialist dance space at the one found in Whitechapel. towerhamlets. gov.ukideastore. co.uk

Staycation

Check in to live the high life for a night or find a cool place to work, rest and play. This issue, relax at M By Montcalm and get busy at Club Zetter.

Windows on the world

Towering over Silicon roundabout is the shiny slither of a tower block hotel. Its strikingly angular architecture reflects the clouds all the way up its 17 floors. Inside, M is all shiny and new too as luxury hotel brand Montcalm has extended its sophisticated reach to Old Street.

Rooms feature muted tones of oatmeal and slate. Pale gold curtains contrast with gleaming black wardrobes, smart desks and polished bedside tables. Zesty splashes of colour are scattered on the bed in lime-hued mini pillows.

This place really has got its shine on. Curtains are swished open and lights are dimmed by a swipe of your iPad in-room control. Suites have large baths with rainfall showers and a generous selection of Hermés Eau D’orange Verte bathtime goodies. Thick white towels, even thicker robes, a powerful hairdryer plus mini bars packed with sweets, nuts, Jing teas and

a Nespresso coffee machine tick all the boxes for weary London travellers. And an “aroma box” diffuses basil, and orange and cinnamon scents.

The spa is an extra big reason to book a stay. A slinky pool (1.2 metres deep) has a push-button current for decent effort laps. Made of pale blue mosaic tiles with gold trim with a huge massage tap at one end, dousing swimmers in cascades of water. There’s also a petit sunken hot tub, steam room, a Swedish-style sauna and a ‘Chillax area’, where you can enjoy refreshingly-cool water

Kick back on a king-sized bed, make merry in the bar and then, relax in the spa.

infused with orange segments, lemon slices or mint leaves and relax in comfy chairs in a cooled room, flicking through glossy magazines.

Dine in at Tonic and Remedy where champagne cocktails and delicious nibbles are the order of the night. Menu picks like pappardelle Puttanesca

hotel news

Club Zetter @Zetter Townhouse, Clerkenwell A workspace by day, relaxed bar slash restaurant by night.

Zetter founder Bruno Loubet teams up with new business membership club, Central Working, a project from James Layfield to offer start-ups affordable hot-desk style space in London and Manchester. By day it’s be filled with budding entrepreneurs, working and meeting collaboratively and by night, the restaurant and bar will keep on serving quality eats, craft beers, classic cocktails and charcuterie platters.

IN THE KNOW: The Zetter Townhouse 49-50 St John’s Square, Farringdon EC1V 4JJ. thezettertownhouse.com

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or roasted spatchcock with a herb salad and a side of truffled Parmesan fries hit the spot, while in-room dining is delivered with panache. Try the darn fine club sandwich stacked with chicken, bacon, fried egg, salad and cheese, which can be ordered until late. Cometh the morning, cometh the blissful bottomless brunch at Anthony Demetre’s Urban Coterie, including scrambled duck eggs with smoked salmon; waffles, bacon, poached eggs, French toast with mascarpone and blueberries and mimosas.

And to the views… stunning in every direction from the rooftops of Shoreditch to the towering skyscrapers of the city and out to St Paul’s, the East lies at your luxury slippered feet below.

IN THE KNOW: M By Montcalm, 151-157 City Road, London EC1V 1JH. mbymontcalm.co.uk

Above: the lobby at M by Montcalm, below: the hotel’s cool pool.

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Beautiful Plantation Shutters and Blinds

SOLID HARDWOOD SHUTTERS AT MDF PRICES! IN ANY PAINT FINISH & ANY STYLE

35% OFF

TED SELECG ES RAN

CITY FLIT

Poolside dreams are made of this in Palma.

PALMA MAJORCA

Drift between shops, pavement cafés and museums under Moorish arches. Swaggering with style, the city is scented with lime and orange blossom in spring.

WORDS: Renate Ruge

must do

Found on the southern shores of Majorca, the island’s capital city presides proudly over the sparkling sapphire Med. Escape London to gulp in sea air and soak up the sunlight. Flashback to the hit TV show, The Night Manager. Lots of scenes from the series are recognisable, as a chunk of filming took place in Palma. The Palau March plays the entrance to an Istanbul hotel while other spots masquerade as Madrid.

Head to Sadrassana restaurant (sadrassana. com) in Plaça de Drassana and sip drinks to make like a billionaire jet setter. Lose yourself in the labyrinth of lanes of the former Arab and Jewish quarters and look out for the beautiful Arab Baths (Calle Can

Serra 7), Plaça Mercat.

At every turn admire Modernista architecture with its impressive façades and tiny turrets.

The old quarter’s windy lanes, cool cafes and boutiques are all wrapped up within a square kilometre and all roads (or cobbled streets) lead to the Gothic cathedral. It looks like a grand wedding cake and was built between the 13th and 17th centuries.

Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí redesigned parts of the interior in the early 20th century.

urban beach

About a 10-minute walk east of the cathedral, find Purobeach, an oasis of fringed white umbrellas, cushioned day beds, loungers and palms in huge pots surrounding a slinky pool. The rocky outpost is cooled by sea breezes.

Inside the whitewashed bar, mini bottles of cava and sushi are delivered by waiters in Balinese uniforms. DJs spinning feel-good tunes bring on an instant holiday feeling, purobeach.com

eat & drink

Grab a menu del dia at Simply Fosh by Marc Fosh in the refectory of the 17th-century Hotel Convent de la Missió. simplyfosh.com For tasty tapas, try Buscando del Norte, a casual eaterie with plates like tataki de atun and stuffed prawn, restaurantebuscandoeln orte.com. Opio restaurant has a creative chef and a tasting menu serving meltingly delicious black Balearic pork, grilled octopus and a deconstructed mojito dessert in sweet succession. Bar hop along the atmospheric lanes of the Sa Llotja neighbourhood and take your pick for drinks.

stay

For a luxe stay, check into ultra-fashionable Puro Hotel, slap bang in the centre of Palma’s old town. The hotel is cool and airy with fantastic

panoramic rooftop vistas over the city best viewed from roof terrace day beds. Recently renovated, Scandinavianstyle interiors are sleek and have a real ‘wow factor’ with deep circular baths and Japanese-style beds. There’s a mix of textures: all polished concrete, wood and leather. Chill out with an Ocean massage at the spa. It’s a deeply relaxing and original experience fused with music, dance and intuitive therapists.

An air-cooled Mercedes transfers you to and from the airport. purohotel.com.

get there

Fly from City Airport with BA CityFlyer, ba.com A Palma Pass will score you free entry to some museums and discounts on meals at selected restaurants as well as shopping discounts. palmapass.com

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I want candy!

Watery blue, mellow yellow, pistachio green and the palest pink hues.

Mix pastels and graphics for a sweet finish to your spring colour scheme.

Ice cream, you scream for this origami lightweight paper lampshade in pale yellow with pastel pink stripe, £45.00 DaWanda.com

Limoncello-coloured and designed by Feruccio Laviani, this minimalistic light is a design classic, Kartell Fly Pendant Light, £171.00

design55online.co.uk

Say cheers to Prosecco in pastel flutes, £29.95

annabeljames.co.uk

Find your inner art self at Nelly Duff’s on Columbia Road.

‘You are here’ pink bubblegum artwork, £25.00 nellyduff.com

Pretty as a picture frame.

Frame Wall Multi Geo Pastel 10, £85

Live The Good Life and get the 1970s on the blower, Trimphone in turquoise, £40.00

oliverbonas.com

berryred.co.uk

Colour block for contemporary ‘chic-ness’ with this Teva flatweave wool rug, woven in India, £129.00 made.com

Summertime living is easy… Keep your cool with this rosepink vacuum flask from Berry Red, £15.95 berryred.co.uk

Neighbours will be shades of green with envy for this Senn pistachio farmhouse dining chair, £36.00

danetti.com

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Cool businesses big and small are finding new homes in disused railway arches.

Underneath the Arches

STORY: LISA DOUST

Not so long ago, the majority of London’s extensive network of railway arches were in a state of disrepair. Many of the 10,000 arches traversing neighbourhoods across the city had been lying dormant and derelict for years. Those deemed useable were largely being utilised for market trading or as light-engineering workshops, scrap dealerships and lockups.

Over the past decade, however, these striking examples of Victorian architecture have become the subject of comprehensive discussion, mass redevelopment planning and a good deal of controversy. In recognising the enormous rental potential presented by converting its long-neglected brick viaducts into desirable light industrial and warehouse spaces, Network Rail has been working closely with local councils and giving long-term tenants notice to vacate.

In 2014, for instance, Network Rail revealed its plans to refurbish nine railway arches in Brixton, which ultimately meant issuing eviction notices. In February this year, tenants were given six months to leave and the

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opportunity to return to their sites under a ‘stepped’ rental programme. When complete, the arches here will incorporate around 6000 square metres of new commercial space, along with shops, a hotel and market storage.

Waterloo’s Leake Street arches were also targeted by their landlord. Made famous by Banksy, who hosted the first Cans Festival on the site back in 2008, these arches are currently being developed and will house 25,000 square feet of restaurants and bars in less than a year’s time (and, yes, all art will be safeguarded).

Closer to home, Bethnal Green’s flourishing food and wine scene benefitted from having several arches overhauled. On cobbled

Paradise Row, within the area known as the ‘Civic Quarter’, six arch fronts have been glazed and fitted with bi-fold doors to make maximum use of the outdoor seating on the wide forecourt frontage.

Mother Kelly’s, a self-styled ‘taproom and bottleshop’, opened at Arch 251 Paradise Row in 2014 and has been pouring many of London’s favourite craft beers ever since. Mission, Michael and

Redevelopment of Victorian arches is right on track.

CREATIVE SPACES

Left and below: the boys behind the transformed site, before and after at the Berber & Q HQ.

Charlotte Sager-Wilde’s second East End wine bar, opened at Arch 250 Paradise Row around the same time but was relaunched as Sager + Wilde Restaurant in November 2015. The offering now includes a tasting menu and bar menu, both tailored to match excellent wines and cocktails.

Putting all controversy between Network Rail and evicted tenants aside, there’s no denying the unique shapes proffered by the railway arches allow for some imaginative uses. It’s worth noting that 14 of London’s 50plus breweries are now nestled among the city’s viaducts. Having a huge amount of stone overhead apparently provides perfect insulation conditions, keeping beer cool inside during summer and preventing any freezing occurring during the colder months.

Over on Bancroft Road, in Mile End, an old railway arch has long served as the ideal spot for The Vatican – East London’s finest rehearsal and recording studios.

There’s even a 1000-square-foot dance studio here.

In Hackney, several top fashion

labels have signed up to become part of a new hub being built in the borough’s recommissioned railway arches and due for completion later this year. Designed to “help the fashion industry grow and thrive”, the site will incorporate 12 retail units and feature a restaurant and cocktail bar by Broadway Market manager Alistair Maddox.

Chef Magnus Reid, of Cream in Shoreditch, will also open an eaterie within the hub.

Next time you’re looking for a restaurant in the vicinity of Liverpool Street Station, be sure to seek out Berber & Q – a fabulous Middle Eastern and North African grill house set underneath a weathered-brick railway arch in Acton Mews. Surrounded by art galleries and cafés, this hidden gem exemplifies the type of use Network Rail had in mind when it committed to refurbishing the arches.

As you’re sitting down to a delicious dinner inspired by coowner/chef Josh Katz’s global travels, take a moment to consider that just over a year ago this vibrant space was a disused taxi rank.

BERBER & Q TASTING NOTES

Step into Berber & Q to realise you’ve just stumbled across a great East End secret.

The room is packed with punters enjoying trays (yes trays) of exotic looking food with grilled and smoked meats cooked over charcoal, like oojeh, the Iranian dish of saffron and lemon-marinated chicken, Moroccan spit roasted lamb and tasty mezze from the East. Add to that mellow music, out-of-the box cocktails, crunchy pickles and pita.

Super cool chef Josh Katz’s menu is that of a world traveller – mostly Middle Eastern fare, with a little North African food and classic American barbecue cooking. The garlic sauce took us up a stairway to heaven. The avocado whip whipped us up in a delicious frenzy served with so-soft pillows of Turkish bread. A side of aubergine has a kick to it, all smothered in tangy tomato. Dishes shine brightly with colour and creativity, though non so much as the beetroot with whipped feta topped with saffron and candied orange. Just add Turkish tea. Good news – the no-reservations policy means rocking up unannounced and still being blessed with a very warm welcome.

Arch 338, Acton Mews, Dunston Road, Haggerston E8 4EA. berberandq.com

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FULL

LEATHER RESTORATION SERVICE Before

After

Before

After

•CAR SEATS •FURNITURE •HAND BAGS •ETC

LEATHER CARE & REPAIR SPECIALISTS Most repairs can be undertaken

• Rips • Cigarette Burns • Holes

Commercial & Residential leather• Re-colouring restoration • Cat Scratches leather technicians, or tolarger a pristine finish!

• Colour Matching • Cleaning

jobs brought into our fully • Cracking • Stain removal. equipped workshop. DIY LEATHER & FABRIC Repairing leather is approximately cleaning andFULL repair products 20% of the cost of re-upholstering also available via the website.

UPHOLSTERY SERVICE The Barn, Esgors Road, Epping, CM16 6LY 5JA The Workshop, BuryFarm, Farm,Thornwood Bury Lane, Epping, Essex , CM16 Telephone: 01992 Mobile: 07702 07799 182573 tel/fax: 01992 610 573234 660 mobile: 753 068 Email: epping@furnitureclinic.co.uk web: www.furnitureclinic.co.uk

INTERIORS

Shop in style The East is Eden when it comes to classy and classic finds for your home.

STORY: ANNA BURBRIDGE

Clerkenwell London A new member on our ‘where to shop for cool home stuff’ list is a concept store slash lifestyle shop, that offers more than just design and sells food and wine.

The exhibition area downstairs acts as a pop-up shop for furniture, while the ground floor hosts a restaurant. You can buy perfumery, jewellery and fashion here too.

Don’t miss the real gold herringbone flooring (look out back), which is a design spectacle in itself.

FIND IT: 155 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3AD. clerkenwell-london.com

Darkroom

A short walk from Farringdon, this geometric themed shop offers home accessories as well as those for your person (you can

never have too many minimalist leatherbound notebooks). If you’re looking for art and design combined, this should be your next artistic venture and probably have lamp envy of the pendants that are hanging from the ceiling.

FIND IT: 52 Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1N 3LL. darkroomlondon.com

Magma

Need to fill the void in your life and brighten up bare walls? From quirky totes to bold prints of bicycles and a stack of can’t-putdown books of interior inspiration, you can easily lose track of time in here. (Tip: be sure to check out the MONUmini to make your own iconic architecture kits). Just on the outskirts of Clerkenwell.

FIND IT: 117-119 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5BY, magma-shop.com

twentytwentyone

A hidden gem that is essentially a home of the favourites (Vitra et al.) but it assembles and displays them to inspire. If you’re a fan of colourful poofs and minimalist Eames chairs, look no further.

There’s a stylish answer for everything, from towel ladders and tables to nesting boxes and incense match sticks…

FIND IT: 18 River Street, EC1R 1XN. twentytwentyone.com

Labour And Wait

If you want your kitchen to have the retro look of a 1950s film, Labour And Wait is where to find your vintage aesthetic – and an enamel kettle.

Located in the heart

of Shoreditch, its honest and simplistic approach to design makes even the most mundane household items undeniably chic.

A classic wicker basket (like those you might find on a market in Mallorca) acts brilliantly as a magazine holder for the bathroom.

FIND IT: 85 Redchurch Street, E2 7DJ. labourandwait.co.uk

Coexistence

Following on from the 40 years of ‘existence’ by the legendary lady, Mary Wiggins, they have everything from cutlery and cushions, to classic Walter Knoll pieces. If you’re looking for any kind of trend inspiration, this is definitely your one stop showroom and should be on your furniture radar. 288 FIND IT: Upper Street, N1 2TZ. coexistence.co.uk

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Little Black Book HUNGRY? Any Indian on Brick Lane SHOP: Always at BOXPARK

COCKTAIL: Shoreditch House for a classic BARGAIN: Find it at Beyond Retro BOOGIE: East Bloc for dancing.

CHILL OUT: Relax at Ace Hotel.

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A Newton’s Fizz: Jack Daniel’s, Prosecco, housemade raspberry syrup, lemon at Shoreditch House.

and director. We got all the sets for free too.

I moved to East London when I first moved here in 2004.

I came down to be part of a pop group – it was so awful!

I’m not telling you the name [Leon laughs]. Yup, I’ve been part of a pop group, actor, director – and that’s not even the half of it. I’ve done a bit of everything.

I like East London because it reminds me of Liverpool.

There’s a lot more of a sense of community than other parts of London, and it’s down to earth. Where I live now in South London is a lot colder.

When I first came East, I thought that the people were like back at home – they just had a funny accent...

I’m so style-less. This year I decided I wanted to dress smarter, so I bought a coat from Zara, but I just end up wearing it with baggy bottoms.

Things change. The only thing certain in life is change. It’s sad though when it’s because of greed. I want people who have lived in East London to be able to stay here and I don’t want it to lose its character. But everything is down to money.

I’ve written the first two episodes of a TV show I’m hoping to direct. It’s a drama set in London’s arty community about a male model who works as an escort to fund his lifestyle. I’ve also got two feature films in development, but I need to get some money together.

You won’t get anywhere just pushing one idea. You need three things in your back pocket at all times, three diverse things you’re passionate about. Someone might not be interested in the first two ideas, but then they might be in the third.

I miss Liverpool, but there isn’t as much work there as a performer. I wanted to work in

entertainment, so I had to come here. I believe 100 per cent that you have to go where the opportunities are.

INTERVIEW: LIZZIE FRAINIER.

East ender

Actor slash student slash film-making local, Leon Lopez is studying at UEL while filming as Linford on EastEnders.

He’s also now an award-winning director for his first feature film Soft Lad and known for Jerome Johnson in Brookside.

‘

I’ve just started on EastEnders.

It’s not a massive role, but it’s a dream. I never thought I’d be on it as I’m originally I’m from Liverpool. I was meant to be taking a year out from acting to focus on school and making films but my agent put me forward. I knew the producers and I guess they thought, “let’s give him a chance”.

My character Linford is very much a man’s man, and I’m a bit of a softie. It’s early days yet though, I’ve still got a lot to learn about him. I’d only filmed for one day and it was already all over social media.

It’s such a massive show, it puts a lot of pressure on you.

I was so nervous on set and those nerves never go away.

Brookside was one of the most important parts of my life.

I still call people I was on the show with by their character names. When I talk to Nikki – my Brookside girlfriend – it’s like I’m talking to an actual girlfriend. It’s funny now when I say on set let’s go to the close and everyone says it’s not a close, it’s a square. EastEnders is a much bigger machine – there are multiple cameras and it’s all done on set. But the comradery is the same.

I ended up at UEL because Soft Lad was at the East End Film Festival and I loved the campus. The course is great because it’s about film theory and history, it’s academic. But I’ve also always believed in training on the job. I learned a lot about cinematography and editing from online tutorials.

I’ve always been interested in how things are made and I really wanted to create stuff that wasn’t already out there.

When you make something from scratch – writing, casting, directing – it’s your own baby and a much more creative outlet for me.

When I made Soft Lad, I wanted to pay the actors and the crew. I worked out I could do that if I filmed it over seven to ten days. The budget was just £17,000. To make it work, I had to be cameraman, editor,

‘

LAST WORD

IN THE HEART OF CLERKENWELL EC1

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