Crikey what a week! If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, I’ve not been lazing it up poolside or partying hard in this lovely summer heat. No. Me and Mr B have been developing.
This week we took the keys to a London Showroom, it’s the 1st Floor of the cult leather bag brand Jas M.B. nestled in Rivington Street betwixt Old Street and trendy Shoreditch. Hoxton, the skinny jeans capital of the world. It’s funny how this part of London is just soooo fashion, and trendy, creative, and cool………This part of London wasn’t always like this.
I’m giving my age away here but when I stared coming to London 20 years ago the only pub near Old Street was the Bricklayers Arms, all spit and sawdust, and pints of real ale. I’m happy to report that the Bricklayers has not changed a bit, same spit and sawdust, same warm ale, same old faces…..few more wrinkles. New faces too, still the Old Street vibe only now the boys wear long hair on their chins as opposed to long hair on their heads as they did way back in the 90’s.
The cool young Hoxton hipsters are not the only thing that’s changed. Rivington St/Old St/Great Eastern St is not only home to the fabulous Jas M.B’s Doors Showcase but also to the fashion houses of Start and Mr Start, world class restaurants The Rivington Grill, The Hoxton Grill, Hix’s Tramshed and they are the names I recognise. Endless cool eateries from around the globe, even cooler bars and clubs (needless to say I don’t recognise any club names anymore).
Countless fashion houses, stylists and music studio’s I expected. But the creative/ad/media/fashion agencies have also moved in and whoa! Now the suits as well? It’s not quite a place to hang out for the city boys yet but the pin stripe brigade has snapped up all of the new apartments just around the corner. At least Shoreditch sits in the middle forming a barrier of ‘no mans land’ with its mix of the cool kids from Old Street and the bankers from Liverpool Street neither tribe enters the others hood for sake it’ll all end up as a scene from West Side Story.
When I come to think of it apart from the underground station, which is the same other than it no longer smells of day old urine and poor beggars asking for cash, and now has pop ups selling Moleskine note books, super juices and espresso’s….Actually I take that back, EVERYTHING in Old Street has changed. Some things for the better.
And so we set out our showroom. Designing, developing, making. As I mentioned in an earlier post for me it’s about some things changing and some things staying the same. We have a new collection for our brand denisonboston and for the Italian leather brand we bring to the UK Fedon 1919 and yet we chose to show it in one of the oldest parts of London. Two brands uniting both with a good mix of old craftsmanship and new design. We take a classic piece and give it a new twist. The faces are new the vibe is the same.
Next week we have three well known department stores coming into the showroom, we will show the new collections, we will talk of old times and how things have changed, we’ll probably go to lunch, trouble is, I’m torn, will I take them to the trendy Hoxton Grill for two or three courses and a bottle of your finest or the Bricklayers for a pie and a pint?
Perhaps I’ll let them decide? Guess it depends if we are feeling the old or the new vibe.
If your press or a blogger and would like to visit our showroom this summer please pop me a message. We’d love to see you.
Best
DSB X