Shoredtich OMG

Simon and I have always been fans of Shoreditch and the surrounding environs. When we first ran the first iteration of PSFK (where Simon chose the colour ‘purple’!) we had an office above the Vibe Bar (quite a distraction).

Brick Lane was always vibrant - it a used to be an area of boutiques, Indian Stores, cafes and clubs. Venturing back into the area last Sunday, I saw a transformation – a move from vibrant to uber-vibrant. Walking from Liverpool Street station I found modern architecture twisted into the ancient Spitalfields market. Patisserie Valeris was here and the food chain S&M had a perfectly retro sausage and mash café.

Further inside Spitalfield Market, new concept stores mixed buffeted against flea market stores. Crossing Commercial Road I walked with the swarms of hipsters and pram-chair-prowlers down to Brick Lane. I passed the W+K office and found that the Truman Brewery had extended more of its property into retail and leisure space. The new Up Market is full of fashion stalls (Soo Lee from Portobello Market has a stall here too), and old empty spaces have been converted to bars. Retail spaces that were always empty a few years ago are now full with superb stores like Butchers Of Distinction.

Japanese, Italians and French mix with the don’t-call-us-cool Brits while the indigenous Bengali population watch the world change from their stores and curry houses. The area still seems to arguably have kept its edge. There were newer stores, yeah but catering to a population of creative folk that were already visiting or even living in the area. Some constants remain to keep the area’s charm. Rosa’s is still there where I used to get my eggy breakkie. Beigel Bakery still serves a nocturnal hunger.

But other signs remind you that you’re still in the inner city where folk from all walks of life rub shoulders. At @Coffee I just stopped a professional pick pocketing couple as they sat next hands by my jacket pocket. Further up Brick Lane a team of bike thieves stole a silver bike chained behind a parked silver police car and the sales assistant at the Butcher of Distinction couldn’t serve me when I returned as she was too busy removing two tops from underneath a shoplifters jumper.

Photos