Haynes Lane Antiques

Back during those hopeful sunny days of the lockdown intermission, I visited Haynes Lane Antiques. The higgledy-piggledy building, formerly a builders' merchant, had come close to collapse at the end of last year. During it's closure for emergency structural work, followed by Lockdown 1, Sally Battley and Sian Foley, who had recently taken over the running of the premises, instigated several changes. As a result of the structural upheaval, many traders had had to move out, which was further necessitated by the pandemic upheaval. Spaciousness and social distancing were not concepts known to many antiques and bric-a-brac emporiums, not least this one, which did always feel somewhat claustrophobic. Effectively they have managed to 'de-clutter' the shop, partly by getting rid of many of the partitions, and opening up the space, but also by putting lots of thought into how items are arranged. Now it's rather stylishly displayed. Things have room to breathe, and with less on show, you can actually see individual pieces more clearly. And what a pleasure it is to visit. As I walked through, a wave of nostalgia washed over me, spotting things that sparked distant memories: a garment in Napoleonic era soldier pattern just like the curtains in a childhood friend's bedroom, the green enamel mincer, similar to the one I bought whilst at art college in order to draw, the large earthenware bread bin, popular in the 70s, that my parents had in their kitchen for decades, and surely everyone's mother had some of those sewing patterns, back before disposable fashion when people made there own clothes?

Midcentury wares from Trevor @se3_upcycling

One or two separately defined areas still exist in the main part of the shop, namely, Wayne's records and CDs, another nostalgia filled corner, plus an ever changing pop-up space, which when I visited was housing a Sindy doll collector's museum belonging to Frankie @shimmyshimshop

You'll also find some. imaginative upcycling, Revamped by Sara, bringing nostalgia bang up to date!

Weather permitting, Sally also displays much of her wares outside the shop, alongside Sian of Alan's Antiques, who I featured earlier this year in a lockdown post.

Sally Battley

You may remember, you used to be able to walk all the way to the end of antiques shop and then head upstairs. Since the structural emergency, you now access the upstairs space along the alley a little further up Haynes Lane. Formerly there were countless more stalls up there, which have now been cleared out to create a great little exhibition and event space, called @Freethegallery.

And on that note, I'm delighted to add that I'm organising a little exhibition there, taking place from Friday 11th - Sunday 13th December, featuring my cushions, cards and coasters, alongside  wonderful ceramics by Nadine Bell, delicious scented candles from Ludwig London, collagraphic prints by Colin Bell, and very excitingly, portraits by a semi-finalist on Sky Portrait Artist of the Year, Curtis Holder.

Meanwhile, Sally & Sian have put so much work into revamping this corner of Crystal Palace, alongside the fabulous local foodmarket. Haynes Lane is the place to be, and from the first weekend in December, you should be able to dive into a warm bath of nostalgia once more.