Crystal Palace Overground Festival 2011

After the ugly scenes that have played out in our cities recently, it was great to see people coming together and enjoying themselves in SE19 last weekend. The Triangle was buzzing with happy crowds mooching amongst the buskers, bunting and street food. However, the epicentre of the weekend's events was Westow Park. I have to confess, when I think of our local park, the other one always comes to mind, and it's not often I've set foot in this one. Tucked behind Sainsbury's, it's slightly off my radar. In fact I've met some locals who were unaware of its existence. With its gentle slope down to the main stage, it turned out to be the perfect venue for a great afternoon. I'm already looking forward to next year's festival.

The Triangle

Bambino Bunting

Skyline Cinema

Brendan's Burgers

The Park

Shady Lady

Capacity Crowd!

No, really!

A man of Good Taste

Still Queuing

Shou Fang

You may have noticed the curtain hanging in the doorway to No.60 Church Road, with the classic Japanese image of a rolling wave. This is the unusual entrance to Shou Fang's little boutique. 

Shou actually comes from Taiwan, but sells a range of clothing and accessories made by designers in several far eastern countries. The shop's 'u.s.p.' is just that; everything on offer is unique, a one-off. Shou often wears items by these same designers, which can be an issue when customers ask her for the one she has on. Particularly eye catching are the colourful patterned items in a little suitcase, which I took to be scarves, but are in fact leggings. Available in every print imaginable.

The shop's real charm is in the way it's owner has personalised the space and given it an identity. From her collection of Japanese toy characters to the mood boards that form a backdrop to the shop.

Shou's own background is as colourful as the merchandise. Growing up in rural Taiwan, she had to work for many years to pay her way through college, where she studied Interior Design and Surveying. Among her many jobs, she worked in a computer factory, in a call centre, as a legal secretary, and even in a bowling hall. So coming to London and opening a fashion shop held no fear for her. She mentioned that she has plans to open her own restaurant. I don't think she was joking. She clearly has as much energy as that great Japanese wave.

Shou Fang

60 Church Road

http://www.shoufangfashion.com/

Belle Coco

We all love a good moan about health and safety rules and regulations, but occasionally there is a positive aspect to them. All the chairs and sofas in Belle Coco have had to be re-upholstered to meet current requirements, as back in the 60s & 70s when they were made, they were routinely stuffed with highly flammable and toxic foam. Re-covered in period textiles, they should last until they are antique rather than merely retro. Such is the demand, that shop owners, Helen & Ains have had to take on an upholsterer, and open a workshop space across the road for all their restoration work. It's well earned success for a couple who have worked long and hard in the industry. Years spent buying and selling at the big markets such as Ardingly, Newark & Swinderby were good grounding, but eventually took their toll. Helen recounts how after one particular sub-zero night spent in a camper van, they decided it was time to stop the itinerant lifestyle, and set up shop. After stints on Anerley Road and subsequently, Haynes Lane, the couple opened at 40 Church Road about 18 months ago.

Strangely, for Ains it wasn't the first time running a business from that address. In one of his many previous careers, he ran a computer training business from the very same shop. Other career highlights include being Eric & Julia Morley's official photographer in the days they were running Miss World, and  working behind the scenes in film and TV, as cameraman, news editor and special effects maker for Top of the Pops. Meanwhile Helen worked in equally wide-ranging industries from graphic design to hairdressing.

While I was in the shop taking these pictures, I was reflecting on how design from that era is rather like marmite. You either love it or loathe it, with very little in between. I know, for example that my aunt, and many of her generation absolutely detest it, having lived with it all the first time round. My ageist assumptions were however knocked firmly on the head, when a stylish elderly woman came into the shop and promptly bought a space-age spherical TV. 

Whatever your views, I defy anyone to walk into the shop and not break into a smile, whether from some memory triggered by eccentric light fittings, or the sound of the R Whites lemonade TV commercial playing in the background.

Perhaps the strangest item I spotted was this multi purpose occasional table/planter/trellis/light fitting. Now who came up with that?

So popular has mid-century furniture become locally, that we might soon refer to the area as The Retroangle!

Belle Coco

40 Church Road

02000 111715

Do South

 

Way back in the 80s, there was an intriguing billboard campaign that got people talking and scratching their head. The posters were blank except for the words 'Radio GaGa'. We all know what it means now, but at the time the hype was infectious, so that once Queen released the so-named single, it was unsurprisingly a huge hit.
On a slightly more local scale, the hoarding that went up around the former newsagent on the corner of Westow Street and Central Hill, and staying in place for what seemed like an eternity, aroused plenty of curiosity and speculation. There were all sorts of rumours, and mysterious sightings of elephants through the hoarding.
Meeting Freddie Oke, one of the owners, he explained that the long winded build time was down to one or two calamitous events, such as when he fell off the roof, breaking a leg midway through the work, and a fire that struck the premises. The hoarding however, and the lack of information about what was going on behind it, was very much a part of the plan of keeping the whole thing very much under wraps. I remember worrying that after all the hype, the shop would prove to be a disappointment, but when it finally opened, it was a breath of fresh air. A vibrant and colourful mix of modern Italian and hip retro, mass produced and bespoke, cutting edge and vintage. All come together in this clean bright space which acts as a blank canvas for the discerning eyes of Freddie and his business partner, Noel Douglas.

Both born and bred in Southeast London, the 2 owners had previously been involved in a variety of other industries before teaming up to open the shop; from property development and the music industry to sales and advertising. Although neither had specific retail experience, their accumulated business knowledge and a shared passion for good design, have fashioned a stylish venture. In case you wondered, the name of the shop is taken from their combined surname initials.

Freddie Oke

Persuading some of the big Italian design houses to be involved, was no mean feat. Labels such as Moroso and Zanotta won't just sell to anyone, and a little shop in Crystal Palace was probably not on their radar. However it's good to see Do South championing local artists and designers too. The spectacular wooden table in the middle of the shop is from a furniture range called Made in Peckham by young designers Hendzel & Hunt, while dotted around the shop are prints of silver birches and magnolias by Joanna Charlotte who is based nearby at the Gipsy Hill Workshops. The shop also employs a young furniture maker, Rob Nicholson to make pieces in a workshop at the back.

Made in Peckham

Do South joins a burgeoning club of shops selling furniture and homewares, which have really put the Triangle on the map. I have heard grumbles that it's too pricy, but as I discovered on my first visit, if you can't stretch to the £4497 William Sofa by Zanotta, it is possible to pick up beautiful vintage glassware for a tenner.

Do South

2-4 Westow Street

Do South Facebook page

The Bookseller Crow (on the hill)

Bookshops are in the news again, with the ongoing saga of Waterstone's. Just sold by HMV, they now have desires to be the nation's local bookshop. Well, here in Crystal Palace we have our own perfectly good local bookshop, namely, The Bookseller Crow.

Bag artwork by Rebecca Crow

Originally part of a small chain of bookshops called Wordsworth, the shop was reopened in its current guise by  partners Justine Crow and Jonathan Main, back in 1997, and has since become a pillar of the triangle. In that time, small bookshops have been under siege on all fronts. First there was the demise of the net book agreement, which had set prices and prevented book discounting. Supermarkets and the larger chains were suddenly free to undercut each other, leaving independent shops unable to compete. However, according to Jonathan, this has turned out to be a boon. No longer able to compete in the 'blockbusters' market, there is now the space to sell a wider and perhaps more interesting range of titles, including plenty by  local and less well known authors.

The rise of Amazon and more recently ebooks, have provided further challenges, and no doubt some bookshops have fallen by the wayside as a result. But again, The Bookseller Crow has found ways to adapt. By hunting out the more unusual and stocking particular specialisms, the shop encourages people to return and browse, building a dedicated following. For example, the graphic novel, is a particular niche that by his own admission, Jonathan knew little about until recently. It has an avid fanbase, and appears to be less prone to the onslaught of online shopping, presumably as its connoisseurs invariably want to thumb through a few pages before buying. Likewise, children's books are bucking the online trend, and younger readers are well catered for here.

The result is a shop that feels as though you are likely to discover the unexpected, and its far from corporate style makes it feel like something of a community centre; one that even has its own notice board in the form of an entertaining blog, The Bedside Crow. Like all good community centres, the shop holds regular events, from a monthly book club, to performances, both musical and poetic. For the next happening, this coming thursday (26th May), they have lined up writer and broadcaster, Isabel Iosada.

Finally, I would also recommend Jonathan's pithy tweets. If you are not already following him, he's @booksellercrow.

Bookseller Crow

50 Westow Street

020 8771 8831

Website

Jonathan Rowlandson, Metalworker

I'd lived in the area for several months before I actually ventured down any of the alleyways in the triangle. From the 3 surrounding streets, you could be forgiven for thinking that little of interest lies within. And yet it transpires that hidden away are hives of industry, havens of creativity. I was recently tipped off by Mandy at Glitter & Twisted about a metalworker called Jonathan Rowlandson, whose workshop is tucked away off Carberry Street.

The industrial space is full of works in progress, from traditional railings to modern one-off sculptural pieces and furniture. Jonathan learnt his trade in the early 90s at Middlesex Polytechnic, as it then was. Although an arts oriented institution, its 3D and Product Design degree course had strong industrial foundations, teaching the fundamentals of forging, blacksmithing and silversmithing. The students even had to make their own tools, he remembers.

I discover that our paths almost crossed in 1994, when during my former career as an interior designer, I was designing stores for retail chain, Jigsaw, and he was commissioned to make a set of wrought iron orange trees for one of the company's flagship stores designed by Nigel Coates. It is interesting to note, that back then metalwork was enjoying a decorative flowering, with Baroque curls and organic forms. A decade later these styles were displaced by clean lines and modernist simplicity. More recently the tide has turned again, returning to the more organic forms that Jonathan favours.

I asked him, what lead him to choose metal, over say, wood. 'Metal does what it's told' was the honest answer. The implication being that while wood has a life and form all its own, which needed to be worked with and respected, metals could be bended to your will. The variety of possible colours and finishes also appealed to Jonathan, as can be seen on his website.

Living and working locally, Jonathan is an active member of the local Chamber of Commerce. Much of his work comes via word of mouth, and he values his strong local links which have lead to various commissions. You have no doubt noticed his stunning set of gates beside the Alma pub, or his rustic garden fence which incorporates woven panels of hazel at the end of Carberry Street. He also works hard to encourage new interest in his industry. A series of commissions from schools, has involved the children in designing elements of the work.

In addition he has plans to start courses for adults keen to unleash their inner blacksmith. To commission Jonathan, you can contact him on 020 8653 1027 or jonathan.rowlandson@virgin.net