Staple Shops #1: ArtWords

So I was asked to blog for Le Cool London, and I decided to write about my fav LDN shops, seeing as it's not something I've directly covered here, but that I am a bit of an aficianado of. Enjoy...

Now that we’re all permanently engaged with the digital world, the idea of a bookshop seems rather quaint. I guess it is, in a way. However, in my mind, there’s nothing that beats the smell of a well-stocked bookstore, and ArtWords is just that. With the recent demise of fashion magazine emporium RD Franks and the loss of Borders’ much-loved browsing stands, it seems good ol’ WHSmith and a brace of independent newsagents are the best place to sate your glossy, thick-stocked, exotic magazine fix – but ArtWords, tucked away on Shoreditch’s Rivington Street and on hipster Mecca Broadway Market – is my idea of paradise. Dealing in all the visual arts and disciplines, ArtWords stocks only the most beautiful and thought-provoking books. For me, however, it’s the magazine selection that shines – Every international edition of all the glossies like Vogue, L’Officiel and Elle mingle with London’s cutting-edge titles like Oh Comely, Little White Lies and Notion. The selection is vast, and utterly inspiring – even as a magazine fetishist, I’ve barely read, let alone heard of half of the titles they stock. ArtWords brings to mind one of those 18th-century curiosity shops, filled with delights, but reminds that the international publishing scene of the 21st-first century is still flourishing, rich and alive. Without doubt, it’s worth an hour of your time to explore.

ArtWords, 22 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ & 65a Rivington St, EC2A 3QQ

L'écrivain ou la boutique? Les Deux!

So I took a photo of this tshirt last week; originally as it's one of my favourites and is a pretty good summing up of my feelings for Colette (the author and the shop). But the thing gained a rather more significance as it ended the day covered with blood from me managing to whack a hole in my chin and get 4 stitches. I'm not going to go into details (they're on twitter if you're really THAT interested in my stupidity), but this tshirt - now freshly-laundered and haemoglobin-free - has become even more of a Staple. I bought it in Liberty a good while ago, and it's a Special Edition from 2K by Gingham for Colette's 10th birthday. It's one of my favourite stores in Paris, always with fresh ideas and unusual collaborations; it was the first place I ever found a copy of Fantastic Man, and where one of the lovely (and gorgeous) sales assistants put me on to the genius of Italodisco. Shop aside, Colette is also one of my favourite authors, and as we slide into summer afternoons of reading in the park/on the beach, I urge you to go to your nearest charity shop (or indie bookstore) and find a copy of any of her work. She wrote sexy, beautiful prose about the French urban bourgeouisie dealing with crises only the bourgeouis would encounter. It's so sharply-observed that it's still massively funny today (and relevant; it's oddly surprising how much the East London trendscene resembles Parision salons at the turn of the century) and Colette's obsession with fashion is something any reader of fashion blogs would appreciate. Such was her prominence in French society, she was given a state funeral when she died in 1954. There's so much to go at and it's such fun to read that her writing's guaranteed to keep you amused all Summer. An absolute Staple. Other Staples this week:
Colette (in all forms)
Spending the weekend in Regent's Park - Siam & Ellie are picnic essentials
Plain white oversized tshirts
Blagging your way into a house party
Opening Ceremony IKBlue Shoes
BBQ'd fresh prawns and halloumi
The nobel Mr Ben Mortimer for his Friday night assistance

Read All About It

Since last September, I made a dramatic change in my commuting habits. I stopped taking the bus after an horrendous 1 ½ hour ride on a 25-minute journey and switched to the much quicker Tube. Now I’m not a massive fan of the Tube; it’s always too hot, it’s stingingly expensive and more often than not, it’s FAR too full. But I have been hiding myself away in my own world when commuting, ears encased in some noise-cancelling headphones, and eyes focusing on a book. I used to read Metro, but when it dawned on me that the substance of Metro is mostly a) utter rubbish, and b) exceptionally Conservative, I decided to cultiver mon jardin, in the words of Voltaire. Since then I have read most of Paul Auster, some Ballard, and some odd things I found in the British Library (Scheerbaart) and second-hand bookshops (Cocteau’s ‘Maalesh’). But it was my Mum who got me onto Ian McEwan. I’d previously dismissed him (no idea why), and also I’m not a fan of period novels (Atonement), but on pressing a copy of ‘Saturday’ into my hand, I was hooked. The setting is all around where I went to uni, and the writing is clinically precise, but still warm and engaging. I quickly followed this up with a couple more of his; the beautiful ‘On Chesil Beach’ and the pretty disturbing ‘Cement Garden’. Now I’m back on to one of my favourites, Colette ‘The Pure and the Impure’. There’s nothing like some nineteenth century Parisian high society, debauchery and opium dens to liven up the commute. Get down to a good indie bookshop (Foyles, London Review Bookshop, Daunt, the Owl in Kentish Town, Prospero’s in Crouch End – anywhere but Tesco’s or Waterstones basically) and grab a book – guaranteed to improve any journey. Other Staples this week:
Reading Ian McEwan on the tube
Seeing The Whitest Boy Alive twice (Coalition in Brighton; Koko in Camden)
Getting out of London for a beautiful wedding
The Camden Arms
The ‘Great Gatsby’ look – Liberty print with chinos
DJing at the Fly on New Oxford Street
Being able to leave the house without a coat