The Barrow Boys And Buskers of Columbia Road
No East London weekend can be considered complete without a wide-eyed amble along Columbia Road Flower Market. Teeming with thriving foliage, bundles of bulbs, blossoms in every imaginable hue and a string of independent stores and galleries, hidden within Victorian shop fronts, this street seems to hibernate midweek but blooms with life on Sundays.
Here the chants of barrow boys mix with the tunes of harmonica toting buskers and the scent of perfectly brewed coffee, something that’s harder to find in London than you may imagine. For less than a fiver you can leave with anything from an exotic 10-foot banana tree to snow white, locally grown roses. Drawing in serious horticulturalists and those after house brightening blooms, space is hard to come by on this road, especially when the sun makes a fleeting appearance.
Flowers aside, Columbia Road is a mecca for alternative art lovers. For quirky and fanciful printed artworks head to Elphick’s, a print shop run by textile designer Sharon Elphick, that feels more like an intimate art show than a gallery. Further along you’ll stumble upon Three Letter Man, a space that can only be reached by braving a characteristically rickety flight of stairs. Brimming with vintage linen and embroidered artwork, this small, secret-feeling gallery is owned by Nathan Hanford, who spends his days sitting by his first floor window, adorned with a fox head mask, happily creating his art.
Then there’s Ryantown, a gallery dedicated entirely to Rob Ryan’s exquisite cut out designs. His works are adored by the V&A Museum, have taken the UK by storm and lift the spirits of all who stumble upon them. This Columbia Road store, with creaky wooden floors and stencil covered walls, is just around the corner from Ryan’s London studio, and is every bit as whimsical, dreamy and utterly romantic as his art, which reminds you – in an almost child-like manner – to ‘let your heart have a say’.
Also worth a visit is Laird of Glencairn, a traditional gentleman’s hatter that exudes old school charm and will ensure that your head departs well-dressed. Alternatively, you can let your inner child rejoice at Suck and Chew; a confectionary shop where jars full of sugary treats decorate the walls, sweets are measured by hand, retro toffee tins are everywhere, and thoroughly British bunting reminds you that you’re in England and all is well. No doubt a more delightful, more varied, more capricious Sunday London haunt is yet to be unearthed.
