To celebrate Indie Day 2020, here are our favourite local independents across Muswell Hill, Crouch End, Hornsey, and Haringey. As a collective we believe it is incredibly important to support local independent retailers, cafes, restaurants, pubs, and cinemas. It is good for the local economy and community wellbeing.

Now, more than ever, independents need your help to survive the Covid crisis. Please do share this blog and share the love. 

Tash & Tanya 
106A-106B Alexandra Park Road, Muswell Hill, London, N10 2AE

Head here for beautiful, handmade products that are built to last, made by local people and sold at a fair price. Run by Natasha Barton and Tanya Kreisky, the shop made its name as ‘home of the Ally Pally cushion’ for the duos’ collaborative work based around local landmarks. T&T stocks products made by Muswell Hill Creative member Rob of Romor Designs.

Muswell Hillbilly Brewers Taproom
14 Avenue Mews, Muswell Hill, London, N10 3NP

We had a pop up shop in the building which now houses the Muswell Hillbilly Taproom. Also on Avenue Mews, Pete, Martin and team produce bottle conditioned craft beer and cask and kegged real ales in their microbrewery. The beer is great!

Cosi Homewares
85 Fortis Green Road. Muswell Hill, London, N10 3HP

An established shop on Fortis Green housing design led furniture and homewares boutique. Great for products sourced by the owner Sarah, who is very skilled at helping you find the right gift for the right occasion.

Slipstitch 
108 Alexandra Park Rd, Muswell Hill, London, N10 2AE

We've held two pop ups in the fabulous and welcoming space which is Slipstitch and Rob of Romor Designs has taught regular classes in their lovely workshop space. You may also recognise it as the location for the 'concept store' in the last series of Motherland. The physical shop is still closed for browsing but Rosie and team are open via their website offering in-store collection and can offer craft help via email.  

Sunshine Garden Centre
Durnsford Road, Bounds Green, London, N11 2EL

Creativity of the gardening kind.  We think this is the best run independent garden centre we know.  It did a fantastic service during lockdown and has now launched Click & Collect.  Excellent customer service and a huge wealth of knowledge - just ask any member of staff!

Aleion
346 Muswell Hill Broadway, Muswell Hill, London, N10 1DJ

We had a happy month before Christmas sharing Aleion's downstairs homeware boutique thanks to the lovely owners of Aleion - Alex and Ian.  We hope to see them back open soon for great food and gifts. Aleion really is an important part of the Muswell Hill community and we miss them!

Nest Knitting
102 Weston Park, Crouch End, London, N8 9PP

An experienced seamstress and teacher, Genevieve West has always wanted to pass on her love of sewing and crafting; her opportunity to do so came along when she took over as the owner of Nest in January 2015. Having seen the demand for classes explode, she decided to change the use of the space from a yarn shop to purely a sewing school in 2019. Rob of Romor Designs teaches Shibori and other dyeing & stitching techniques here.

Morley Butchers
23 Broadway Parade, Crouch End, London, N8 9DE

Award-winning butchers, Morleys are continuing a long tradition. There has been a butchers shop at the same location on Broadway Parade in Crouch End since the end of the 1800s.  The butchers comes highly recommended by our leather worker Steph Rubbo.

Arthouse Cinema 
159A Tottenham Lane, Crouch End, London, N8 9BT

The friendly local cinema will not be open again until September as they want to be sure that their visitors and staff feel safe and confident in returning. Our weaver, Cecilia of By Cecil, will be first in line when they do re-open. In the meantime, they have commissioned local artist Julia Clarke to make an angel sculpture to hang over the door. 
  
Pickled Pepper Books
10 Middle Lane, Crouch End, London, N8 8PL

Pickled Pepper Books offers a fantastic selection of books for all ages and runs a book fairy service. You decide how much you want to spend, leave a note describing special interests and favourite books and they handpick a selection for you. They even hand delivered an order during lockdown. Cecilia is really really looking forward to their theatre opening up again soon.
 
W Martyn
135 Muswell Hill Broadway, Muswell Hill, London, N10 3RS

Muswell Hill Broadway would not be the same without specialists in tea and coffee and retailers of fine food, W Martyn. The shop opened was opened in 1897 by the current owner's great grandfather. You can now have goods delivered to your door for free, if you live locally.

Dunn's Bakery
6 The Broadway, Crouch End, London, N8 9SN

Dunn’s of Crouch End is a family owned bakery, run by Christopher and his wife Christina. Christopher’s great-great-grandfather, Robert Freeman, came down from Brackley, Northamptonshire in 1820 on a hay wagon and started work as a baker in South Grove, Highgate. You may have spotted a cake by Dunn's in the latest series of Killing Eve and in bank commercial.

The All Good Bookshop
35 Turnpike Lane, Wood Green, London, N8 0EA

This is a community-run bookshop and events space selling both new and second hand books. The team behind it missed having a bookshop in Wood Green/Turnpike Lane so they got together and set up the All Good Bookshop cooperative. The shop comes highly recommended by Steph Rubbo of Steph Rubbo Leather Work & Saddlery.

Indish
16 Broadway Parade, Crouch End, London, N8 9DE

When discussing this list, Indish the vote was unanimous. The shop has been flying the design flag in Crouch End since 1996. Kasha and Melanie came from a background in publishing to a change of career in retail. Twenty years later the shop still stands proud and packed with the most amazing home-oriented products.

Children's Bookshop
29 Fortis Green Road, Muswell Hill, London, N10 3HP

The award-winning Children's Bookshop is an independent family-owned children's bookshop which first opened in 1974.  The team led by Sanchita has a deep commitment to enthusing children - and their carers - with a passion for books that is so important to building the booklovers of the future. Their knowledge of the books they sell never fails to impress!

Harmless
79 Tottenham Ln, Hornsey, London, N8 9BE

The Harmless Store started its life at the Blue House Yard in Wood Green, before a successful crowdfunder led by its owner Tami, led to a relocation to Hornsey. The store is a vegan, minimal packaging, grocery shop with a goal of helping you lead a more ethical lifestyle.

Sally Bourne Interiors
26 Muswell Hill Broadway, Muswell Hill, London, N10 3RT

A favourite of our floral designer Natasha of Rolling with the Posies, the shop offers over 12,000 colours of paint, with hundreds of colours painted onto large boards, to enable true comparisons. Wallpapers and fabrics are also available along with Sally’s own range of handmade tiles. The huge range of home accessories, ranging from dishcloths of Swedish linen to antique French furniture, makes for destination shopping.

Victoria Stakes
No.1 Muswell Hill, London, N10 3TH

​The Stakes dates back to the turn of the century, originally built as a coachouse & stables. The building sat firmly at the foot of the hill, and became a welcome spot for those wishing respite and a friendly welcome. Run by Ben, his wife Lucy, and brother-in-law Marc, community is at the heart of what they do and we have been fortunate to use their wonderful yard for sales and celebrations over the years.  They re-open on Independents Day - 4 July.

Owens
90-92 Alexandra Park Road, Muswell Hill, London, N10 2AE

Owen’s Food Store opened in November 2010. Local residents Simon & Sarah Owen decided they wanted to open a food store to bring good honest food into the heart of the local community – and to offer an alternative to often laborious supermarket shopping. Having worked as a chef for many years, Simon was able to draw from his inherent knowledge and passion for food to create a local store that provided almost everything any kitchen could need.

Cheeses
13 Fortis Green Road, Muswell Hill, London N10 3HP

Cheeses is small but perfectly formed. Morgan and her team are passionate about quality, well sourced farm house & artisan cheese. They sell the finest quality cheeses online from all over the world.  It is the most fun queue to be in at Christmas time! 

La Dinette
3-5 Fortis Green Road, Muswell Hill, London, N10 3HP

Our knitwear designer Tracey Lord was a regular at La Dinette before lockdown and is happy to be able to return. The cafe owner Claire says "La Dinette is about trying to recreate (in a very modest way) her childhood memories which are mostly filled with Sunday trips to the local patisserie and market with her dad, long family lunches ending with delicious and beautiful cakes, rainy days at home baking with her sister and making tons of jam with her mum and grandma, and talking (and arguing) about food with her brother."

Cachao Toys
452 Muswell Hill Broadway, Muswell Hill, London N10 1BS

A colourful place filled with toys, gifts, party supplies, cards & gift wrap. Everything in the shop has been carefully chosen by owner Jennie and team to give you a happy buying experience. You really don't need to turn to the big online retailers when you have a shop like this on your doorstep. If you saw balloons being walked around Muswell Hill during lockdown that was Jennie making deliveries to ensure celebrations were extra special.

Please check websites for COVID closures and any safety measurements in place.

Make yourself a cup of tea and join us for a series of Teatime Talks live on Instagram.  Meet our makers to hear what they've been working on during lockdown and get inspiration for gifts and treats for you, your friends and family.

4.45pm-5.00pm

​Muswell Hill Creatives

Rachael Booth-Clibborn, Muswell Hill Creatives founder will introduce the group, talk a bit about what we do and will introduce who is going to be giving teatime talks.
 
Live on Instagram: @n10creatives

5.00pm-5.25pm

Edit Juhasz Ceramics

Edit will be throwing a ceramic form and will present her gorgeous range of colourful porcelain tableware.

Live on Instagram @editjuhaszceramics

5.30pm-5.55pm

Butter Bar Soapery

Christina will show you her handmade range of soaps and bath products which can be collected/delivered locally.

Live on Instagram @butterbarsoapery

6.00pm-6.25pm

Samantha Sweet Glass

Sam will talk about life as a glassmaker, her past and present work and her glass bead making classes in her East Finchley home studio.

Live on Instagram @samcsweet

5.00pm-5.25pm

Romor Designs

Rob will talk about the Boro, Sashiko and Kogin Japanese textiles classes he is teaching online whilst working on a sample piece.
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Live on Instagram @romordesigns

5.30pm-5.55pm

By Cecil

Cecilia will be presenting what she is currently working and what is available to buy on her website as well as sharing details of new weaving projects in the pipeline.
​
Live on Instagram @by_cecil

6.00pm-6.25pm

Steph Rubbo Saddlery & Leatherwork

Steph will be showing you around her studio, recent projects and how she can make bespoke orders.

Live on Instagram @stephrubbosaddlery

6.30pm-6.55pm

Wyckoff Smith Jewellery

Michele will talk about the inspiration behind her jewellery collection and will take you through great gift ideas for lockdown Birthdays and Anniversaries.
​
Live on Instagram @wyckoffsmith

Here is our Muswell Hill Creatives top ten of creative and inspiring listening/viewing during lockdown. We hope you enjoy them and would love to add to this list if you have any other recommendations. Please leave a comment at the end of the blog.

1. Grayson Perry's Art Club - Channel 4 - Monday nights at 8pm. This is cheerful, at times hilarious and generally heartwarming viewing.  

2. Something Rhymes with Purple with Susie Dent. Cecilia of By Cecil is enjoying listening to this podcast which explores the origins, meanings and insights into how and why we use the words we do. 

We're really delighted to announce we have selected four new members to join Muswell Hill Creatives. We love the creative ethos and variety that each of these creatives brings to the group and look forward to you meeting them in due course at upcoming MHC events:

Leonora Richardson, Luminous Muse Ceramics 
Leonora creates beautiful porcelain ceramic pieces in her studio on Avenue Mews, Muswell Hill. Unique and intricate in design, they create warmth in the home.

Christina Clements, Butter Bar Soapery
Christina formulates and handcrafts gorgeously nourishing palm free soap and skincare in her Crouch End home studio.

Adriana Conde, Yaya Lala Kids
Adriana designs the most exquisite children's shoes here in Muswell Hill. They are handmade in Portugal by a small group of artisans.

Natasha Betteridge, Rolling With The Posies
Florist & floral stylist Natasha is based in Muswell Hill.  Her flowers are naturalistic and wild, embracing the inconsistencies of natural materials.

We celebrated four years of our collective in the incredibly festive Yard at the Victoria Stakes pub on Thursday 6th December.  We were overwhelmed by how many people came out to support us.  A massive thank you to our hugely generous hosts Ben and Lucy at the Victoria Stakes who made the night so very special for us all.

​Members of Muswell Hill Creatives Wyckoff Smith Jewellery, Romor Designs, By Cecil, Jess Albert, Rachel Orme, Lord and Taft, Jo Angell and Isabella Lepri Ceramics all sold their beautiful work on the night.

Thanks to Ben Wilson (aka Chewing Gum Man) for drawing the prizes in our Prize Draw with such panache!  We were delighted to raise £190 for the social enterprise Wave Café which holds inclusive arts workshops and is hoping to open a permanent inclusive café in Muswell Hill.  

2018 has been a great year for our collective and we look forward to more adventures in 2019.  We were delighted to be featured in the Evening Standard  about a movement of local creative activism and we had a great time popping up on Avenue Mews and the Victoria Stakes as well as holding FOUR markets in one year - including one very snowy one.

We would like to wish you all happy holidays and a massive THANK YOU for supporting local independent artists, designers and makers.

Monday 4 - Sunday 10 February - Muswell Hill Creatives Pop Up Shop, Ply Gallery, Hornsey Town Hall Arts Centre, Crouch End.   Guest stallholder applications will open in January 2019.

Saturday 16 March - 10.30am-4.30pm - Muswell Hill Creatives Spring Market, St James Square (outside Planet Organic), Muswell Hill.

We are delighted to introduce a NEW page to our website - Workshops - where you can check out which of our members teach their craft as well as designing and making.  Here's a brief lowdown about each Creative offering classes/workshops.

Tracey Lord has taught knitting and crochet for many years in a college setting, from beginners right up to degree level: whatever your starting point she can help you improve and increase your skills and confidence.  Tracey offers one-to-one sessions at her studio in Muswell Hill, North London, or can travel within the London area to come to you.

Tracey also teaches classes for adults and children at Fringe on Alexandra Park Road in Muswell Hill and Nest Knitting. 
Upcoming dates:

Kids Crochet: Saturday 27th July - 10am-3.30pm
Yarn Crafts: Friday 10th August - 10am-3.30pm

Both workshops are part of Nest Knitting's children's summer school at 102 Weston Park, London N8 9PP.  Telephone: 020 8340 8852.  Email: info@​nestknitting.com.

It has been a bit over a year since I left bustling London for the sun and slower pace of life in Brisbane, Australia. Little did I know then that the tempo for my textile design & teaching business would be no less hectic…

Being a member and working with the Muswell Hill Creatives, teaching modern quilting at the Sutton College, and working with many of London’s best fabric shops gave me an incredible foundation on which to re-launch my company as Martina Latimer in a new country.

I found the London experience highly valued here and my expertise fills a real gap in the local market for contemporary design. Many of my new customers and students are current or former expats craving the forward thinking creative approach in which London excels. The pleasant surprise has been that the slower pace of life in Brisbane means people have more time to take sewing classes, which have been supported by local craft shops, art collectives and even the Brisbane Institute of Art.

I recently launched slow stitching workshops for children called ‘Stitching Kids’ with a positive reception from the community. My youngest student Laura is 5 years old and takes private lessons in my studio. She is a very talented girl who knows what she wants, is eager to learn and try out things on her own.
I was bowled over when I heard her tell her mother that she 'wants to do what I do when she is big'. My heart officially melted.

I’ve continued to push my design and am determined to be true to myself with every piece I make - I see this as a process that, let’s face it, probably never ends. I have started working with legends like RJR Fabrics and Art Gallery Fabrics, who collaborate with me on my newest quilt designs by contributing their wonderful fabrics. I am also super proud to be in collaboration with the London based designers
Jenny Heyners from Papper Sax Sten and Helen Snell (another member of the MHC alumni) from 20th Century Cloth.

I have recently launched an instructional YouTube Channel to bring my designs and teaching together in a platform that can help sewing enthusiasts around the world. That project is definitely a challenge as I am still a ‘one woman’ show, which makes filming quite a challenge. But hey, what’s life without challenges?!

Aside from designing patterns, setting up workshops and teaching I am working on my first art textiles for gallery exhibition. I am a member of ‘Hands on Art’ in Brisbane and hope to be able to exhibit there for the first time later this year.

To find out more about my journey please visit my Instagram account @martinalatimer or my website www.martinalatimer.com where all my patterns are available for download.

I am grateful for social media allowing me to have sneak peeks at what the Muswell Hill Creatives are doing and I am glad that the collective is stronger than ever.

London, I hope to see you soon again, because as the Aussies say, I miss you heaps!

Day 1
​
Rob and Bryan visited the Kioi Gallery Edo Ise-Katagami Stencil museum in Chiyoda-ku to check out the stunning persimmon dyed stencils from the Edo through to the Showa period.  As the World’s only Ise-Katagami collection, the museum boasts a collection of over 5,000 stencils.

​The museum shop sold a number of small hand cut modern stencils which Rob has brought back to the UK for his students to use in his new Katazome (indigo dyed) stencilling class.

Rob stayed at Bryan’s charming farmhouse in Fujino, one of Japan’s 100 most scenic villages.

Day 2

On a beautiful blue sky day Bryan took Rob over to see Yazaki, a qualified master kimono maker. Yazaki will be coming to West Dean College in West Sussex to teach in 2019 and is trying to perfect her English before then.

Bryan has been in the process of making two indigo dyed fireman’s jackets lined with persimmon dyed vintage cotton and was attaching the sleeves of the child’s version. In Japan the creation of a kimono is very precise and was decided a thousand years ago. It’s actually a very architectural process where every measurement and seam allowance is prescribed and very precisely measured.

​Kimono makers use a very neat mini iron called a kote; the top of which leaves semi-permanent creases meaning you don’t need to use chalk or marker pens.

Day 3

Bryan gave Rob a list of places to visit in the Omote Sando, Tokyo’s Designer district.  Rob ventured off the main drag to find independent designers and antiques stores around every corner.  His first stop was Gallery Kawano, a veritable treasure trove of kimono silk and cotton offcuts including haori jackets, obi belts and full kimonos.  He rummaged through huge piles of silk rolls in search of the good stuff and was eventually rewarded with three good pieces, including two lovely bits of genuine shibori (a lot of later pieces are prints of shibori patterns). 

At the second-hand clothes store, Chicago, Rob discovered a whole section of silk and cotton kimonos at very reasonable prices. Rob was delighted to find a shibori kimono (perfect for a customer he’d been asked to source one for) and a stunning jacket with a distorted traditional hemp leaf pattern that Rob is going to keep for inspiration!
 
His third destination was the Ishii collection. Mr Ishii was charming and patient as Rob sorted through his entire (extensive!) Katagami stencil collection. Rob bought so many that Mr Ishii gave him a hardback folio to take them all home in. Next, Rob visited Morita Antiques where the owner and his wife stock a huge range of boro, woven cotton and indigo, kimono silk, art objects and a lovely art textiles book they wrote themselves.

Day 4

Rob started the day visiting the three Kapital shops in Shibuya.  Kapital is perhaps the world’s coolest and chicest denim brand, combining innovative cuts with the best Japanese indigo dyed denim and old and newly made boro textiles to make beautiful contemporary and desirable items.
 
The rest of the day was spent visiting Nippori, Tokyo’s fabric district, and getting stencilling and indigo supplies from Seiwa. Nippori is a dangerous place to visit for the textiles fan! Full of small and large outlets selling anything from bolts of vintage and modern cotton through to obi belts, whole kimono and everything in between. Rob succumbed and bought a number of items including two nice haori jackets, obi belts, vintage silk, fine cotton and soft cotton fabric.  
 
He picked up high quality Japanese indigo and chems and more stencilling kits for his new class, including persimmon paper to cut, tenterhooks, paper cones for freehand work, rice paste (made up and component parts), pre-reduced indigo, paint brushes for applying sumi ink, fine mesh and creosote to attach to the back of cut stencils and a couple of great books - Traditional Japanese Stencil Designs and The Complete Japanese Tie-Dyeing, which is actually a fantastic reference book for shibori techniques with step by step pictures. 

Day 5

Rob headed off early to Ise in the South West of Japan, home to Katagami stencilling and sumi ink production and Japan’s most famous Shinto shrine. It took two local trains to get to the Shinkansen bullet train in Tokyo which made short work of the 280 mile trip getting him there in an hour and 40 minutes! 
 
The Ise Katagami stencil museum and the Ise paper museum both had some stunning stencils.  The stencil museum has a Dogubori (tool cut stencil) master who teaches there and some of his work is on display, including examples on silk and cotton shown next to the stencils themselves. Rob was very fortunate to be allowed to briefly sit in on the Dogoburi master’s class. He’d trained for 40 years to become a master but the students had only been doing it for a few years, 10 is typical to be considered any good! There are a number of different specialisms within Katagami stencilling and Dogubori is the one focused on using special tools to cut little shapes such as hearts, triangles, etc. Students have to make their own tools out of thin steel sheet so there’s a lot more to it than just cutting the stencils. 

Rob made his way over to the paper museum which was much larger and had used the stencils in creative ways, such as for lampshades and even in front of panes of glass in windows. Having seen an old lady being given her own stencil to cut, Rob asked if he could do one too and cut a small one of a bamboo leaf.  Rob also managed to stock up on persimmon paper and bought a few more stencils for his classes.

Day 6

Rob spent some of the day sightseeing and visited Kotaijingu Naiku - the largest and most venerated Shinto shrine in Japan, dedicated to Amaterasu-Omikai, the ancestral kami (Shinto deity) of the imperial family.  

Arriving back in Tokyo and finding himself close to Tennozu Isle, Rob decided to follow another of Bryan’s recommendations and travel on the Tokyo monorail to get to Pigment, a stunning art shop with every colour pigment/lake you could want. The space is fantastic and the range of colours kaleidoscopic. Rob bought some rose madder (bright red) to add to the rice paste for stencilling (it shows up better in the paste) and some pine charcoal in a rich black (used in sumi painting and as a base for indigo dyeing).

Day 7
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Rob and Bryan visited the Sashiko museum in Hinohara. Part of it was originally a 200-year old horse breeders’ house in Nii gata - northern Japan which was moved to Hinohara in the mid 80s. It is full of Sashiko and other art objects, including a large collection of Kokeshi (Japanese wooden dildos!).  They sell some beautiful hand-dyed natural dyed Sashiko threads which Rob bought and a piece of beautiful light blue indigo dyed cotton. From there we visited the house of Yuko Morita, who Bryan met not long after he moved to Japan. Yuko is a master of fermented indigo dyeing, a particularly tricky form, requiring constant vigilance in the preparation and maintenance of the 4 vats she uses throughout the year. The vats are huge and have to be filled slowly with a combination of ash water (which she makes herself), rice bran (which is what ferments) and fermented Japanese indigo. The 100 litre vats take around 10 days to fill and ferment with more ingredients being added each day until they are ready. Apparently an unspecified amount of saki rice wine is also added at the beginning with a prayer to the gods for a good vat. Yuko dyes fabric for others as well as her own work, including thread, shibori and Katagami stencilled pieces.

Day 8

Rob and Bryan spent the morning picking indigo seeds from the field near the house and then Bryan showed Rob how to fix the silk to the back of his stencils with a sort of lacquer and netting. It’s messy, sticky work but will mean his stencils will last a lot longer.

​Rob also made some with just netting which he can put over older stencils to protect them and use for leaf stencils. 

Back in the UK

​​Rob is now creating textiles using Katagami stencilling techniques.  He is making his own stencils as well as using those he picked up in Japan.

If you would like to try your hand at Japanese Shibori and Katagami techniques, check out Rob's workshops by clicking on the link below.

We are delighted to welcome two new members to our Muswell Hill Creatives collective.  We were hoping to find people fulfilling creative disciplines not already represented in the group and were thrilled when a weaver and furniture designer maker got in touch.  We are very much looking forward to working with them and showcasing their fantastic work as part of the collective.   Look out for them at our next market on Saturday 12th May in St James's Square, Muswell Hill.

Cecilia Child of By Cecil creates woven textiles that are low impact, sustainable and made to last. All products are made in Britain, designed in Cecilia's Crouch End studio and produced using traditional weaving practices. Inspired by the landscapes of Shropshire, the rugged British coastline, and the modern architecture surrounding her home in London.  Each collection is designed with colour and textures found in everyday life.

By Cecil was established in order to create modern textiles in a traditional way. Cecilia aims to provide an alternative to today’s mass produced and environmentally damaging textiles, and exist to demonstrate the best of British industry. She oversees every stage of the production process, from designing the collection on the hand loom in her studio through to developing the products with a micro mill in Bristol.

bycecil.com