It’s hard to be hip when you’re on the road, but a design tour can keep you on the cultural map. Jenny Southan takes the inside track.
Ever since London became “cool” back in the Sixties, the capital’s creative scene has been one of the most influential in the world. For those who aren’t numbered among the achingly hip, however, it can be hard to get a handle on this fast-moving market – knowing what’s hot this week is a skill few of us have the chance to cultivate.
Fortunately for the cash-rich, time-poor and culture-hungry, a new tour company called Urban Gentry promises to put you on that insider track. Whether your interests lie in art, fashion, food or design, taking to the city streets with one of its in-the-know guides is a good way to get an introduction to an altogether trendier side to the city.
Urban Gentry is the brainchild of Kevin Caruth, who gave up a career in PR to pursue his love of design and the arts. Kevin says: “It is all about what is hot and what is not. London is one of the most innovative and energetic cities in the world and people don’t necessarily have friends who can show them around. We offer business and leisure travellers an alternative view of the city – one you wouldn’t get with 50 other people on a double-decker bus.”
According to Kevin, the half-day tours (three and a half hours) are proving particularly popular with business travellers. He explains: “A lot of businessmen have a vague interest in creative things but tend not to have the time or the knowledge to get into it. There are plenty of stylish guidebooks out there but not really the opportunity to meet someone and do it. Sometimes you need a bit of a helping hand.”
Given my weakness for beautiful things I jump at the chance to go on an afternoon tour of the West End art and design scene.
I meet Kevin (tall, elegantly dressed and armed with an umbrella) outside the Ritz. Our first port of call is Established and Sons, just around the corner on Duke Street. The design and manufacturing company was launched in 2005 by Alasdhair Willis, husband of fashion designer Stella McCartney, and the St James’s showroom opened in October last year.
Discreetly hidden behind sleek sliding doors of sandblasted glass is an airy white room housing a six-week exhibition of limited-edition Carrara marble reproductions of well-known Established and Sons furniture. The collection is intended to demonstrate that functional design can also be art, as the glowing stone emphasises the clean lines of the original pieces. At the far end of the minimalist interior, one exhibit stands out: the long skin-smooth curved Aqua Table, created by award-winning Iranian architect Zaha Hadid.
Our route takes us across Piccadilly and up Cork Street, past a conglomeration of small but prestigious art galleries and then up Bruton Street, past designer clothing stores Diane von Furstenberg, Matthew Williamson and Stella McCartney. Kevin says: “This is a popular street on the women’s fashion tour, but even on an art tour if clients want to stop and browse they can.”
Around the corner at 13 Carlos Place, we come to Hamiltons Gallery, which has been running for 30 years and is one of Europe’s most influential photography exhibitors. Down a flight of stairs, in a high-ceilinged, white-walled space, hangs the current display of photos. Flower Power by Irving Penn couples black and white images of San Francisco hippies and Hell’s Angels, with dye-transfer prints of vibrant, painterly poppies. But the prices aren’t for the faint-hearted – these limited edition works range from US$42,000 to US$150,000.
After cutting through the crowds on Oxford Street and making our way along Wigmore Street, we come to Mint. As we enter the store, which offers welcome warmth after the cold winter air outside, Kevin says: “Design is now part of mainstream language whereas 20 or 30 years ago it wasn’t.”
Looking around, I see what he means. This high-end interior design store, established in 1998, features an array of work by contemporary emerging designers as well as new collections by established manufacturers. Items on sale come in an eclectic mix of styles, juxtaposing “no screw, no glue” stainless steel polished desks (by Joost Van Bleiswijk) with wall hangings made from old clothes, and furniture made from plastic buckets and old television sets (by Massimiliano Adami).
It’s far from bland, but not all the products are so wacky that the average person couldn’t find something to suit their tastes. Kevin explains that if you want to give your home a whole new look, the store is happy to help. “In terms of what to buy, it is often about developing personal relationships – at Mint what you see is not just what you get.”
Cabinets, couches, lamps and other objects are displayed alongside each other to create a collection of quirky interiors. I notice the unusual-looking Quilt Stool by Kiki van Eijk, and ask why there are so many pieces by designers from the Netherlands. Kevin explains: “In terms of distribution London is really up there, but it’s tough for young designers in England. You might have to spend 15 years struggling for your art here, whereas in Holland they really promote their designers, which is why 40 per cent of Mint’s designers are Dutch.”
From cutting-edge to retro-led design, Liberty is our next stop. The interiors floor has a varied range of furnishings “primarily driven by a vintage mode”, meaning old furniture is reproduced, reworked and reinvented to create interesting modern styles. Many products, like the Bakelite telephone-lamp or the giant picture frame encrusted with plastic toys (dolls, cars, Buzz Lightyear, Spiderman) and sprayed with black gloss paint make great one-off pieces.
“Materials, I think, are going to become more significant in the next few years,” Kevin says, adding that what may be trendy now can pretty swiftly go out of fashion (like, perhaps, the Hot Kroon chandelier by Piet Boon, covered in what looks like dripping black wax…). “Once the trend has gone, the designers need to reinvent themselves quite quickly,” adds Kevin.
Following the flow of shoppers down Carnaby Street, we head round the corner to Beyond The Valley on Newburgh Street. This quirky retail outlet was set up by graduates of Central St Martins art school and supports and promotes new design talent by giving other graduates a showcase for their work. Kevin says: “Beyond the Valley really gives you a snapshot of design in London.”
The shop is long and narrow, with little side rooms displaying everything from flat-pack slippers made from recycled leather, pleated pewter passport covers and lightning-bolt wallpaper, to mugs, illustrations, soap and T-shirts. With Nina Simone playing and all manner of amusing trinkets to look at, it’s a great place to browse for quirky presents.
A brisk walk through Soho and up into Fitzrovia takes us to Contemporary Applied Arts on Percy Street. CAA is a registered charity set up to promote modern British craft, and houses a wide range of jewellery, ceramics, glassware and textiles. The company guarantees the quality of all its work, which is made by around 300 top-British craft makers, by providing a quality seal of approval for their customers. Kevin says: “I think for a long time craft has been art’s ugly sister, but now it is becoming more acceptable to like.”
The spacious gallery and shop are set on two levels and offer a series of unique items that make a refreshing change from the mass-production. (Take Blimey Riley, for example, a surreal-looking elongated metal teapot – fun, but definitely an example of form over function and no snip at £2,980.)
After heading north past the restaurants and bars of Charlotte Street, we are greeted by a flock of sheep (by Hanns-Peter Krafft) grazing in the window of Thorsten van Elten’s boutique on Warren Street. German-born van Elten was voted one of the most influential designers in the UK by The Guardian in September and has established himself as a lighting and accessories manufacturer. He is best known for his first product which was released in 2002 – the Perspex Pigeon Light by Ed Carpenter.
The shop is small and offers all manner of things, from crumpled plastic cups reproduced in china to batch-produced dishes made from partially melted red toy soldiers by designer Dominic Wilcox (which seems to be a popular theme).
“It’s less individual as a collection but a bit more humorous,” says Kevin. Sadly, van Elten’s shop closed in January, but all the products can be ordered on his website (see box), and the pigeons are also available at the Design Museum.
The last stop on our tour is in Holborn. Kevin says: “Do you mind walking? Normally it’s up to the client, but we can get a cab if you want.” Urban Gentry has a relationship with a carbon-neutral taxi company called Green Tomato Cars, so if clients do want to be driven from A to B, this service can be called upon. We decide to get a cab and a short while later, pull up in a dark back street.
Cockpit Arts is a government-backed charity, which helps artists achieve commercial success. Kevin says: “These studios only open about three or four times a year, but there are about 80 designer-makers working here doing everything from jewellery to leather.” The studios have been tidied up and the artists and craft makers have set up attractive displays. You could spend hours here perusing everything from parachute dresses to hand-made silver vases, but sadly I will have to wait until the next opening before I can go back.
Art and design are the cornerstone of Urban Gentry’s tours, but its standard range also includes more eclectic concepts like Menswear Spy (hip fashion) and Market Fresh (London’s food centres). In addition, for those who want something more individual, the company can put together bespoke tours covering just about any area from photography to book-binding – and if you speak nicely to your guides, they might just be able to get you an introduction to some of London’s cutting-edge artists, designers and gallery owners. Now that really is cool…
Contacts
Established & Sons establishedandsons.com
Hamiltons hamiltonsgallery.com
Mint mintshop.co.uk
Liberty liberty.co.uk
Beyond The Valley beyondthevalley.com
Contemporary Applied Arts caa.org.uk
Thorsten van Elten thorstenvanelten.com
Cockpit Arts cockpitarts.com
Fact file
Standard half-day tours last three and a half hours and cost £159 per group (up to four people). Full-day tours take seven hours and are priced at £269. Prices for bespoke tours vary depending on time of day, duration and type of tour; full details on request. For more information go to urbangentry.com or call +44(0)20 8149 6253.
