Brick Lane is awash with vintage shops and dealers. Most are trading the same sort of stock, but if you step off the main drag and down a side street, you might be lucky enough to stumble upon The Vintage Emporium, a new coffee house and vintage shop like no other.
Just a couple of months ago, 14 Bacon Street was a dowdy warehouse with a cluttered basement which was used as The Bacon Street Project – a foundation for young designers and artists. The property came onto the market and was quickly snapped up by Jess and Oli, a couple who cut their teeth at Brick Lane’s Upmarket where they sold vintage clothes sourced from carboots and auctions and ran a pop up tea and cake shop.
“It all happened quite accidentally”, stated Jess. “We had just been collecting all this stuff and weren’t really sure why. When the shop came up we knew we had to have it, especially when we found out that in 1888 it was a pub called The Ship. ”
Over the past few weeks, Jess and Oli have been working themselves ragged to get the shop into shipshape. The bare brick walls have been whitewashed, wooden floorboards have been laid, the hole in the roof mended and the café area has been decked out with rustic antique tables and chairs, suitcases and trunks and an old fashioned coffee machine. Each and every item within the space has been carefully chosen and has its own tale to tell.
The basement has been transformed from a grotty storage hole into an Aladdin’s cave of vintage finds dating from the Victorian era to the 1950’s. Oli’s domain is the clothes section and Jess’s is the café which by day is a coffee house, selling herbal teas, homemade cakes and simple vegetarian lunches and by night transforms into an events space which already has its diary packed full of things such as open mic nights, knit club, life drawing and ballet classes. At the moment, the only staff are Jess and Oli and they are clocking up sixteen hour days, seven days a week. “I think we are just going to open 10am ‘til 10pm and have Monday afternoons off” states Jess. “Otherwise I’ll die.”
Tired as they might be, Jess and Oli have fulfilled their dream of creating a homely, relaxed and welcoming place from which they can do the things they love most. The Vintage Emporium is a place like no other and once you’ve been there, you’ll want to become a part of the rustic furniture yourself.
The Vintage Emporium
14 Bacon Street
Brick Lane
London
E1 6CF
Photography by Markus Maverick
Tags: Bacon Street, brick lane, cafe, clothing, coffee, events, London, tea, vegetarian, victorian, Vintage, warehouse
It is just great – Oli and Jess are a warm, relaxed (and beautiful) couple who made me feel very welcome. I bought a fab summer frock from the 50s which I can just squeeze into after a much needed cup of coffee and cake.
I will be in touch about booking the space for an evening venue..
In the meantime, good luck..
June 15, 2010 at 8:39 pm