Designer Picks
February 16, 2022
Mixing vintage pieces with small-batch designs by skilled artisans is Alessio Nardi’s secret sauce. As founder of London-based architecture firm, A-nrd, Alessio prioritizes sustainability and a hand-on approach across all of his work. And what better way to practice sustainability than to shop vintage? Alessio shared with us his favorite local London vintage shops.
I love browsing East London local vintage furniture shops both for work and personal pleasure. Some of my favourite spots are:
Alessio Nardi
Spazio Leone
Mostly focussed on Italian design, very excited about their new showroom opening which happens to be just a stone throw from my house.
Expect the not so popular Ettore Sottsass piece, 70s B&B upholstery and swirly cast iron furniture by unknown makers.
Peanut vendor
I’ve been browsing their shop for almost a decade and saw their evolution through the years from mid-century to more obscure, arts and craft pieces. A must stop after a stroll in Victoria Park. Fun fact they have a small kiln inside their shop for their ceramic experiments.
Dudley waltzer
Great little shop with a mixture of curated European collectable furniture and local artists pieces hosted on periodic shows. The perfect break between Broadway and Columbia market on a Sunday afternoon.
M. Kardana
I’ve been following Mario on Instagram from when he had an account called chairboy, mostly featuring unusual chairs he found at auctions and markets.
He has now opened a showroom in Hackney road—a historic furniture manufacturers road—where you can always find unique market finds and off-beat pieces.
When resting at home I’ve recently enjoyed the pleasure of a wonderful book: On earth we are briefly gorgeous by Ocean Vuong.
Ocean writes a beautiful story of marginalized America with an always surprising and truly unique use of English language. Absolutely gorgeous.
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