Harringay Local Store is an example of how to do the indie (dare we say hipster) thing right in this post-cereal café age. Things people actually need, made by people who care about what they are producing, and sold by people with passion. “Not Another Tesco” promise the recycled brown bags that hang in lieu of the supermarket’s plastic ones, and there’s no arguing with that. Tesco does not sell vinyl, for a start.
Ebony and Paul Harding have lived in the neighbourhood for eight years, with DJ Paul harbouring a desire to open a record shop for much longer than that. The couple found themselves travelling far afield to find the food they wanted to eat — UK-grown and organic — and hit upon the idea of opening an old-fashioned community grocer’s shop with the best UK produce they could find, plus a range of vinyl that taps into the format’s recent resurgence in popularity. London artisanal producers — including a number of craft breweries, Wildes Cheese (improbably based in Tottenham) and Newton & Pott preserves — join Welsh-baked goods and Scotch eggs in a celebration of British excellence. Branding is by Bold & Bold, and the interior by designers Kathryn Mazure and Meagan Roberts is a contemporary take on the Open All Hours format. There’s blackened steel shelving, a stripped and resin-coated floor, a custom-made reclaimed wooded table in the centre and a counter constructed from reclaimed gymnasium floor timber and stone.
Photography, Ola O Smit
