Design

Secret City: Lee Broom on London

In the midst of London Design Festival 2016, British lighting designer Lee Broom shares his favourite places to spend time in the city

Maltby St. Market – Illustration by Ashleigh Giesler
Maltby St. Market – Illustration by Ashleigh Giesler

For me, London is a design hub and point of inspiration all year round, not just during the London Design Festival. There is always something new and interesting to see and do which is what makes London such a creative place to spend time – a new shop, a new destination, a new place market etc. and I love discovering them. However, there’s also a few great destinations which I could never tire of and you will find me visiting time and time again.

SCP – Illustration by Ashleigh Giesler
SCP – Illustration by Ashleigh Giesler

SCP

SCP is just around the corner from our studio and is a Shoreditch staple. Its been here for such a long time. It always has a brilliantly curated range of product from furniture to ceramics to lighting. Like ourselves, it is part of the Shoreditch Design Triangle so there is often a new design launch happening adding a great buzz to the area.

Maltby Street Market

In London there are so many great places eat and drink. Maltby Street Market is a great destination and somewhere you’ll often find me on a weekend. Ropewalk, the most recent addition, is great for street food. From a design point of view, I love the way they convert all of the old carpenter’s workshop and antiques arches in to quirky pop-up up restaurants or gin bars for the day. The non-tourist version of Borough market, its definitely a hidden gem.

Tate Modern – Illustration by Ashleigh Giesler
Tate Modern – Illustration by Ashleigh Giesler

Tate Modern

When I have free time I make a point of visiting galleries. They never fail to provide inspiration. The Tate Modern here in London is one I never tire of. There is always a new exhibition, a new installation or a new element to the gallery which always feels fresh. I recently visited the new Switch House and I loved it. The structure and design I find really interesting and the new roof terrace offers amazing panoramic views of the city.

Dover Street Market

The new Dover Street Market in Haymarket is a favourite haunt of mine. I was always a huge fan of the one on Dover Street but this mark II version is even better. I really like the mix of fashion and design. Set in a heritage listed building which for the most part has remained untouched, the overall interior is really striking and the dynamics and somewhat chaotic mix between each of the dedicated brand spaces is really cutting edge. I think it is definitely at the forefront of retail.

SCP – Illustration by Ashleigh Giesler
SCP – Illustration by Ashleigh Giesler

LN-CC

LN-CC in Dalston is a store I love to visit here in our studio’s East London neighborhood. The interior of the space designed by Gary Card is really conceptual and it has a great edit of individual product rooms as well as a library, a record store and a gallery space. An evolving platform of brilliantly curated luxe high end fashion, I very rarely come out empty handed.

The exhibition ‘Opticality’ will celebrate the retail launch of the Optical lighting collection by transforming the store Electra Houseinto a postmodern Op Art experience. Runs until Sunday 25 September