Comments on: Eleanor Crow’s East End Ironmongers https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/12/02/eleanor-crows-east-end-ironmongers-i/ In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London Tue, 05 Dec 2023 14:30:38 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: Cherub https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/12/02/eleanor-crows-east-end-ironmongers-i/#comment-1530505 Tue, 05 Dec 2023 14:30:38 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=198335#comment-1530505 When I lived out at Upminster there was an ironmongers in a side street near the station called Jarvo’s (sadly long gone). I used to love going in there with my husband who’d buy bits for Heath Robinson type things he was banging together in our garden shed.

Jarvo’s had everything, it was a very muddled shop but the assistants knew exactly where everything was. If you wanted something like a door handle from as far back as the early 50s they’d be able to find you one, such was their extensive range of stock!

]]> By: jenny galton-fenzi https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/12/02/eleanor-crows-east-end-ironmongers-i/#comment-1530173 Sat, 02 Dec 2023 23:36:57 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=198335#comment-1530173 Wonderful illustrations…… sadly, Harris’s, the much-mourned hardware shop in Totnes, closed a while ago. All those useful bits and pieces, and the nostalgic paraffin smell as you walked in….

]]> By: Saba https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/12/02/eleanor-crows-east-end-ironmongers-i/#comment-1530138 Sat, 02 Dec 2023 15:45:13 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=198335#comment-1530138 Ms. Crow, You have done a magnificent job of developing many techniques that allow you to portray the sites that you love. It takes a long time to learn to make the bricks look believable, to place the trellis over other objects without the underlying layers showing through. Thank you for this polished work that reflects your joy in observing the beautiful shapes and colors of the shops.

]]> By: Jo N https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/12/02/eleanor-crows-east-end-ironmongers-i/#comment-1530137 Sat, 02 Dec 2023 15:44:00 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=198335#comment-1530137 I love a hardware shop, and was thrilled when I moved down here that many more survive than in the conurbations I was used to up north, where a lot of people live in out-of-town suburbs and you’re never far from a B&Q. Also, the constancy of urban houses and flats being improved in London means there are always tradespeople to keep the shops, and often a local caff, going. Obviously Amazon etc are having their impact, but long may local ironmongers (like those I know in Herne Hill and Camberwell) continue!

]]> By: Greg T https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/12/02/eleanor-crows-east-end-ironmongers-i/#comment-1530106 Sat, 02 Dec 2023 10:09:32 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=198335#comment-1530106 Wakefield’s 680-682 Lea Bridge Rd!

]]> By: Christine Swan https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/12/02/eleanor-crows-east-end-ironmongers-i/#comment-1530095 Sat, 02 Dec 2023 08:38:29 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=198335#comment-1530095 I love a good ironmongers but, as you state here, they are a dying breed. A recent campaign has saved one in Kings Heath, Birmingham, in the region where I live. The usual toxic mix of falling footfall and rising rents. I think ironmongers are Aladdin’s caves where you can buy exactly as much as you need – if you only need 6 brass screws, you don’t need to buy a big plastic pack with a hundred in for example. And if you need fork handles, everyone knows what you mean. Thanks Eleanor and the GA for showcasing these wonderful illustrations.

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