Our Crowdfund Report
We may not have quite hit our target, but – thanks to 265 donors – we raised an astonishing £31,000 which is enough for us to work with creatively and relaunch Spitalfields Life Books. Meanwhile, our crowdfund page will remain open until we reach £35,000.
YOU CAN STILL VISIT OUR CROWDFUND PAGE & CONTRIBUTE HERE
Thanks to you, we can now put the pandemic behind us and step towards the future.
We have been working on David Hoffman’s book, A Place to Live: Endurance & Joy in the East End, 1971-87, for several years and now it can be published next spring. Tessa Hunkin’s Hackney Mosaic Project monograph and Sarah Ainslie’s book of portraits of Women at Work in the East End are both in advanced stages of development too, and they will follow next year.
In the meantime, next month I am bringing out a limited edition of my short story On Christmas Day, published jointly with Burley Fisher Books of Haggerston and designed by David Pearson. All those who supported the crowdfund as patrons, supporters or friends will receive personally inscribed copies in the post.
We are planning a launch celebration at Burley Fisher Books with a special guest to read the story and will publish the details here as soon as they are available.
The Gentle Author picks up the threads of Christmas fiction from Charles Dickens, Dylan Thomas and George Mackay Brown to weave a compelling tale of family conflicts ignited and resolved in the festive season.
David Hoffman’s East End Jewish Shops
We have raised £27,000 to RELAUNCH SPITALFIELDS LIFE BOOKS and we have UNTIL MIDNIGHT to reach our target of £35,000.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR CROWDFUND PAGE & CONTRIBUTE
S Keil, Hessel St, 1972
A generation ago, Hessel St and the surrounding streets were the focus of a long-established Jewish community. In 1972, David Hoffman documented the last days of some of the characterful shops and small businesses that once filled this corner of the East End.
M Rappaport, Fishmonger, Hessel St
“There was a man who sold sarsaparilla at tuppence a glass from a window in his sweet shop at the top of Cannon St Road until ten o’clock at night. One day, this man was murdered and the police found a box of money under his bed – forty or sixty thousand pounds – he had been saving all the tuppences for forty years. They bricked up the window afterwards.” – Setven Berkoff
Hessel St
D. R. Zysman’s pickles & delicatessen shop, Hessel St
L Herman, Koser Butcher & Poulterer, Hessel St
P Lipman, Kosher Poultry Dealer, Hessel St
Solly Grannatt in the doorway of his jewellers’s shop at 17 Black Lion Yard
The Express Shoe Repair Shop, Hessel St
The Express Shoe Repair Shop
The bulldozer moves in on the kosher poulterer’s shop in Hessel St
Photographs copyright © David Hoffman
John Allin’s paining of Hessel St
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Sarah Ainslie’s Wardrobe Portraits
We have now raised nearly £26,000 to RELAUNCH SPITALFIELDS LIFE BOOKS and we have 2 DAYS LEFT. We can reach our target of £35,000 if 9 readers step forward to support us as PATRONS by midnight on Friday. They will receive a signed fine art print by Doreen Fletcher, signed photographic prints by David Hoffman and Sarah Ainslie, plus an inscribed copy of my forthcoming book.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR CROWDFUND PAGE & CONTRIBUTE
Viscountess Boudica of Bethnal Green
Contributing Photographer Sarah Ainslie has been taking portraits of people in their wardrobes since 2002 and she has done over fifty.
“Wardrobes are private places where personal belongings are kept, not only clothes but also objects with special meanings and memories. Children see them as spaces where adults hide secrets and I always felt there were secrets in my parents’ wardrobes. As a child, my grandmother’s knicker drawer fascinated me, and we would search for sweeties that she kept in jars and beautiful evening dresses in her wardrobe that she let us touch. My father had a bespoke wardrobe with special racks for shoes and drawers for all his different garments, and my mother had a big walk-in wardrobe. I conceal letters and strange memorabilia, like casts of my teeth, in mine.”
Sarah Ainslie
Emily Shepherd
Julie Begum
Hydar Dewachi
Madeleine Ruggi
Sara Sheppard
Luke Dixon
Lara Clifton
Shakila
Brand Thumim
Jo Ann Kaplan
Sid Dixon
Penny Woolcock
Prue Ainslie
Simon Hoare-Walter
Jenny Carlin
Lel McIntyre
Ryan-Rhiannon Styles
Ruhela
Francine Merry
Sabeha Miah
Kassandra & Dan Isaacson
Andrew Dawson
Shelagh Ainslie
Photographs copyright © Sarah Ainslie
You might also like to take a look at
Hackney Mosaic Project At London Zoo
We have raised nearly £25,000 to RELAUNCH SPITALFIELDS LIFE BOOKS and now we have 3 DAYS LEFT! With your help, I am hoping we can reach the target of £35,000 by midnight on Friday.
Consider supporting us as a Patron and receive a signed fine art print by Doreen Fletcher, signed photographic prints by David Hoffman and Sarah Ainslie, plus an inscribed copy of my forthcoming book.
I believe in the primacy of books because – even if the web gets wiped out tomorrow – they will endure. Publishing is not an easy task, yet I am passionate to do it when I find stories that I want to cherish, that I know people will love, and that deserve to be dignified in our time and for posterity.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR CROWDFUND PAGE & CONTRIBUTE
Today we preview Tessa Hunkin’s book
TESSA HUNKIN & HACKNEY MOSAIC PROJECT
Tessa Hunkin and Hackney Mosaic Project have created breathtakingly beautiful and witty mosaics in locations all across the East End over the past ten years. In the process, Tessa has won the reputation as the pre-eminent mosaic designer in this country while leading a community endeavour that has elevated the lives of hundreds of participants.
“A beautiful book about Hackney Mosaic Project will be the best reward for all the people who have worked on the mosaics, bringing their achievement to a wider public and giving them the recognition they so well deserve.”
Tessa Hunkin
When I went along to visit, visitors to London Zoo enjoyed the additional attraction of watching Tessa Hunkin and her crew from Hackney Mosaic Project installing two joyous masterpieces of mosaic on either side of the main entrance
On the left, a pair of Humboldt Penguins dip and dive to create a pleasantly dynamic composition while, on the right, five mischievous Squirrel Monkeys perch on branches, poised to leap.
‘I especially like the Squirrel Monkeys at the zoo,’ Tessa confided to me, ‘because they love mobile phones and enjoy taking them off visitors and dropping them from the tops of trees.’
Humboldt Penguins
Robson Cezar, Ken Edwards & Tess Hunkin (from left to right)
Squirrel Monkeys
THE HACKNEY MOSAIC PROJECT is seeking commissions, so if you would like a mosaic please get in touch hackneymosaic@gmail.com
You may also like to read about
The Mosaic Makers of Hackney Downs
The Award-Winning Mosaic Makers of Hackney
Nicholas Borden’s New Paintings
We have raised nearly £23,000 to RELAUNCH SPITALFIELDS LIFE BOOKS and now we have 4 DAYS LEFT! With your help, I am hoping we can reach the target of £35,000 by next Saturday 14th October.
Consider supporting us as a Patron and receive a signed fine art print by Doreen Fletcher, signed photographic prints by David Hoffman and Sarah Ainslie, plus an inscribed copy of my forthcoming book.
I believe in the primacy of books because – even if the web gets wiped out tomorrow – they will endure. Publishing is not an easy task, yet I am passionate to do it when I find stories that I want to cherish, that I know people will love, and that deserve to be dignified in our time and for posterity.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR CROWDFUND PAGE & CONTRIBUTE
Stoke Newington Old Church
It is my great delight to publish this selection of splendid recent works by painter Nicholas Borden, seen publicly here for the first time today, and glowing with rich jewel-like tones and densely-populated, intricate compositions.
The Golden Heart
Liverpool St Station
Christ Church
Brick Lane Market
Sclater St Market
In Sclater St
Brick Lane Market
In Sclater St yard
Columbia Rd Market
Columbia Rd Market
Arnold Circus
Gasometer by the Regent’s Canal in Bethnal Green
Regent’s Canal at Victoria Park
View from the artist’s kitchen, under snow
Paintings copyright © Nicholas Borden
Email nicholasborden100@yahoo.co.uk to enquire about any of these paintings
You may also like to take a look at
Twenty New Paintings by Nicholas Borden
Nicholas Borden’s Lockdown Paintings
Nicholas Borden’s Latest Paintings
Catching Up With Nicholas Borden
Nicholas Borden’s East End View
Nicholas Borden’s Winter Paintings
Nicholas Borden’s Spring Paintings
Nicholas Borden’s New Paintings
Nicholas Borden’s Recent Paintings
David Hoffman In Cheshire St
We have raised over £21,000 to RELAUNCH SPITALFIELDS LIFE BOOKS and now we have 5 DAYS LEFT! With your help, I am hoping we can reach the target of £35,000 by next Saturday 14th October.
Consider supporting us as a Patron and receive a signed fine art print by Doreen Fletcher, signed photographic prints by David Hoffman and Sarah Ainslie, plus an inscribed copy of my forthcoming book.
I believe in the primacy of books because – even if the web gets wiped out tomorrow – they will endure. Publishing is not an easy task, yet I am passionate to do it when I find stories that I want to cherish, that I know people will love, and that deserve to be dignified in our time and for posterity.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR CROWDFUND PAGE & CONTRIBUTE
Thank you for all you do to document and celebrate the human history of the East End. Hugh Valentine
I am so looking forward to the publication of these books – I always read your blog and really enjoy your writing. Good luck! Sarah Lewington
All the very best of luck with this venture. Dina Fawcett
To support GA, the authors, artists, illustrators & photographers in the production of more beautiful books. Hellen Martin
May you and Spitalfields life, blog, community and books continue to inspire, flourish, stir and resist..thank you. Silvervanwoman
Good luck. I’ve got quite a few of your books and will look forward to more. Alison Pilkington
I have great admiration for The Gentle Author. TGA works incredibly hard and deserves all the support that we can give. Tim Sayer
Valuable historically and personally memorable for different aspects of the East End to be recorded, visually and orally so the streetscape, cultural vitality and diversity of voices are not lost. Jude Bloomfield
The daily blog from Spitalfields Life is life affirming. Best wishes with the publishing venture. Kate Amis
The Gentle Author brings great enjoyment to me every morning. Lynn MacKay
Looking forward to all three books – especially the mosaics, scattered like stardust, and free for all to enjoy…as all great art should be. Josephine Eglin
Dear Gentle Author, I am a great admirer of Tessa Hunkin’s work and would like to support the publication of your book about her and her mosaics. Many thanks for the work you do for so many and the interesting stories you share with all of us readers. Best of luck with this and warm crispy autumn wishes, Matilda Moreton
Good luck with the publication fund raiser. I loved working with Sarah Ainslie on various Spitalfields Life pieces, and I’m excited for her work, and the others, to be published in book form. Rosie Dastgir
I love the books! Good luck! Mary Winch
Love the books – hope the funding project succeeds. Edward Gillman
Good luck with your worthy venture. Keith Brennan
Amazing books … keep going. Sophie Alderson
Precious publications from a very special place … Oh here’s to Spitalfields lives ! Sophie Thompson
I am a great-granddaughter of man born in Bethnal Green. Proud to be an East Ender! Pamela Henning
Wonderful projects. Sensorinet
Cracking beautiful relevant stuff !! Bonne chance xx Oliver Lazarus
I love your books, which would not be published anywhere else. Long may you continue. Melanie McGrath
Books open worlds, make great companions, are lovely gifts, and keep our minds from growing stale. And they ask for little in return! Long live books! Jennifer Newbold
So pleased you’re re-launching SL Books, which are all beautifully produced and feature the work of such excellent photographers, artists and writers. Julia Meadows
Good luck – your books are brilliant. Joan Isaac
Today we preview David Hoffman’s book:
A PLACE TO LIVE: ENDURANCE & JOY IN THE EAST END 1971-87
David Hoffman’s bold, humane photography records a lost decade, speaking vividly to our own times. Living in Whitechapel through the 70s, David documented homelessness, racism, the incursion of developers and the rise of protest in startlingly intimate and compassionate pictures to compose a vital photographic testimony of resilience.
“I was born in the East End, but my upwardly-mobile parents moved away to the green fields of Berkshire and then back to the safe suburbs of South London. By the time I drifted back to Whitechapel as a young man in 1970, I found myself in a world I had never imagined.
I encountered bomb sites still rubble-strewn from the war, smashed windows, empty shops, rubbish-scattered streets and many lost, desperate people wandering aimlessly, often clutching a bottle of cheap cider or meths. Then I was broke, unemployed and clueless, and it was scary to imagine a future amidst this dereliction.
I found a room in a damp, rickety slum in Chicksand St and began to explore, soon discovering the Sunday market in Cheshire St where I picked up a warm coat and a blanket for next to nothing. The market was surreal, with people sitting on the kerb hoping to sell a couple of old shoes and a broken razor. Other stalls were stacked with the debris of house clearance – carpets, furniture, pictures, kitchenware and books – whole lives condensed and piled up for sale.
Yet I found the market inspiring. Unregulated and chaotic, the unifying emotion was of hope bubbling through desperation. Even at the very lowest end of poverty, these people thronging the streets had got up early, pulled together a carrier bag of junk and headed off, sustained by the possibility of seeking a few pounds to get them through the next day or two. No matter how badly things had turned out, they were not giving up. It was this hope-filled resilience that buoyed me up and showed me a way forward.”
David Hoffman
Photographs copyright © David Hoffman
Marion Elliot’s Tea Towels
We have raised over HALF of our target to RELAUNCH SPITALFIELDS LIFE BOOKS and now we have SIX DAYS LEFT! With your help, I am hoping we can reach the target by next Saturday 14th October.
Consider supporting us as a Patron and receive a signed fine art print by Doreen Fletcher, signed photographic prints by David Hoffman and Sarah Ainslie, plus an inscribed copy of my forthcoming book.
I believe in the primacy of books because – even if the web gets wiped out tomorrow – they will endure. Publishing is not an easy task, yet I am passionate to do it when I find stories that I want to cherish, that I know people will love, and that deserve to be dignified in our time and for posterity.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR CROWDFUND PAGE & CONTRIBUTE
Favourite illustrator Marion Elliot is launching her first tea towel designs at her pop-up shop at 17 Rugby St, WC1N 3QT, (beside Pentreath & Hall) next Tuesday 10th to Saturday 14th October with a late night opening and drinks until 7.30pm on Thursday 12th. Marian’s designs are so bright and cheerful, they could equally be hung on the kitchen wall as prints.
“As an entrée into the world of printed textiles I thought I would begin by designing tea towels and see how I got on, but I am very keen to move on to silk scarves eventually!
Tea towels are a brilliant vehicle for printed designs, and I am especially inspired by the work of the American textile designer Tammis Keefe who produced a vast collection of witty and playful handkerchief and tea towel designs.
I have always loved artist-designed textiles. I am a great fan of Ascher scarves that feature images by Picasso, Matisse, Feliks Topolski and Henry Moore. I also love highly-illustrated commemorative head scarves”
Marion Elliot
Designs copyright © Marion Elliot
