Our born and bred London illustrator reveals a surprisingly green city. Take a tour with Joey around her favourite hidden parks, one-of-a-kind trinket shops and royal tea houses for a true insider look at the city.
London with Joey Yu
Illustrator
Food & Drink The Original Maids of Honour Tea House
‘The Original Maids of Honour Tea House, this very old building. It looks amazing from the outside, with a hand-painted sign on the front. And inside, they have the most amazing pastries and little tarts, so beautifully crafted. They were made by a king to inspire a queen and profess his love. It’s a royal, delicious, special treat — all of the things I do in London have a little sumptuous treat.’
288 Kew Rd, Richmond TW9 3DU
Nature Greenwich Park & Market
‘It feels very historic; you have the Royal Observatory, the GMT line running, the marker of time. And you can see all the universities, the old buildings and all across London. I like to go and walk up to the top, stand there, and imagine I’m a traveller from hundreds of years ago. Then visit Greenwich market — they also have a little vintage market. Getting a bite to eat after a long walk along the river, and finding a little trinket or gem.’
5B Greenwich Market, London SE10 9HZ
Location Choosing Keeping Stationary Shop
‘Choosing Keeping is a stationery shop. They sell really specific items such as gorgeous paper, like marbled paper, pencils, pens and tiny little things from Japan. They also have paints and watercolours, very precious things if you’re interested in the arts or painting. It’s just a delight. Go there to get a very special present for a friend or someone. It feels like you’re giving them something they can’t find elsewhere.’
21 Tower St, London WC2H 9NS
Culture Covent Garden
‘Covent Garden has an area called Seven Dials — there’s this main dial and all the roads going off of it in this sort of clock formation, and all the shops are around there. You’ve got lots of vintage, little food shops and nice clothing places. It’s quite a cool place to walk around and have a little mooch.’
Regal House, 14 James St, London WC2E 8BU
Nature Richmond Park
‘You feel like you’re in a Tudor Kings garden, and you can see tons of deer — they’re just walking around and lazing under the trees. You can get lost in the park, walk around for a few hours and feel like you’re treading new ground. ‘
Richmond, London TW10 5HS
“You can’t really get park culture like London anywhere else. The way that the whole park is dominated by little parties, picnics and barbecues in warmer weather, it’s brilliant!”
On London in one word
Green. When you Google London, it comes up with the main city and iconic buildings, but actually, London is so green, and I take a lot of pride in the green spaces, the big parks. My experience of London is from travelling across these parks and finding refuge in these spaces.
On favourite green spaces to get lost in nature
Richmond Park is an old park in London, on the outskirts. I lived nearby when I was younger, so I’d go quite often, and it has a very ancient feeling. You feel like you’re in a Tudor Kings garden, and you can see tons of deer — they’re just walking around and lazing under the trees. You can get lost in the park, walk around for a few hours and feel like you’re treading new ground. It feels very exploratory. Kew Gardens is another lovely and well-maintained park, with these big gorgeous glass houses filled with different specimens of plants from all over the world. They have different events going on throughout the year, such as an orchid festival. It feels like you’re learning lots when you go there.
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On an unusual spot for lunch
The Garden Café is the restaurant attached to the Garden Museum. It’s central in London, near the Westminster area. It has a big glass room next to a church that’s been turned into a museum. It is an unusual space to meet someone and have a lovely meal. They have a nice seasonal menu and delicious food.
On where to go to treat yourself
Pantechnicon — it sounds like a factory or a Willy Wonka scene — is in West London in a beautiful area called Belgravia, with gorgeous buildings and Sloane Street, very famous for all of the designer stores. It holds many hidden gems in London. It’s a really nice place to go and entertain your eyes, see lovely things and treat yourself to something. It’s a huge basement-to-roof building, with a Japanese restaurant and a rooftop bar. The floors in between are selling Japanese and Scandi-type clothes and an assortment of bits and bobs, things that you never thought you wanted, and then you see, and you’re like, ‘I need to buy that.’ It’s really beautifully curated, and the food is lovely. It’s a nice vibe.
On a special bookshop
If you’re looking for secret things to do in London, Hatchards is a gorgeous old-style, classic-looking bookshop. They typically have a lot of signed copies so you can have a little special edition of the book. It’s nice to feel like you’re in an old 90s rom-com movie sometimes. Fall in love in the bookshop.
On discovering communities in the city
Another thing about hidden gems in London is how you’ve got specific areas and communities — Koreatown, Chinatown, and all these little pockets. I love to go to each one, learn about it and eat the food that they have in that specific area. It’s great!
Many of these glorious green spaces transform into the backdrop for a selection of music festivals in the summer. Check out what day festivals you can add onto your next trip to the city.
On the summer festivals
In summer you have all the day festivals going on, which are really nice. You can hear the music spilling over into the streets and everyone having fun. I really love seeing small local London bands and large bands next to each other. Sitting outside listening to live music is my favourite summertime event.
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On how London inspires you
The specific seasons of London inspire me. You can see how people come alive in summer. Everyone seems joyful, itching to get out of the office. As soon as the doors open, everyone spills into the pubs or parks. The vibe in London in summer is long days, laid back, meandering from street to street, and picking up friends along the way. Stopping at places to get a bite to eat, nibble, having the best fun. It fosters the best sort of community. Then in winter, it’s completely different where you’ve got celebrations, Christmas lights, you’re wrapped up, everything is inside, and someone’s always cooking dinner. It’s so nice seeing how strongly the seasons change in the city.
On when inspiration strikes
I’ve discovered that I’m a very good solo traveler. I’m happy that I can experience things by myself, throw myself into unusual situations, and meet new people out and about through travel. I’ve managed to push myself out of my comfort zone. That’s the main thing — just getting inspired by being scared and out of my depth, pushing myself to do something, and then becoming the norm and easy.
On transforming your illustrations into garments
I’m striving to make physical things, incorporating my work with objects. I’m excited about a nice collaboration project with a designer to create some clothing pieces with my illustrations. I love the idea that people will be able to wear the clothes and make my illustrations come to life.
On your relationship with the city
I have always lived in London. So I have this relationship where I know it super, super well. I’m always traveling across — it takes an hour or even a couple of hours to get to the other side of London if you’re going diagonally.
“I have a long commute sort of relationship with London. I have this long train journey relationship, and there’s something romantic about that.”
Next Stop: London
Creators
Mariano Vivanco
Photographer
The world-renowned fashion photographer has shot for everyone from Vogue to Vanity Fair. Take a stroll along his streets to discover pocket-sized Peruvian restaurants, queue-worthy cafes and stunning florists.
Astrid Stavro
Graphic Designer and Speaker
Over the last 14 years, Astrid has collected some of the best kept secret spots in London. From restaurants among the clouds, hidden museums and fine-dining French bistros, you won’t want to miss these next time you’re in the city.
Ali Alvarez
Film Director
Creating documentaries all over the world, Ali has a knack for seeking out the story behind the story. That’s why her insider guide of London features overlooked and hidden cinemas, cafes and markets she’s uncovered much closer to home.
For more exceptional creators, visit www.exceptionalalien.com
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