Freelance photographer Liz Johnson Arthur has worked for everyone from Sunday Times, Observer magazine, ID, Dazed & Confused, the Face, Fader magazine. Toured with M.I.A, Blur, Seun Kuti and Lady Gaga to name a few, and during all this time her Black Balloon Archive has been growing and growing - with no end in sight.
Present is a menswear shop with an award-wining espresso stand inside. They also stock books, cool magazines I’ve never heard of, and random things like soap and tins of shoe polish. I like to buy bags here.
A wonderful collection of printed material organised chronologically throughout the space. Examples of old newspapers and other printed material give context and meaning for the visual styles.
It's a members-only library but you might be granted access with a research request. The writer's room is great but there's a few special, hidden corners among the bookshelves to tuck yourself away in.