citylikeyou — London / Louisa Bailey

Louisa is the founder of Luminous Books in East London, an artist curated bookshop specializing in second hand fiction, philosophy, art and curiosities. Luminous also stocks a range of artists’ books, limited run zines and hosts regular literary events, combining music, films and readings alongside pop up projects throughout the city and two Luminous collections at the ICA Bookshop SW1 and Andor Bureau E8. Louisa studied Fine Art Sculpture at Brighton University before moving to London working in both new and antiquarian bookshops including Foyles and as Book Buyer for the ICA Bookshop. Luminous is a specialized bookshop full of personal preoccupations, a love of the object of the book, printed matter and of visual thinking.

http://www.luminousbooks.co.uk

Creative Director

Current city: London

luminousbooks.co.uk

London / Place

These giant spectral cylinders are great at different times of the day but my favourite time is around dusk when the buildings in the city start to light up. The Gherkin and the new Shard building are framed in the lowest ring then the shifting colours of the sky are almost split in the following ellipses.

London / Museum

A walled secret garden, the Physic Garden is like a time capsule, founded in 1673 to allow apprentices of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London to study the healing properties of plants, it is now a living museum. Tours are offered by volunteers with immense knowledge of botany and the cultural history of the garden or visitors can wander the grounds alone and spot odd and fascinating plants such as the mystical Mandrake.

London / Cinema

Truly independent and informed programming twinned with a beautiful Art Deco façade makes the Rio a genuinely unique and unpretentious cinema. A stalwart of Kingsland High Street the Rio’s single screen shows new releases, classic and quirky Sunday double bills and hosts special events and film festivals.

London / Shop

Inspired by Dave Eggers’ projects in the USA such as the Pirate Store in San Francisco and Superhero store in Brooklyn, The Monster Supplies Store in Hoxton is home to the Ministry of Stories: A volunteer run organization, founded by Nick Hornby, to help young people with creative writing of all kinds through workshops and free mentoring sessions. The store is the “Purveyor of quality goods for monsters of every kind” with fascinating bottles and tins containing everything from eyeballs to Zadie Smith’s short story Mortal Terror.

London / Illustrator

Grace Helmer is a Brighton-born, London-based illustrator and artist. She has put her paintbrushes to work for a range of clients, such as Apple, Google, Octopus Books and HarvardX. Natural forms, people watching and a sense of adventure inspire Grace’s playful and colourful work. Her compositions capture the feeling of discovery when you visit somewhere for the first time, and celebrate the beauty in the everyday.

London / Artist

Nigel Howlett lives and works in London. He has developed a graphite cartoony style of drawing which references early Disney movies and painters such as the American artist Peter Saul. Howlett depicts hairy characters, acting out scenarios that reflect familiar social anxieties and conditions. Always humorous and sometimes sinister, common themes in the work include our obsession with technology and our relationship with social media. Nigel also runs a set design practice working with clients which include the BBC, channel 4, Issey Miyake and Nike. In 2015 he co-founded Nan Studios, a Photographic and creative studio in Clapton East London.

London / Artist

Monika K. Adler is an acclaimed photographer and avant-garde filmmaker known for her challenging and provocative photography and experimental films. Her works have been exhibited in hundreds of photography, video art, and film festivals, art museums, and galleries worldwide. Adler’s films and image-based works have been the subject of several academic studies and published in many magazines and publications. She lives and works in London, United Kingdom.

London / Fashion Stylist

I’m funny

London / Artist

Ben is an artist and graphic designer. He resides in Hackney Wick, London where he runs his own personal practice, the creative partnership 'Booth/Kelly' with designer John Booth and 'Hackney Wick Life Drawing' alongside fellow artist Ben Wakeling. His work has featured in multiple group exhibitions and in March 2019 had his first solo exhibition at Stour Space Gallery.

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