London Fields, situated in the flourishing and ever-expanding neighbourhood of Hackney, East London, will soon be home to our latest Work.Life collaborative workspace! With a particularly large cohort of 20-44 year olds, London Fields is the culturally vibrant home to a host of creative and exciting startups and freelancers, fed up of the morning commute and the confines of a 9-5 office job. The desire to go solo or to startup is the obvious outcome, but it also creates a need: flexible and professional workspace, where people can look forward to coming into work, working as and when they want, and getting good work done. The need for a space like Work.Life is clear, but why did we choose London Fields?
Finding itself wedged between Hackney Downs, Hackney Wick, Dalston and Haggerston, London Fields is part of the creative cultural heart of East London. Like our Camden Town space, Work.Life London Fields will benefit from one of London’s best markets being right on its doorstep. Broadway Market provides the life-force of London Fields, overflowing with choices and possibilities, whatever you want to do. Fancy something to eat or drink? Want to create or have something created for you? How about being entertained, whatever the day of the week? Whatever you desire, the chances are you’ll find it at Broadway Market. Starting at London Fields park and ending winding its way to Regents Canal, Broadway really came back to life in 2004 and has blossomed ever since. But like Camden Town, London Fields has much more to offer people than a thriving market.
Enjoy a little nature
As well as the community of enterprising creatives, London Fields also offers locals the great benefit of green space to relax and enjoy the sun in! London Fields Park is the obvious choice, stretch out on the grass, have a cold drink, and watch as your stresses disappear. If you find yourself in need of a little more nature, if grass and trees aren’t enough to help you momentarily escape from the City, Hackney City Farm is the answer. Almost inconceivable to so many people, the wonderful Hackney City Farm (in the south-east quarter of Haggerston Park), is home to donkeys, pigs, calves, goats, and many more of your typical farmyard animals. If you feel like the City is getting on top of you, you don’t have to try to escape on a train to the countryside, you only have to walk on down to this city-based farm. They do a damn good breakfast and also sell farm produce, if you fancy dome fresh eggs or honey. Enjoy the benefits of the countryside without being more than a stone’s throw from your home and work.
Take in some culture at The Geffrye
The Geffrye, a great example of London’s 18th century architecture, puts on show examples of how people live and lived, exploring the home and how people have furnished their homes over the past 400 years. If you want to take a look at how society and behavior has changed over the past 400 years – maybe to give you some idea of how you can be part of it changing in the future – this really is the place for you. With a series of period rooms demonstrating the transition from Georgian to Victorian style and fashion, culminating in the contemporary, the Geffrye is a great resource for creative to use the past in order to help them shape the future. So if you’re feeling a little creative block, why not stroll around their 11 period rooms, roam the striking gardens, and take it all in with a cup of coffee in their cafe. The icing on the cake being that entry is free!
Want to be confused, entertained, and inspired?
If the Geffrye doesn’t do the job of inspiring you, leave that to The Last Tuesday Society. Strange name, but an even stranger concept. Boasting the first all-encompassing museum to open in London since the Horniman in 1901, the VIKTOR WYND Museum of Curiosities presents an incoherent vision of the world displayed within a tiny space. Unlike almost every other museum you will ever go to, no attempt is made at classification or comprehensiveness. This museum aims to inspire and instill a feeling of wonder, rather than categorising and educating. Instead of trying to neatly fit aspects of the world into exhibits, the wonderful and the strange are combined for all to see. From old master etchings to the doodles of prison inmates; from occultists’ paintings and pop art prints. This Hackney basement site wants to mix the rare with the common and the beautiful with the strange, hoping to amuse and entertain while inspiring its guests. I guarantee that it is difficult to leave without being bombarded with ideas about how to approach future projects, some crazy and others genius.
Want to relax? Enter London Fields Brewery
Originally inspired by a lack of really good quality craft beer in Hackney, in 2011 this team decided it was about time someone gave the borough its own brewery. This provides locals with some home-grown, handcrafted beers, not to mention a little inspiration for setting up your own independent business in the heart of Hackney. The folks who run the brewery are clearly a passionate and talented bunch, and for just a tenner they are happy to show off their process. If you want to be walked through the beer making process, to take a look at how the delicious golden nectar gets to your glass, and even get a tasting experience in the Tap Room, then head down to Warburton Street. The tours run every weekday at 7pm; and on the hour on weekends, from 12pm to 5pm.
