J. Glinert
Designer Tom Budding puts a creative spin on an essential Hackney shop
When you ask East Londoner Tom Budding to tell you about the selection of items in his newly opened shop, his face lights up. Stocked with a handsome assortment of practical goods sure to delight any discerning adult, J. Glinert is Budding’s professional take on a store that entertained him many years ago. “I used to visit the original Jack Glinert store when I was a child. It’s where I got my supply of glass marbles and rubber bouncy balls,” he recounts. Today, Budding’s inventory keeps with the general store sentiment, but speaks more to the bohemian playground that Hackney has become.
“I wanted to create a place where people in Hackney could shop that would sell general objects with honesty and integrity,” he explains. “The products also reflect the diverse population of Hackney, and of course they come with a story or history.” Additionally, the products reflect budding’s talent as a furniture designer and art technician. The shop is teeming with creative instruments like Kaweco fountain pens, Terry England pencil clips, Kreiden chalk and more.
Some of his supply is directly inspired by artists that Budding has worked with, such as Yoshitomo Nara’s favorite Japanese stationery, the beautiful German and Italian inks used by Yinka Shonibare or Thomas Hirshhorn’s love of Olfa paper cutters and brown packaging tape. Books on these artists also abound, alongside a carefully edited collection of volumes on everything from surfing to pig keeping. Budding is also the only store in Hackney to carry a range of rare books on the neighborhood itself, like “Hackney Houses: A Guide to Improvement, Conservation and Maintenance” or “The Victorian Villas of Hackney.”
Budding tells us, “I don’t assume customers want or need certain things, I just show in my shop objects that I hope appeal, and as I’m someone who is very practical I appreciate what is made well and just works as it should. Things that will make you feel good using it with real honesty and at a fair price is a real aim of mine.”
Located just a stone’s throw from London Fields on quiet Wilton Way, J. Glinert completes a block of outposts that are equally distinctive, including Wilton Way Cafe, The Other Side of The Pillow and Borough Wines. Well worth a visit, the shop is open Thursdays to Sundays from noon to 7:30pm.
See more images of J. Glinert in the slideshow below. Photographs by Andrea DiCenzo.
