Get Creative in London
If you’re looking for creative things to do in London, we’ve got you covered with these five fabulous, artistic activities from the Lodestars Anthology London Guide – our printed love letter to the English capital.
Words by Liz Schaffer & Sarah Kelleher, Photographs by Daisy Wingate-Saul & Chiara Dalla Rosa
Olia Hercules leading her ‘Dumpling and Fermentation’ class
Ukrainian-British chef, writer and activist Olia Hercules grew up pickling and fermenting, which means her convivial Dumpling and Fermentation Class (just one of her many workshops) is about ancestral connections, rather than hard science. And as I packed my jar with garlic, lovage and dill, under Olia’s watchful eye, I was struck by just how much passion and curiosity goes into cooking – and how communal it can be.
The workshop takes place in Olia’s kitchen, a fabulous space decorated with greenery aplenty, a glass ceiling and Ukrainian art and crafts, that opens to a thriving garden bursting with wildflowers planted to keep bees happy. Olia is a natural storyteller, and an even better instructor, and when the group moved on to shaping dumplings for our lunch, conversation came easily (and this was before we even started on the Ukrainian wine, imported by UA Wines).
A cooking course is a fabulous thing. Not only can it deepen your understanding of ingredients and processes, but it reminds you that community and care is an important part of food culture. And learning from someone driven by such a strong sense of purpose makes the experience all the more meaningful. It’s so important to share stories and moments of kindness with one another, and I’m in awe of Olia’s ability to bring people together, connect strangers and ensure everyone is having a blast in the process.
Olia also leads tours to Georgia (Sakartvelo) with experienceukraine.co.uk
At work in Olia Hercules’ workshop
Donning a pair of Wellingtons to meander along Richmond’s stone-walled lanes and across a Thames-side water meadow feels a little strange. I’m technically still in the confines of London, yet these oft-muddy walkways are taking me somewhere decidedly bucolic – an English horticultural and gastronomic gem.
Decked out with an antique-filled shop, an award-winning restaurant found inside a bloom-strewn greenhouse, and a laid-back tea room warmed by a wood burning stove, Petersham Nurseries is a feast for the senses. It’s also a great place to head if you fancy getting creative in one of their seasonal workshops.
Despite being tempted by calligraphy and wreath-making, I’d decided to try my hand at autumn flower arranging, and was smitten the moment I entered the space and spotted the wooden tables strewn with flowers and cake.
The aim of the workshop is to create a garden-gathered bouquet unique to you, and pick up a few tips and tricks in the process: We learn that adding extra foliage (picked in the early morning or evening) to a supermarket-bought bunch of flowers can make a world of difference, while dahlia petals, with their carrot-like flavour, are a great salad addition. What an atmospheric way to get those artistic juices flowing and take the time to smell the daisies.
Flower arranging at Petersham Nurseries
It is universally acknowledged that the more obscure and tucked away a London road may seem, the more dazzling the treasures waiting at its end are likely to be. You’d be hard put to find a more luminous destination than God’s Own Junkyard, the brainchild of glass-and-neon artist Chris Bracey.
Behind unassuming corrugated iron shutters lies a world writ large in light – the bright white outline of angel’s wings leading to glowing pop art lips, shimmering disco balls, retro traffic lights, and new and salvaged neon signs that spell out words in every colour of the rainbow. Come for the riotous celebration of all things illuminated, and stay for a drink among the reclaimed movie props and fairground lighting.
The neon gorgeousness of God’s Own Junkyard
‘How to find a sense of calm in a busy city’ is a question with many answers. Often, peace comes in a bar or restaurant, in conversations with friends over a shared bottle of wine and some soul-satisfying food. But sometimes the solution is different, and involves going to a place where you can quiet your mind by using your hands.
By all accounts, Crown Works Pottery has cracked the code of how to switch off by leaning into your creativity. Hidden away in Victorian mews in Bethnal Green, the studio is simultaneously airy and cosy, the perfect location for the pottery’s throwing and hand-building classes, taught by specialists in these disciplines. The slip and slide of wet clay as you centre your design on the wheel feels akin to meditation, the mind unwinding as the clay rises up through your hands to form whatever shape your imagination gives birth to. But, unlike meditation, once your pot, bowl or cup is fired, you can take it home with you as a reminder of the tranquillity that can be found in the potter’s studio.
Getting creative at Crown Works Pottery in East London
THE FLOWER APPRECIATION SOCIETY
The Flower Appreciation Society is one of Hackney’s many hidden wonders, a sustainable flower studio that creates bespoke installations and hosts regular flower-arranging workshops. Found behind a row of classic white, column-fronted houses, the airy atelier is furnished with high-top tables laid out with all the accoutrements required for creating your own hand-tied bouquet: scissors, twine, vases, Prosecco.
And then you have the blooms – silvery-green myrtle stalks, rosa gloriana, sweet-smelling mint and delicate sweet peas. There’s something so inherently soothing about stepping out of the whirl of London life for an hour or two and taking the time to fashion a beautiful object with your hands. Stripping stray leaves and thorns from stiff rose stalks, gently rotating the bouquet as you add foliage here and there – before you realise, the different flowers have come together to form a cohesive whole, the only purpose of which is to bring pleasure to the creator.
For more ways to explore the English capital, check out the Lodestars Anthology London Guide – which you can also purchase (at a discounted price) in our City Guide Bundle.
Flower arranging in style
Lunch at Petersham Nurseries
Olia Hercules’s dumplings