How quirky/indie, am I right? I should come with my own hashtag warning. I'm joking- in all seriousness though - I have a very important place in my heart reserved for quirky little one off coffee shops. They're just adorable, and that atmosphere and love you get poured into the world of beans there is just something I'm really fond of. If you click on that little tab up there, it should (she says hopefully) take your straight to all the posts where I've visited these cute little places, so if you're ever nearby you can pop in and see how sweet they are for yourself! First up? Dear Deer cafe.
Whilst we're sort of on the subject, I've recently started looking for pop up artsy events in and around the city especially. I've always ALWAYS been gutted that I didn't fight harder to take art at GCSE and it's haunted me ever since, so i've been on the look out for any chance to scribble or throw some paint around again, preferably far far away from anyone who actually knows what they're doing with their technique! Somewhere scrolling through twitter tags, I found these guys.
Doodledoo are an ace little company which pop-up in cities worldwide, giving strangers who 'cant draw' the opportunity to meet up, socialize, giggle, draw on EVERYTHING and play lots of silly drawing games in a really lovely, no-pressure atmosphere - so when I saw that these guys were hosting a teeny little pop-up event in a new independent coffee shop with free matcha tea and free resign to doodle on EVERYTHING (yes the tablecloths…!) I was pretty much sold!
Excited? yes. Nervous? yassss…
It took me a little while to find Dear Deer, but my gosh is it worth it. You only have to see the logo of this little place with its minimal quirky antlers to fall a little bit in love - it's a marketing dream. Located just off Roman Rd in East London, this newbie is full of gorgeous cosy-bare wood, bulbs and warm lights, with fruit and veg and homemade cookies and cakes covering the counter too - and you can pick any fruit or veg you like to be made into a juice or smoothie which is super exciting for health-geeks like me! The back half of the shop is still a vintage clothes shop, so you get this amazing creative artsy buzz as well as beautiful beautiful coffee.
They're a dream for veggies and vegans too- they'll basically adapt anything on the menu for you if you ask WITH A SMILE, so allergies are never a worry. I decided to be brave and try some of the food there too seeing as I was so taken with it so far, and it was brilliant.
I had their avocado superfood salad with warm seedy bread (adapted cheerfully from the smoked salmon superfood salad), and their carrot, apple and ginger juice. And I'm going to have to go back. Bread usually scares me a bit, being as I am, but this was so warm and wholesome and had an amazing crust, and the avocado was the ripest and loveliest one I've ever had. This place is so, so definitely worth the wander to find it.
And the doodling? SO much fun.
As well as drawing with our eyes shut, drawing on tablecloths, drawing one line doodles and playing consequences, we ended up having a ton of laughs and lots of fun with Vivid Matcha Tea and veggie-friendly sweets too. I'm sure i must have been the youngest there, but it didn't matter. It was really inclusive, and lets face it, consequences is always fun!
Conclusion? I love both these guys, and I love what they do. Doodledoo is a brilliant and adorably positive little initiative which I'm almost reluctant to share for fear they'll suddenly become huge! The same goes for sharing my finds at Dear Deer, but just because I love you…!
Doodledoo is running in cities around the world and wiggling around within cities too - so keep an eye out for them! Their next venture in London is due in August on a bus in Camden (of course!) - so check them out on Facebook and twitter and show them some love. Dear Deer are also on Facebook, so make a little note for next time you're in East London and fancy somewhere cute and new to enjoy some properly devoted coffee craft.
No comments:
Post a Comment