The Rise of the Independent - Part 0

01
Written by Sorana Santos on Monday the 16th of August 2010


When pondering over the subject for this post I realised that in fact, I had jumped the gun a bit and rather like Star Wars, I needed to backtrack a little and set the canvas for the picture I am going to paint first. So, this is both part 2 and part 0, and it's not often you can say that.

Going right back, I always had a problem with being told what to do, I always asked "Why?” and even if I could see the sense in something, I wouldn't do it. Why? Because if I'd been told to, it was a must, if it was a must it was surely a chore. Conversely, if I was told not to do something, I knew it was because it was really good fun; luckily no one ever told me not to jump off a cliff, though I don't doubt the inherent fun in that. I was the perennial pain in the proverbial child/adolescent/student and now, young woman, I'm certain to remain so, paradigm shift/lobotomy/dementia notwithstanding.

As a teen, I always had this feeling of 'being told' what I ought to be doing, saying, reading, wearing, listening to, outside of the parental domain, but I couldn't figure out who was telling me/us all we should be doing these things, or, more importantly, why. As I grew I learned about the true nature of branding, the transgressions of multinational organisations, their relationship within political economics, their complete disrespect for the environment, the unhealthy targeting of youth markets and so on and whilst I was uncomfortable with it, felt I had no choice but to remain complicit within this system if I wanted to remain in London; so I resigned my fate.

However, I didn't particularly want to be sold a lifestyle, let alone anything else for that matter, advertising never worked on me and I never really cared about being 'in'. I didn't want to wear Topshop particularly; I didn't care for the contents of insipid magazines about celebrities (who?), make-up, or Victoria Beckham's 'snag-a-man secrets' (isn't the point of reading is to acquire information / be entertained?) and heard more talent busking on the tube than chortling in the charts, and as for TV... don't even get me started. I was living in a world that not only seemed to lack genuine substance and worth, it didn't even care for it.

It is a little known fact that I have actually managed to have one thing in common with Einstein: like me, he had his best ideas in the shower. I was actually thinking about Einstein in the shower (don't you?) back in 2005 when I realised a few things: that I wanted to find a way to live sustainably; that my money was hard-earned and that as such it should go to those who most deserved it; that my deeds ought to be match my beliefs as far as possible and that in reality, the above are difficult to achieve in full, but that I would give it my best shot and just live true to myself. 

Mysteriously, ways of achieving this started to present themselves to me. I acquired a sewing machine, friends and I began clothes-swapping, I began to  walk more and found new routes to new places via hidden vintage shops; these combined to steer me clear of the hight street for clothing. I started finding beautiful furtiture on the streets with Alice-in-Wonderland-style "take me” signs on them, particularly when I was in need of something; my room is now a beautiful menagerie of 'objects trouvees', acquisitions and gifts, none of which have come from Ikea, MFI, Argos, etc. At the height of my acquisition frenzy I even aquired an old Ford Fiesta in late 2006 - it was so old that it didn't even come with a stereo, I had to fit one myself, which cost more than the motor itself. I'd long ago boycotted chain pubs/bars/restaurants; there are so many beautiful places to go in London without having to resort to Wetherspoons, Starbucks, All Bar One's and Strada's. The Supermarket also got dropped in favour of Riverford and a bulk-buy of staples from the local health food shops... happily, I was somehow finding that I was saving money on food doing this. I wish I could do more. Interestingly for some, living in this way hasn't made me any real enemies, nor has it lost me any true friends, but then I have no care to keep up with the Joneses and am free to squander my time in even more vacuous ways, would you believe, when I so desire. Also, and more importantly, I get to live in a way that matches my beliefs; I get to wear, think, do what I like, where I like, in the knowledge that I have as small a negative environmental and socio-economic impact as I can have at this moment in time.

I am well aware that it is perfectly feasible for me to have all the things that society typically associates with worth: the house, the clothes, the car, the job, the Britain's Got Talent record deal etc. but really, these aren't the mark of anyone's true worth and I certainly don't feel worthless for not having them. I think if more people knew what they thought true worth we may have solutions to some of the problems above. I leave you with some of my favourite independent places in South/East London to help you replace some of your dependencies:

Clothing
www.whatthebutlerwore.co.uk
www.radiodaysvintage.co.uk
www.rokit.co.uk
www.gosomewhere.co.uk (Deptford Market has a £1 vintage rail... it's true!)
www.prangsta.co.uk
www.allinlondon.co.uk
www.chriscareyscollections.co.uk

Pubs, Bars, Café's etc.
www.therivoli.co.uk
www.ents24.com
www.thedeptfordproject.com (click on 'The Train')
www.tiredoflondontiredoflife.com
www.troubadour.co.uk
www.viewlondon.co.uk
www.mangolandin.net

Maybe see you here sometime? Give me a shout if you check any of these places out to let me know what you think, or if you have any more recommendations for me. Sorana x

#01
Good to see Mango Landin on there
Conway Conway20/08/10 11:02am

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