On the wall of Life in Paradigm is a photograph of brothers Mahmut and Yalcin. It’s 1998, and they’re just nine and 12 years old, proudly standing outside their father’s photography store. Beside it is another picture of the brothers as adults, taken outside the same store, where the pair now sell menswear on the high street in Stoke Newington, east London.
“Dad was a wedding photographer, and when he no longer needed his store we converted it into a retail space and design studio, keeping his original signage,” Mahmut explains. “People have seen us around the area since we were little kids, and now we’ve rebranded the shop and carried it on. That sense of family is something I love about the high street.”
Starting out with a stall on Brick Lane market selling T-shirts and leather goods, when the brothers branched out online they were keen to maintain a physical presence on the high street. As well as their own products, designed in-store and produced in small workshops around the UK, their boutique stocks other brands that fit their philosophy: “freedom to escape”.
“Having a physical store is key, because it creates more of a visceral feeling for your products,” Mahmut explains. “Online shopping is great, but there’s that disconnect. By having a physical store, you can interact with customers and tell them about the brand.”
“In store, we can offer a one-to-one experience that you just can’t recreate online,” Yalcin agrees. “We want to meet people and get inspired – it’s more of a two-way relationship.”
The pair have designed their store to have a homely feel: soft lighting, wood and greenery, with personal photographs scattered on the walls. “We wanted to get to the point where we had regular customers, and we’ve succeeded,” says Mahmut. “We get people who come in every season, month or week, or who pop in just to say hello.
“When they come in, the same person is usually working in the shop, and we know our regular customers by name. That’s what the high street does that you can’t get elsewhere – you get to know a place and, in a way, it becomes your own.”
Yalcin, who is Life in Paradigm’s marketing brain, also finds himself inspired by customers’ curiosity. “Online, no one’s going to send me a message asking: ‘Do these colours work together?’ But when customers come in-store, we’ll have those conversations. Then if we have more than one or two people asking the same thing, we’ll think: ‘How about we produce a video about that …?’”
“The community kind of moulds the store, and in turn we’ve become part of its fabric,” adds Mahmut, who has named some of his designs after local roads and areas. “A lot of artists and designers live around here, and it’s a really creative crowd. We exchange ideas and learn from each other, which is something that shouldn’t be lost.
“Shops like ours add character, and if smaller stores close down, the community fades away – it stops being a place people want to hang out.”
The brothers have designed their shop to have a homely feel
Shop local the Christmas
Supporting your local high street sees a benefit beyond helping individual shops; it enhances an entire community. Seeing the benefit, Visa is encouraging customers to head for their local high street to do their Christmas shopping. Supporting independent shops and small businesses really matters, which is why Visa wants to show local high streets some love over the festive season.
“When you shop around, you realise there are more independent shops out there than you thought,” Yalcin says. “When you have stores like ours on the high street, it’s brilliant for the consumer, because we have a different way of thinking. We’re not about pushing fast fashion – because we’re not working on a large scale, it’s more personal.
“I enjoy looking for places where I’ll find products I just can’t get anywhere else. If you shop online, a quick search will throw up the same companies every time, and you have to really dig to find someone doing something a bit different. But on the high street, unique gifts are right there for you to browse.”
As well as their own products, their boutique stocks other brands that fit their philosophy
It can be tempting to hit the internet for a quick Christmas shopping blitz, but for high street stores such as Life in Paradigm in Stoke Newington, your visit can make all the difference.
“We rely on the seasons, with summer and Christmas being really big for us,” Mahmut says. “Because we’re based in a residential area, we get a lot of people coming through the door who want to shop locally and support their community, which is great.”
“It feels like so much shopping has moved online, it’s brilliant that Visa is supporting small businesses and bringing them more exposure,” Yalcin adds. “I mean, why wouldn’t you shop on the high street? It’s where people interact and get inspired. It’s where businesses are being made.”
Mahmut and Yalcin’s top high street picks in London:
Pretty Shiny Shop
An independent gift shop selling “things you didn’t know you needed, but now desperately do”.
“This shop is brilliant for trinkets and stocking fillers,” says Mahmut. “Whenever I go in, I always find some really unique little gems.”
67 Stroud Green Road, Stroud Green, N4 3EG
Haygen
This concept store sells curated interior and lifestyle products, from furniture to jewellery.
“They sell things you won’t find anywhere else, and everything in there is really good,” says Yalcin. “It’s perfect for picking up Christmas presents.”
114 Islington High Street, The Angel, N1 8EG
Prep
A boutique cook shop founded by a Stoke Newington local, which is “all about cherry-picking”.
“This place stocks really unique kitchenware that’s great for giving as gifts, especially to new homeowners,” says Mahmut. “It stocks things you just can’t find anywhere else.”
106 Stoke Newington Church Street, Stoke Newington, N16 0LA
Show your high street some love
Why not seek out the personal touch with your Christmas shopping this year and join Visa in supporting local independent businesses across the country because #WhereYouShopMatters
