WHAT IF no 23: LA TIENDA

[leenewham]

http://whatifsydenham.wordpress.com/201 ... la-tienda/

All details on the blog.

The people who run it are really nice and they were very enthusiastic about this.

[Rachael]

Looks great, Lee. I really like the blue tiles. I keep forgetting that shop is there.

[Tim Lund]

Nice.

I see you've removed the clutter from above - the spaces I've highlighted here



but could these not also have some of the same branding?

What is the first floor used for? If it's residential, then understood, because nothing is going to pay like residential, but if not, could it be somewhere serving tapas, or some Polish equivalent of blinis - maybe somewhere local Spanish and Polish speakers could come and spend time, maybe have story telling - a bit like the upstairs at Alexandra Nurseries?

[leenewham]

Thanks Rachael.

Hi Tim, I believe the first floor is residential. It's not part of the shop. I don't want to over clutter it, people won't read the other signs. And never repeat yourself in the same field of view. And never repeat yourself in the same field of view. And never repeat yourself in the same field of view.

Besides, planning could have cause to take down all the signage above the first floor if there were 3 signs, rather than just one which has an historical precedent. I designed a shop in Rainham which had lots of signs all over it, which passed the conservations officers, English Heritage, the owners, and the GLA, but not the planning officers.

[chrism]

That looks really good, Lee. One of my favourite What Ifs to date. I would have thought the change would increase their trade by a lot. At the moment the shop disappears and they are probably missing out on a lot of custom.

[elamundy]

Great look Lee. La Tienda is a nice shop but merges with its surrounding. New image would certainly encourage more footfall and create stronger identity. Good luck with it.

[leenewham]

Thanks Ela and Chris and everyone. Hopefully the owners will read this. Or even better, pop in and mention it. People did to Barakah and it made an impressions because they changed their sign.

[wen]

It looks great Lee, the what if? makeover really commands attention to the shop, and even if you don't pop in there on the day, it'll be easily remembered

[leenewham]

In case you didn't click on the blog link above (which has more pictures):

[multisync]

What a wonderful shop, the owner is so nice polite and helpful. Shame we don't have more shops like this. It is abit hidden away but being next to both Lidl's and the bus stop is to there advantage. Keep going " La Tiienda" ( The Shop) in English

[robbieduncan]

Popped in today to get some stuff for lunch. Really helpful and friendly and delicious bread, cheese and meat. We'll be back