‘QUIRKY’ meets ‘COOL’ at East End Prints

Kaya from Colu (East London Local Pound) Recently popped into interview us.....Here it is! 

Fortune favours the brave and the BOLD, which rings true when you step through the doors of East End Prints and peer around at the array of Autumn colours, shapes and designs.

I took a trip to East End Prints to meet the maker Helen who sat opposite me in trendy dungarees and a little messy bun. Right opposite us perched her right-hand woman and Marketing Guru Rebeca, ready to tell me all about the business!

How did East End prints come about?

“I used to do research for a global business, travel the world and find artists and I always wanted to build a bank of my favourite artists, always wanted to keep in touch with these inspiring people and see their work represented properly. When I left that job to have my son I needed to do something that would work around me, that’s when I started this up… and it’s just grown from there. Now we’re in Urban Outfitters, Habitat and have just had our first big deal with Paperchase! It’s all so exciting… 7 years and counting.

That is truly amazing! Being an Independent business is exciting, do you think independent businesses are important?

“I think that the best-curated collections come from Independent people, suppliers and businesses. We are local businesses, we all need to support each other to succeed.”

What inspires you?

Rebeca: “East End life. I grew up in Peru, I lived in Berlin and Barcelona – now I’m here in East London. It resonates with me, the creativity, the arts, the people, the trends and the unique ideas.”

Helen: “Me and Rebeca both work well like that, we both are so passionate about who we are and where we are from, but all of our influences have global reach, and we love that fact.”

Why did you decide to join the East London Pound?

“We like the sense of community that East London has, the idea of being able to support each other and give something back to the people in the area, the people who support us and other businesses that are local. Colu to me felt very philanthropic and entrepreneurial, we had a girl come all the way over from North London to buy a print with the local wallet, which was amazing to see!

What is it about East London that you love?

“I have lived here 20 years, It’s the only place I considered home and I want to share how incredible it is with the world.”

What does the future look like?

We have an Arts club event in September which we’re going to be promoting and excitingly we’re looking to bring out a more premium range of art prints. But there’s no way we will ever leave behind our ‘affordable East End print vibe’ – it’s where we were made and where we belong.

You can’t help but feel that this is the real home to East London, is it any wonder that the owner has lived here 20 years? Support the 80 local businesses we now have and download the Colu App today!