A space brimming with peculiarly British quaint and quirky objects, East London’s most eccentric select store, Luna & Curious, fast became the go-to for intriguing locally-produced wares. Now with the opening of a new retail space within London’s iconic boutique Hotel, The Sanderson, London’s off-the-wall little shop with the lot just got a whole lot more interesting. One third of Luna & Curious’ creative collective, Rheanna Lingham, talked favourite objects and Philippe Starck interiors with Indigo Clarke.
Luna & Curious started out as a creative collective and soon became a shop brimming with all things quirky and cool – how and why did it come about?
Rheanna Lingham: It all started as a little store in East London in 2006, helmed by myself and my partners Polly George and Kaoru Perry – we’re all designers, Polly and Kaoru are ceramicists and I make jewellery. We opened a shop to sell our own designs really, but also to create a space where people would feel excited and could have a snoop and a rummage and find something unique and special. It started out really ad hoc, but quickly became a space people fell in love with.
You’ve just opened a new shop at London’s boutique hotel, The Sanderson…
Rheanna Lingham: Yes, we have a shop inside The Sanderson Hotel with an amazing, sculptural Philippe Starck interior. It’s the only store in the hotel, and there’s great synergy because it’s an iconic British hotel predicated on ‘modern heritage’, which is what we're all about – high-quality craftsmanship with modern design. We sell all kind of designer products, homewares and jewellery made to a really high standard mostly from the UK – our products have that unique English eccentricity and sense of quirky-cool, we love items that are a little off the wall.
What’s your favourite object in the store?
Rheanna Lingham: The dark but playful and quirky creatures by self-taught artist Mister Finch… They’re amazing, odd little stuffed creatures like a hare or fox moon-man. They’re almost like taxidermy, but made up of cotton.
What’s been the highlight of creating your own specialist store?
Rheanna Lingham: It was amazing to be able to fill a gap in the market – we started the store as a reaction against the high-street, wanting to sell unique, local and affordable objects, and people immediately supported us.
What does the future hold for Luna & Curious?
Rheanna Lingham: Great things! We have events, exhibitions and pop-up shops in our gallery space - February through March we have an amazing Japanese fashion store, Artam, doing a pop-up. We also consistently collaborate with artists and designers on limited edition products, which is always exciting. We are working with The Sanderson on products for their hotel rooms… Also, we were listed as Time Out London’s 68th best store, so we need to beat that next year!