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In the forlorn hope that The Husband might be reading this, I've
decided to share with N16's squillions of readers a little Christmas wish: Saskia has
spotted a treasure trove of covetable goodies. And very handily it's located not a million
miles away from the lush portals of Little-Brown House, set in its trillions of rolling
Hackney acres... [Stop this woman at once. Ed.]
Enough. I fantasise. But Metal Crumble, in Stoke Newington Church Street , is a seriously
mellow retail opportunity, as I suspect many of my readers will already know. Roger
(Taylor), George (Huber Swiss-German, since you ask), Dionne Gray (George's partner), and
Cuban-born Zenia (Taylor) together own and run one of Church Street's most appealing and
distinctive shops. Selling lovely silver jewellery at ludicrously affordable prices. I
rest my case.
The Finsbury-based Crumblies as I think they must be called opened the shop in Stoke
Newington in 1996, after having been together for nearly fifteen hugely nomadic years,
travelling the length and breadth of Europe, working festivals and fairs, picking up
ideas, techniques and skills in the process, and making and selling jewellery the while.
After a spell in Camden Town, and an artistic difference with an unsympathetic landlord,
they've got about as rooted as they're ever likely to be in Church Street, where they
design and make their own pieces in a space that allows eager customers access, which is
exactly what they wanted. Their own designs are supplemented by a  range of pieces brought in from other suppliers and from
friends, who've made the mirrors, clocks and masks which decorate the walls of the
shop.The silver, bought from bullion dealers, is heated, beaten and polished into
bracelets, rings, cuff-links, chains, earrings, brooches, bracelets, chokers and bangles,
some featuring fossils (sourced from a specialist shop in Lyme Regis) and amber (another
speciality, this time from Poland, which is where some of the best Baltic amber is
supplied). Dionne Gray's magical necklaces statement stuff that you definitely won't be
running into elsewhere incorporate lapis lazuli, amber, cowrie shells and ammonite, and
sell for up to £200. Heavy silver curb chain necklaces sell for £170. But if you've only
got 50 pence, then you still have a choice of friendship bracelets, bindis and studs. And
if you're anywhere in between, it's quite likely you're in jewellery heaven.
And, of course, there's the body jewellery (and this is where your correspondent went into
a vertiginous learning curve): the spikes, barbells, bananas, tunnels, plugs, labrets,
swirls, spirals, claws and septum keepers that do so much to adorn those bodily parts we
never used to look at, let alone embellish. If you've been pierced, Metal Crumble can
probably supply you with something suitable and beautiful.
For my money, however (although I'm rather hoping it will be someone else's bank account,
when the time comes) , it's got to be a specially commissioned piece, which Metal Crumble
do all the time (just ask). They've done customised rings, chokers and collars, they've
set impossibly expensive stones into unusual settings (one for a Burmese customer who
brought along his own ruby and insisted that he be present at the stone setting). If you
can dream it, they can probably do it. Roger, George, Dionne and Zenia still go to many of
the music festivals they used to attend they just don't go together. Someone, after all,
has to look after the shop. The rest of us should just be grateful.
Metal Crumble will be open seven days a week, from 10.00-6.00 from now until
Christmas. They design and repair jewellery and will undertake original commissions (phone
020 7249 0487). Address: 13 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 0NX.
The Anglo Asian Goes Gourmet
Church Street's oldest restaurant, the Anglo Asian, has recently been
refurbished and upgraded its menu. Although you can still order vegetarian and
non-vegetarian favourites, new gastronomic treats like ostrich and venison shashlik have
been added to the menu. But Anglo Asian regulars will be relieved to know that although
the menu has gone upmarket, prices have stayed low.
Wine buffs will be pleased to learn that a new wine list is available with excellent
Italian wines including a Collina Serra-Grulli Barbera d'Alba and an Il Brolo Cabernet
Sauvignon Trentino.
The look of the place has radically changed with tasteful pastel colours and wall
lighting. Downstairs has been completely refurbished with its own bar and can cater for
private parties of 20 to 30.
The Anglo Asian is laying on a special millennium menu. Further details from the
restaurant (see listings) or from their website
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