Three former colleagues who left their city careers to pursue a life of fashion and art are reuniting to showcase their latest collections. Designer Julie Edinburgh of womenswear label 51 North London, milliner Lisa Taylor of Taylor Red London and fine artist Philip Williams all worked together at a bank in the City. They’re holding an exhibition and pop-up shop in Redchurch St this week to launch their latest collections and artwork. (51 North London) It’s the culmination of years of learning for the trio. After leaving the world of finance, Philip studied art for three years at Central Saint Martin’s, Lisa was trained by traditional milliner Rose Cory (who created pieces for the late Queen

This man, Joseph Beck, is the reason Clissold Park wasn’t redeveloped – despite battling cancer of the tongue, he campaigned tirelessly to save it. His motivation, he said, was so: “children could take their fist steps on the grass of Clissold Park and one day play under the sun.” This weekend a special event is being held to mark the park’s 130th anniversary. The story of its survival is the stuff movies are made of! Clissold House and the land surrounding it was built and landscaped in the 1790s for Quaker, city merchant and anti-slavery campaigner Jonathan Hoare. In those days Stoke Newington was a rural village with big houses and large gardens. The house and land passed to the Crawsha

It has been a life-changing few years for candlemaker Caroline Buckley. In the two years since she launched House of Buckley, she’s gone from handmaking candles in her kitchen in Stoke Newington and selling via her website and a stall on Broadway Market to opening her first shop and running candle-making workshops. She’s one of over 20 businesses setting up shop at The Factory in Shacklewell Lane – a collection of creative local businesses in a former industrial space in Dalston. The mother-of-two launched the business following the sudden death of her husband Stephen and after she was made redundant from her job at St John’s Ambulance. When she got in touch with TV’s Jay Blade (from The Re

Six-year-old Pearse Coyne has just sold lots of his toys and donated half the profits to Hackney Food Bank. He used the money to buy a trailer full of food for people experiencing poverty. His mum Anne said: “We’d talked a lot about poverty and about how unfair it is that some families are struggling to afford food. So, when it came to having a clear out of toys, he was keen to sell them and help others. “He was super excited to go shopping and choose all the food – he put a lot of love into choosing food he thought people would enjoy!” Pearse, who lives in Stoke Newington, sold a wooden train set, a garage and some Paw Patrol toys to fund the donation. It’s not the first time the youngster

It’s Zero Waste Week and, as we make a concerted effort not to buy products with plastic, we’re noticing some pretty wonderful side-effects. With a more eco approach to shopping comes a need to be prepared: to remember to bring reusable bags and containers, perhaps to walk a little further – there’s a slight loss of convenience and a need to deviate away from familiar products and try something new. But we must start somewhere! And with this more old-fashioned approach to shopping comes an added layer of human interaction and more exercise; which is surely good for the soul! We’ve researched a few eco products and were pleasantly surprised. 1. Fluoride Toothpaste Tablets. They come in a car