Joel Holland has illustrated London’s iconic shopfronts. Can you spot your favourite?

Last year Joel Holland released a book with Prestel depicting New York’s many storefronts. A resident New Yorker for 25 years, the project was a long time coming and something of a dream for the illustrator. Now Joel has mixed things up, turning his focus across the globe to the UK’s bustling capital city of London and lovingly recreating its iconic shopfronts, from Morleys to Tayyabs, the Rio to Peckhamplex.

While the New York series was pretty personal to Joel, the second instalment proved much more of a team effort. Prior to the project Joel hadn’t visited London for 15 years, and while conjuring up memories of the places he had previously fallen in love with was a real “treat”, he relied a lot on the help of his editor Ali Gitlow – who lived in the city for ten years – and the London-based writer Rosie Hewitson, both of whom helped him to compile the final list of establishments and tell the stories of each one. The book is divided into sections for central, east, west, north and south London. Not only a handy way of dissecting the vast city, the division reflects the tribal way in which Londoner’s attach themselves to their locale. Has a north Londoner ever even crossed the river to the south, and vice versa?

One of the main goals for the project was to capture the global “energy” of London, the diversity of cultures and people behind its most-loved spots. What also captured Joel’s attention was the distinct nature of its architecture, specifically, the combination of the “very new and very old”. Joel noticed that while the oldest building featured in the New York project – Albanese Meats on Elizabeth Street – just had its 100th birthday, “in London you have places that have been around for almost double that next to brand new coffee shops, and both are thriving!”.

Such a contrast is apparent in the two of the shop fronts Joel highlights. Firstly, the Churchill Arms pub, built in 1750. As a hand lettering artist he loved recreating its old school signage, as well as the exterior, covered nearly from floor to roof in flowers. “I saw this place as a fun challenge – beautiful, yes, but where to start? I think it’s an amazing and unique pub.” And secondly, Frequency Coffee in Kings Cross. Five years ago its owner Justo contacted Joel to display one of his paintings in the newly opened cafe. “He had been so nice to me that drawing his shop was an easy decision, but also I took care to capture the magic he created there.” In complete contrast to the Churchill Arms, the cafe has a modern, minimalist look, a white sign with black type, glass fronted with monochrome tiles.

After the book was published Joel visited London to see the shops, and despite never having come across some of the places, he says it felt like “we had already met”. Meeting the shops’ owners was also a great pleasure, like Nevio Jr at Bethnal Green’s iconic E. Pellicci Italian yellow-fronted diner, who gave him its potted history, including facts like his father being born just above. Much like the New York project, Joel hopes the London edition will urge people to see the value of small business, and push them to support their local shops. On top of this, he also hopes it might encourage readers to go out and explore some new places. Who knows what hidden gem you might stumble across?

The London Shopfronts book is now available online and in bookshops.