After unsuccessfully trying to find the God’s Own Junkyard pop-up shop in Selfridges a few weeks ago (I think I was too late), I told Tim that a trip was needed out to their place in Walthamstow soon. So when he suggested we visit as part of our art crawl last weekend, the only question I had was “where can we pick up the Victoria line”.
The Junkyard houses some of the most beautiful pieces of neon I have ever seen, many of which were designed by Chris Bracey – an incredibly talented signmaker who developed his craft creating signs for Soho, and sadly passed away in 2014. GOJY restore old signs as well, so there were a few that weren’t lit up but that adds to the charm. Visiting the Junkyard made me miss the Neon Museum in Las Vegas which I visited a few years back (and convinced me that I need to visit my beloved Vegas again soon).
The 15 minute walk from Walthamstow Central was really easy (and a little surprising – I didn’t know anything about E17 but there are some amazing houses around there) and we soon found ourselves in Ravenswood Industrial estate, which has both a brewery and gin factory. We do not have industrial estates like that round here. No time for beer or gin for us though, as we made our way into the mind-blowing Junkyard.
My eyes couldn’t really take in what I was looking at. Signs on the floor, on the wall, hanging from the ceiling – every single surface is covered. And I wanted all of them.
I’ve always wanted a neon heart. Husband told me I’ll have to take him there when he next gets a bonus.
After doing several laps of the warehouse, we ordered a coffee and some cinnamon rolls at the Rolling Scones Cafe and just sat staring at the signs around us. I really wish I lived nearby so I could go to the cafe every week.
If you haven’t been blinded by the neon in this post, there are more photos on my Flickr.
I did see price labels on some of the pieces, but I was too frightened to look at them as I know how expensive neon is to make and buy. I’ll leave the price tag investigation for my next trip.
untold blisses 
Woah, that really is a lot of neon! Very pretty though. I’m hoping that by the time I visit England next, there’s a giant neon heart over the bungalow.
Fingers crossed!