Hostem’s James Brown & Christie Fels Open Blue Mountain School In Shoreditch
By Something CuratedBlue Mountain School is the newest site from James Brown and Christie Fels of cult store Hostem, a retail space instrumental in fortifying Shoreditch’s position as a design destination since it’s opening back in 2010. Launched earlier this month, the multidisciplinary venue presents thoughtfully curated fashion, dining, music, design and art sprawling across six floors on the site of the former shop on Redchurch Street. Designed by 6a architects, visitors are welcomed by a lustrous white, double-height archive space, installed with sliding shelves. A twisting wooden staircase dynamically connects several levels, which accommodate work by a roster of international talent.
Since founding Hostem almost a decade ago, and New Road Residence, a private guesthouse in Whitechapel in 2016, Brown and Fels have fostered a unique network of collaborators, evidenced in the team behind their latest project. Forgoing clothes on rails, Blue Mountain School’s Hostem Archive houses garments, ceramics, art and objects in a double-height viewing room. Here, pieces from the likes of London weaver Amy Revier, American furniture designer Tyler Hays and French artist Alexis Gautier are on permanent rotation and new objects and those from the entire Hostem archive will be added over time.
6a architects worked on the Perfumer H atelier found on the lower ground floor, where bespoke and seasonal fragrances are sold in hand-blown bottles, displayed on a monumental terrazzo and concrete table. On the second floor, BDDW founder Tyler Hays launches his first project in the UK, for which he has designed a double-height space featuring a custom-made ceramic wall to display BDDW works and Philadelphia-made ceramics and furniture.
Also on the second level, is Blue Projects, an exhibition space with raw wooden flooring and grey stucco walls that promises artists a unique context in which to present their work. The inaugural show was Stairs, Zebra, Bees and Light Purple Jackets, which saw the young Belgian artist Alexis Gautier interpret local traditions and mythologies from Nepal, Italy, England and India in textiles, photography and sculptural objects.
Situated at the centre of Blue Mountain School is Mãos, a kitchen and dining room helmed by chef Nuno Mendes, executive chef of Chiltern Firehouse and proprietor of Taberna do Mercado. Guests are invited to intimate dinners in the 14-seater dining space, with menus celebrating the best of each season. On the third and fourth floors Maastricht designer Valentin Loellmann has designed an immersive space, incorporating one-off furniture pieces and a striking suspended copper staircase. Select invitees will make it up to Grace’s, the rooftop listening room, featuring a wisteria-covered terrace and sounds courtesy of east London’s Low Company.
Blue Mountain School – 9 Chance Street, London E2 7JB
Feature image via Blue Mountain School