The Effra Social: a new, old bar in Brixton

A new bar, the Effra Social, opened near me a couple of weeks ago, in Brixton, south London. I'd heard it was coming and been intrigued by how it was going to look, having seen the 'before' pictures on the place's website (which you can see below).

Image: Antic Bars

Image: Antic Bars

It's an old Conservative club, and the chain that bought it were tweeting hard in the run-up to the opening about how they were stripping the decor right back and planned to open it more or less as it originally looked.

Image: Lambeth Archives

Being a nostalgic lover of many things mid-to-late last century, I really like this approach to commercial refits – it's also (one hopes) way greener than ripping everything out and building new stuff or shipping in deliberately distressed but brand new furniture in a misguided attempt to create the same effect.

But the idea of a chain buying the place jarred: would they pull it off? Would it tweely tap into the term 'vintage' rather than embracing simple old 'secondhand'? Would it become a hipster magnet and alienate anyone who wouldn't look incongruous drinking in similar environs back in the day?

Well, you can see how the place looked on the opening night in my review on my brand new daily website for people who love south London, – it's called Below the River.

Fuck your antlers

I'm sure most of you know about FYNT (in case you don't, it stands for Fuck Your Noguchi Table, and it will take the piss out of you – and me – if ever we take our styling too seriously). It is great.

But today I want to introduce you to an erstwhile partnership the Tumblr had with cool T-shirt and print shop, Print Liberation.

Image: FYNT

Sadly they don't sell this excellent 'Fuck Your Antlers' top anymore. However, the company does sell design-your-own T-shirts, so you could pick any of FYNT's captions and make them wearable. The DIY t-shirts cost $49 (£33ish) and of course you could get one done cheaper in your local T-shirt printing shop... if you trust their font selection.

And it is a good excuse to introduce Print Liberation generally, who also sell these (below) and other witty designs. I have the bag and the 'late' T-shirt already and have my eye on some other things (they are based in the US, but UK postage is reasonable)...

Sorry I'm late, $24 (£16ish); I survived the Bush Administration, $23 (£15ish); Fuck plastic bags $15 (£10ish). All are available from Print Liberation.

Pick up Abigail Brown's bird-making skills

I've written about Abigail Brown quite recently – and featured her beautifully odd and wonky animal sculptures, made from fabric and paper...

But she is probably best known for her fabric birds, which you can see below, or save up and buy in Liberty. Now, for the first time, Abigail is offering the chance to learn how to make your own birds, under her guidance, at two small workshop classes in her London studio.

Each class, explains Abigail, "will each be limited to six people making for a cosy, intimate afternoon amongst the stacks of fabric boxes and nesting creatures that inhabit my studio".

All materials are supplied (plus tea and "good biscuits") to make one little bird for you to take home and classes take place on Saturday March 30, 11am-5pm or Sunday March 31, 11am - 5pm. The cost is £125 per person. To book email: abigail@abigail-brown.co.uk

UPDATE These classes have already been so popular that Abigail has just added more dates in April for these workshops. Check her blog post here for details.