Fusion Arts

From the outside the site of Fusion Arts, a former Guildhall building, does not look like much. It is a vacant glass door with some art work in the foyer, which leads to a few storeys above Eden Walk.

The entrance does not look unappealing per se, just alien, as if it might lead to one of those pristine galleries where you get chided for daring to look at an art work for fear of dirtying it.

But, inside, the building is a hive of colour and activity, with artists decking the walls of their studios with feisty acrylics and space-themed sculpture. As well as artists, the building also gives spaces to students on Kingston University's Live Arts course which explores all aspects of performance art.

The space is the brainchild of Janie Harland who advertised for frustrated artists two years ago. She was a frustrated artist herself, who for years had bemoaned the lack of space from which to paint her bright, floral art work and Beryl Cook-esque fat-bottomed girls, which she describes as "a celebration of cellulite".

She said: "I was expecting a few calls, but when the advert went out my phone rang off the hook. The demand meant I could do a lot more than I had imagined, and we managed to secure this building at a knock down rate."

The knock down rate is not a special favour, but an acknowledgement that with the K+20 development of the area, the building is soon to be demolished.

After two years of building up an artists' community, five of which are exhibiting at Chelsea Flower Show this year, this is a shame.

Artist Janet Crabtree, from Chessington, has hair as red as the Moroccan soil she paints. She points down at the paint-smeared floor saying: "Before Fusion Arts turned up, my kitchen floor was like that, it was worse than that. You can't be an artist from home."

She said that Fusion Arts has both inspired her and helped her financially.

"If I've just done something I can show it to the others to see what they think, or have a look at what other people are doing for inspiration. It also means exhibiting is a possibility because we can all share the costs," she said.

Talking about the imminent move, she said: "It would be a real shame.

"We may look for another place to go, but how can you move a whole community?"

,p> Eden Cafe

During the 50 years Eden Cafe has been serving hot homemade dinners, the layout and the menu have barely changed.

Neither does it only serve dinners, with its kitchen opening at 5.30am each day to start preparing breakfast.

Peggy Bragoli has done front of house for 30 years, and is now assisted by her 23-year-old grandson, Paul. Her husband Renzo took over the cafe 35 years ago and has been cooking up casseroles and cooked breakfasts ever since.

She said: "Our two most popular dishes are the braised liver with vegetables, and the cottage pie. We are a normal, working men's cafe. We're not like those bistro places, we do what I would call homemade food. Proper food."

The biggest change to the business was the arrival of the one-way system which Peggy believes takes people over to the other side of the town. Only 20 per cent of diners are passing trade, the remainder being mainly builders and students who drop in for the traditional fayre in casual surroundings.

Cast members from the Bill also popped in for a bite when they were filming in Kingston, and the cafe itself was chosen as a location for filming the police series eight years ago.

Peggy said: "Times have changed. When we came here there were other proper cafes, but there wasn't a McDonald's or anything like that. Now there's only a few of us left."

The Bragolis are aware of the K+20 plans looming on the horizon, but are not worried about how it might affect the area.

"The businesses here are a community. But we're not thinking about the plans because I don't think it's going to happen just yet."

Krish

There is no mention of Krish on internet search engines or town centre listings. Perhaps this betrays its past as a simple pound shop selling shampoo and hairbrushes.

Seven years on it is now the area's most notable supplier of wigs and beauty accessories which are jumped upon by punky kids, goths, fashionistas and people in search of hair extensions or fun wigs.

But the goods are not for fancy dress alone. Afro-Carribbean women come to find full-timer wigs, and there are employees on hand to advise on make and colour. One customer was having her hair matched to some curly dark blonde extensions.

As she rifles through the pigtails she said: "Last year I had my hair totally burned off by a hairdresser. It's only just growing back so I've come to get some extensions that match my own hair colour."

Jessie Walker, from New Malden, said she comes to Krish for all her body piercing attachments because it has a bigger range than shops in Kingston or neighbouring Sutton.

"I've been in twice today," she said.

The shop's owner Daksha Chohan, who has a fair few ear piercings herself, has built up the business with her husband.

She said: "We get all sorts in here - goths, air hostesses, models.

"It's really nice for me to see how many people come in because the stock we have is just stuff I choose by seeing how people look and dress."

The future of Krish is uncertain, as it is leased out on a two-year basis. She said: "You don't get passing trade from here because we're out of the centre.

"We've built this up here and the customers know us now. This bit of street is like a community. We always go to see Peggy in Eden Cafe, and when we have an early morning delivery the boys at Banquet Records pick it up for us. We wouldn't like to go."

Kingston Tools

Peter and Sylvia Champion resisted the offer to sell up and move their business elsewhere. A shop that has housed a family business for 100 years is not an easy thing to give up. Especially when keeping the tool business afloat has become increasingly difficult.

Peter said: "The business has changed enormously. First Argos came along to undercut prices, then B&Q, now the internet. With all the competition you have to work a lot harder than you ever used to."

But 100 years in the business has taught the family the value of customer service and expertise, which Peter claims is lacking in their competitors.

He said: "You can see this from the customers we get in this shop: craftsmen such as plumbers and mechanics come to get things they cannot get elsewhere.

"We also have lots of women customers. You would think that tool shops would be a male-orientated places, but we have women who come in time and time again."

Perhaps this is helped by the presence of the Peter's daughter Karen, who has come back into the fold alongside her brother after a career in fashion houses such as Gucci.

Peter said: "Karen's got me some nice watches! But I think to go into a tool shop and to see a woman working there is a good thing."

In fact, family involvement is one of Peter's main motivations for the continuation of the business.

"My passion isn't tools. Tools help me pay for my real passion - which is travelling. But it is really nice to have the family working with me and they enjoy themselves.

"What they'll do without the shop I don't know, it is their future."

Banquet Records

It would be too easy to compare the folk at Banquet Records to the beard-stroking musos in Nick Hornby's novel High Fidelity.

They do know their stuff and may occasionally be seen stroking their chin as budding DJs and collectors of post-punk vinyl grace the in-store turntables.

But gone is the holier-than-thou attitude which has the fictional staff barking customers out of the shop on the polite request for a popular record.

The staff at Banquet greet customers like old friends, and in many cases they actually are old friends.

Most of the staff carried out their apprenticeship on the other side of the till, as music-obsessed teenagers who wanted more than the Woolworths counter could provide.

Jon Tolly, who co-owns the business with Mike Smith, said that their attitude was to be more than just a retailer.

He said: "The business has been here for about 30 years and it wasn't always very successful.

"We took over as owners a few years ago and our mission statement is being more than a local record shop'."

The shop specialises in niche indie and alternative music, but among the CD singles and limited edition vinyls you can also find guitar strings and boxes full of free stickers and demo CDs which helps out kids who want some of the scene but who do not have the money to do so.

Banquet Records is also responsible for putting on New Slang, an alternative music night at the Works nightclub in Kingston.

The club, which usually puts on commercial house, hip hop and Rn'B nights drops its dress code and stocks up on draught beer to let in the hoards of arty music lovers decked with skinny jeans and decorative haircuts.

New Slang used to be a monthly event, but after booking popular acts such as the Young Knives and Good Shoes, they had to start putting it on every Thursday.

Jon said: "We've had local bands asking if they can pay us to support these bands. They don't have to pay to play there, if we can't give something back to local bands then there is no point in doing any of it."

Bands have also got wind of Banquet Records' facility for doing in-store gigs. When a band has a release to promote, the CD shelves can be moved to the side, the PA plugged in and the store transforms itself into a concert space.

At 6pm on a bright spring evening, a few dozen people have gathered in the shop to see Sam Isaac and Luke Leighfield, two musicians from Worcester who asked to do an in-store performance.

As one of them plays, a face familiar to the crowd starts doing comedy actions to the song's lyrics.

He is known as Del' and is a musician and club promoter - equally punter and associate of the shop. Instead of being shushed he is invited on stage to show off his creative interpretation of the song. This amuses the crowd, which includes a handful of girls and boys in school uniforms and hoodies.

Also milling about is James Murphy who travels to Kingston from Northolt to pick up emo and punk records he cannot find elsewhere.

He said: "I saw this shop advertised and came to get hold of records that are difficult to find. It takes me about two hours to get here but it's worth it. It's definitely the best record shop around."

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