8 minute read
Retail Interview
Charlie Wheatley (left) and Tim Reynolds
The Medici Gallery shop has been in the same spot in London’s Kensington for more than 90 years. Famed for its fabulous window displays, the store recently won a 10-year battle against demolition and lives to fight another day, as Naomi MacKay finds out…
For many years, the Medici Gallery shop in South Kensington was under threat. Developers wanted to develop the nearby station, to build flats and shops. Their plan had been to demolish the building, home to the Medici Gallery since the 1930s, while keeping the facade.
But just before Christmas last year, manager/curator Tim Reynolds and assistant manager Charlie Wheatley got the news they had been hoping for. The local council had turned down and dismissed the planning application. The shop, which sits in a Conservation Area, was saved. “It was mostly thanks to the residents around us and all of our loyal customers,’’ says Charlie. “The council received around 3,000 objections; it was the wrong building for the area.’’
“So we live to fight another day,’’ adds Tim.
The shop - dubbed as ‘possibly the oldest card shop in London’ was built in 1930, and the Medici Gallery is only its second occupant. Positioned just 50 yards from South Kensington Tube station, visitors have to go past the shop to get to nearby museums. Charlie says: “It’s become a place to meet, to socialise and eat out - especially in the summer. Exhibition Road is now pedestrianised and all the tables are outside. Since this was done about 11 years ago the area has really improved. It’s very vibrant and has become more of a destination.’’
Customers come from all walks of life - there are tourists, lots of families - and local residents who tend to be a mix of Europeans and Americans. “We regularly see elderly customers who’ve known the shop since their childhood. Many others remember it from days at school or college,’’ Charlie points out.
The Medici Gallery company was founded in 1908 as a publisher of art prints and books. “We did have a fine art gallery in Mayfair, which we don’t have any longer. The company is still owned by the same family - the Gurneys from Norfolk. [The family founded Gurney’s Bank in 1770, which merged into Barclays Bank in 1896.] Their aim at the time was promoting fine art for the masses,’’ explains Tim.
“They were one of the first - a pioneering printing company,’’ adds Charlie. “ If you wanted fine art you would have to buy a painting, so this was the company that made fine art affordable.’’
“In fact we still get people calling up asking if their Medici print is worth anything, but I’m afraid they’re not. They were all mass produced,’’ Tim explains.
“People find prints in garages and houses and because they are so old, they are normally
put in nice frames and they look the part. So I guess their immediate reaction is: how much is that worth? It was one of the first few companies doing it - it looks like the real deal. I quite often see a Medici print if I stay in a B&B!’’ adds Charlie.
So, Tim says: “We had a foot in the retail side and the fine art side and publishing. Now it’s just us and two people at the head office. They still own the building that we’re in.’’
Before he joined the Medici Gallery shop, Tim, who has a degree in graphic design, worked in a gallery in Muswell Hill, selling paintings of local artists. It sold cards supplied by Medici too. The gallery also ran workshops and Tim taught calligraphy.
Charlie gained a fine art painting degree and had several jobs in the creative industry; graphic and product design and web design. “My last job was making music awards for the music industry - we made gold discs. There was a machine that coated the record in gold, and then I’d do all sorts of designs, as well as cover sleeve design. I left that job to do my own work - representing young artists. I would go to degree shows around the country and take artists who I thought had potential and represent them. I did that for three years, but I had a really young family and needed to earn regular money. One of the extra jobs I took was in Medici, and now it’s a full-time job.’’
Being close to museums such as the V&A, Tim and Charlie try to make the most of the location. “We get lots of people who work at the museums and at Imperial College coming in, because the museums don’t stock occasion cards,’’ says Tim.
And when there is a special exhibition at the V&A, this can work to their advantage, as Charlie explains: “The V&A recently held an Alice in Wonderland exhibition - and we tend to have a better range than they can stock. So customers go to the exhibition and shop with us.’’
Generally they will find out about a big exhibition a few months before, says Tim. This year, for instance, there’s a Beatrix Potter exhibition. So it’s too late to order items such as calendars, but they do their best to find related cards where possible.
Their creative skills come to the fore when they decorate their shop window: “We’ve done Wimbledon, and butterflies because of the butterflies at the Natural History Museum,’’ recalls Tim. “We take great pride in our window displays and we want to make an impact - to make us stand out. There’s a lot of effort that goes into our window.’’
The Victorian shop [it dates from the 1870s] has high ceilings and large windows, which lend themselves to the pair’s creative designs. And it pays off - go on social media and you’ll see pictures taken by fans of subjects such as Alice in Wonderland by the shop window. Talking of social media - even the shop’s toilet has its own Instagram account!
So how has trading been recently? Tim says things are pretty much back to normal: “We are missing some tourists - there’s not nearly as many as we usually see. We’re probably at about 80%. We’ve got the workers back - we’re lucky we’re not in the City. All the families are back and all our loyal customers are back. It can only get better.’’
“When we were closed down we still had a lot of stock,’’ Charlie recalls. “Over Easter we still had a full complement. We couldn’t sell anything from the shop. So we put everything online for the first time - and did click and collect. We still put on a big display - and it made our shop stand out. We would see families out with children and prams looking at the window. We had a notice that told them to order via our website. We had to turn the shop into a little Amazon.’’
So what is their online presence like now? “We’re quite an old-fashioned shop. We’re lucky to have running water!’’ jokes Tim. “So when it comes to computers and social media, Charlie thought it was very important to get us onto Facebook. I’m not a tech whizz by any means. I do the basics. We’ve got a Facebook page, and our Google account, and people write reviews - so I handle all that. I reply to every good review - we’ve only got good reviews.’’
When it comes to pleasing customers, the aim is to give plenty of choice. Charlie says: “We stock traditional cards, fine art, traditional greeting cards - those you might not find in a chain on the high street. People tend to come to us for that kind of card.’’ He mentions The Great British Card Company, which publishes Medici Cards, Robertson Cards, and Artists Cards, which does a range of fine art. Other favourites include Dry Red Press, Museums & Galleries, and National Gallery Cards from Carte Blanche. Other ranges that sell well include Quentin Blake from Woodmansterne and Ink Press from The Art File.
Because it’s an independent shop and Tim has complete freedom; he can go for a huge variety of cards from lots of different companies. “I see around 30-40 agents and representatives, each representing five companies. I order a small amount from a lot of companies. I like to see the quality of the cards and buy face-to-face.’’
They tend to buy gifts rather than cards at trade shows. Product such as Mclaggan mugs, and Art House cards, which also offer soaps and candles and tea towels. Tim prefers to buy his cards in situ - “the thing about ordering at the shows is you need to know a breakdown. When you’re in the shop you can stand in front of the wall and easily see what you need.’’
That said, they do go to some shows - PG Live, Top Drawer and Spring Fair. And what do they look for? “It’s all about variety,’’ says Tim. “We don’t do anything rude - we used to be closed on a Sunday!’’
Two Bad Mice sell well. And for witty cards they look to Cath Tate, Peartree Heybridge, and Dean Morris.
Tim adds: “We do well with Halloween, because there are a lot of Americans around here. We always do a Halloween window, too. It’s a good season for us.’’
Finally, if they could choose cards to receive for a special occasion, what would they be? Tim would choose “the Ashmolean and Fitzwilliam cards, or the V&A from Museums & Galleries’’. Charlie loves imagery, rather than occasional cards. He’d look for an arty or humour card - “perhaps something from Madame Treacle.’’
