Protest at closure of Hampstead Antiques & Craft Emporium

The Hampstead Antique & Crafts Emporium was closed for good on Saturday (January 7), two months after traders were given notice to quit.

Traders Alex Porter and Jean Archer handcuffed themselves to railings while others held up banners to make clear to owner Staplepine that they were "not going quietly".

Handcuffed to the entrance of Hampstead Antiques & Crafts Emporium are Alex Porter and Jean Archer, who had her stall for 15 years before it closed (Image: Dylan McNeil)

Staplepine, which is said to be selling the 58-year-old antiques market, contacted traders on October 31, followed by a written notice on November 7.

All 25 traders were told to cease trading after Christmas and have their stock cleared by January 6.

Staplepine director Richard Jaffe previously told the Ham & High that the business was "no longer viable" due to rising costs and increased utility bills.

Camden Council last week (January 4) made the emporium an Asset of Community Value. Any future sale would give the community the first option to buy the space.

Alex Porter, who runs The Curiousity Cabinet, said: "It's our last day and we want to celebrate it. If it's a funeral it's a funeral. If it's not a funeral, there's hope."

She said that traders enjoyed low rents but at the expense of efficiency savings which has now cost their livelihoods.

She said Staplepine's director Richard Jaffe did not invest in maintaining the property. 

"Ideally if we were the landlord we would understand we had a great asset and the people who are the heart of that have a stake in its future.

"He has no respect. If he'd just talked to us, he could have come to us but there was no attempt to compromise."

Leslie Wilson-Rutterford, owner of Wunderbar Vintage, said: 'I'm so angry I'm not going to close up my unit just because they told me to.' (Image: Nathalie Raffray)

Leslie Wilson-Rutterford, of Wunderbar Vintage, left a vibrant installation in the now bare corridor.

She said: "I went on holiday in September with no clue of what I was coming back to.

"This is my passion. I'm passionate about my stock, my display and my customers and I enjoy being in a community with the other traders. Doing it from home is no substitute.

"I'm so angry I'm not going to close up my unit just because they told me to.

"There's hope now we've got the ACV. With a fraction of luck we will be able to come back and trade again." 

Maria Khorgravi sold jewellery in the emporium for 21 years. She said: "Everything is packed. I'm so sad. I miss my place, I have many jewellery items.

"I spent a lot of money to make my stand and make it safe. I have to leave everything there now."

Young protester Lucas Achan, 5, has been buying clocks at the Emporium for a few years (Image: Nathalie Raffray)

Many neighbours came to support the protest.

Vinod Archan came with his five-year-old son Lucas, who has been buying clocks and watches from Alex for years.

"He has a massive passion for clocks now and that wouldn't have happened without Alex," said Vinod. "I got to know the market through him. It's such an important part of the community."

Photographer Johnny Green, who lives in Christchurch Hill, said the protest was "inspiring".

He added: "I know Alex because I work for Keith Fawkes one day a week. It's a shame to see it all fade away as it's well loved.

"If something better was to come along that's something but it's just greed."

Protesting the quick-fire eviction of traders at the now closed Hampstead Antiques & Traders Emporium which is said to be on sale (Image: Johnny Green)

Supporter Esther Fitzgerald said: "Partially it's our fault. We should buy in local shops so it wouldn't be worth the guy selling. Shutting down places like this is sterilising our neighbourhood." 

Dylan McNeil, Alex Porter and Cllr Stephen Stark (Hampstead Town Conservative) hoping to save the Emporium (Image: Dylan McNeil)

Dylan McNeil, owner of the Well Walk Theatre, said the closure was "terrible".

He said: "This place is what makes the soul of the neighbourhood. It's what makes people want to live in a certain place. Closing these spaces strip the neighbourood of what makes it desirable in the first place.

"I'm sure there will be a way to reincarnate this. We'll find a way to keep the spirit."

Angie Anderson, mum to a three-year-old boy living in Holly Hill, said: "We moved here at the end of August and love the Emporium.

"This is the value of Hampstead and if you destroy it and turn it into flats, you don't really have an asset left.

 Alex Porter with Dylan McNeil and Cllr Linda Chung (Image: Nathalie Raffray)
Cllr Linda Chung, a Liberal Democrat who represents Hampstead Town, said there had been "a massive show of support".

"The next stage is to actively demonstrate to the new owners we want the market to survive for the benefit of the community," she added.

"It's one of the unique features of Hampstead and one of the few surviving ones."

Mr Jaffe, who came late to the emporium on Saturday, said the
treatment of the traders was "nothing personal".

Final inspections that the Emporium's units are indeed empty (Image: Nathalie Raffray)

He would not comment on the sale of the site.