As we launch our own Londonist.london site, we thought we'd share some other top dot London domains currently lighting up the interweb.
As well as top London institutions embarking on a dot London adventure (Museum of London is using museum.london; the Meantime Brewery has meantime.london, and the Zoo has zsl.london), a variety of diverse people and companies have also launched dot London sites. Here are seven to watch out for in 2016.
Mabaker.london
Ma Baker is a Fulham-based micro bakery, selling award-winning loaves to the good people of SW6. Established in 2014 by Liz Wilson, the business has seen phenomenal growth in its first 18 months and was recently awarded Best Small Business and Highly Commended Best New Business at the Hammersmith and Fulham Brilliant Business Awards. Liz also hosts a range of popular courses, teaching people the satisfying art of bread making.
Liz says, 'I chose to have a dot London domain as it gives my brand validity; it says where I am and with a food product, this is important. I think it strengthens my brand and says so much more than dot uk or dot com domain ever could. I love it. One day I hope to have mabaker.sydney... Or maybe mabaker.newyork. How good would that be?'
Advising.london
Advising London in Elephant and Castle advises, supports and educates Londoners to solve problems for themselves and in their communities. The main areas of Advising London's work include debt, welfare benefits, housing, employment, immigration and consumer related issues.
Nathan Denne, Development Manager says, 'We chose a dot London domain name as we were in the process of rebranding and changing name to Advising London — and securing advising.london slotted perfectly into this. It’s short and incredibly easy for people to remember.'
Wholivesin.london
Wholivesin.london is a community website showcasing the people who live in, work in or visit London, highlighting the city's extraordinary diversity and multiculturalism.
Project creators Justin and Victoria travel around the city, collecting Londoners' stories. They walk out of one of London's public transport exits and chat to the first 15 people (who have the time!) that they meet. The 90-second video interviews are the result of these random excursions into the heart of London.
Mypie.london
Mypie is the brainchild of Aussie chef Chris and his mate Jim Carnegie. Having grown up on pies in Australia, they felt the variety of pies wasn't quite the same in the UK. After failing to break into the wholesale business four years ago, they took a step back and went back to their 'normal jobs'. Then, with the surge of food trucks in the last couple of years, they invested in a kitchen and a 1977 Bedford CF. They now make 500 pies every two days; offering four flavours on any given day — beef, chicken, veg and a guest pie — which can be venison/goat or something else.
When Chris and Jim chose a dot London domain they were enticed by the fact they were new. 'In fact, it has help shape our business. All our social media handles fit in perfectly with it and the designer we used managed to make the website reflect the logo on our trucks.'
Iama.london
i am a is an award-winning British stationery and gifts company, who aim to bring people joy with every single one of their products. The kind of joy that makes you smile, gasp, or giggle, and say 'I want that'.
Charmaine Leung, creative director and founder of i am a explains, 'We chose a dot London domain, as we are based in London, we love London, and the dot London conveniently highlights our location. Previously we had to spend extra effort to include London in our logo and branding information. But now, it’s nicely integrated as part of our branding, our products. London itself is an amazing world-renowned brand, well-known for design, startups, quirkiness, culture, it's multi-cultural and dynamic. I think it's amazing to be able to have a dot London domain to reflect all that.'
Savethedate.london
Save the Date cafe in Dalston serves up food that was previously destined for landfill. Part of the Real Junk Food Project, Save the Date is aiming to redress the balance on some of the 40% of food produced in the UK that goes to waste.
From rescuing food from skips, former head chef James Smart and his partner Ruth McCabe are now given food by suppliers who don't want to send stuff to landfill, and instead get a tax break for their charitable donations. The cafe sells all its food on a pay-as-you-feel basis, and everyone is welcome in their volunteer-built space.
BlackPearl.london
Black Pearl is an online shop selling a range of charms, pendants and chains which you can combine to make your own necklace. Designer Fiona Deffenbaugh is inspired by magic, mystery, mortality and superstition; her collection reflects this in its skulls, moons, protection symbols and lucky charms.
Fiona says, 'I was looking to change my domain name anyway and it's quite a popular name, so it was hard to find something available that would work. When the dot London domains came out it was great as I could have just my brand name and the dot London; it shows that my business is based in and influenced by London. Having lived here for 15 years and selling at various markets around the city I'm always inspired by the people I meet.'
What will your dot London be? Visit makeyours.london now and find out.
