From restaurants where you place your order using a tabletop touchscreen PC to bars where you select the music by text message, technologically-minded Londoners are spoiled for choice when it comes to venues in which they can play with the latest bits of circuitry. For those longing for a bit of old fashioned peace and quiet, however, salvation now comes in the form of eclectic new Clerkenwell pop up 'The Parlour'.
Running between 5-10 March, The Parlour will be an elegant salon in which people can relax, sip a glass of punch and enjoy a civilised conversation in a gadget-free environment. (Sorry, freelancers.) Concentrating on nostalgic fun and promoting human interaction, the curators will be running a series of workshops, parlour games, recitals and screenings designed to bring people together in a whimsical manner. Highlights include a letter writing lesson and the fantastic combination of ‘cake, morning stretches and a vintage styling boutique’, which we really hope is all happening simultaneously.
The event is being hosted by MIEN magazine, a new website dedicated to etiquette, culture and style (think a mixture of The Chap and Debretts) and will be part furnished by community project ‘Restore’, so if you see a piece of furniture you really like at the Parlour you might even be able to take it home with you afterwards. For full information about this vintage pop up click here, or, if you want to brush up on your mobile phone etiquette beforehand, check out MIEN magazine’s handy video guide.
The Parlour runs from 5-10th March at 97-99 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5BX.
