Richard Biedul

Richard Biedul

Words & Portraits Kirk Truman “…I didn’t consider myself to have any distinctive features. I was a normal bloke.” Its early on a May morning when Richard Biedul and I meet at Fitzrovia’s Mandrake, one of London’s newest and most distinctive boutique hotels. We’re looking through a selection of his favourite personal wardrobe pieces, including a two-piece suit from Jack Davison Bespoke and a military-green matching shirt and trousers from Savile Row tailored essentials label Basic…

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People

Sophie Cookson

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Interview & Portraits Etienne Gilfillan “You just have to throw yourself into it wholeheartedly and fearlessly and not be self-conscious about what you create…” Sophie Cookson caught the world’s attention with her film debut in the 2014 spy movie Kingsman: The Secret Service. The young British actress, who is clearly going places, has since appeared in the Kingsman sequel and worked with Dame Judi Dench in next year’s film Red Joan. Journal caught up with her…
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People

Ann Wixley

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Interview Kirk Truman Portraits Si Melber “…It seems a leap, but the habits that I learnt as a dancer still apply.” A distinctive looking and impeccably dressed redhead with a wicked smile, Ann Wixley can usually be seen making her way through Fitzrovia, the neighbourhood she now calls home. But long before she was the Executive Creative Director at media agency Wavemaker UK, Ann was a ballet dancer, born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. Taking…
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People

David Newton

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Interview & Portraits Etienne Gilfillan “With the rise of social media, Instagram has become my agent.” David Newton is a hugely successful still life photographer based in Central London. His clients include Dior, YSL, and Maybelline, with editorial commissions from the New York Times, Harrods and Wallpaper. He’s a long-term resident of Marylebone, where he lives with his gorgeous Basset Hound Rupert and also finds time to edit and publish his supersized glossy fashion/interview magazine Wylde.…
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Editorial

30 Cleveland Street

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Words Kirk Truman Illustrations Ross Becker “…when you come across real talent, it is sometimes worth allowing them to create the structure in which they choose to labour.” The late Felix Dennis was a legend in the publishing world. The same could be said of the publishing house he founded, which has outlived its creator and continues as an industry leader to this day. The story of Felix Dennis and Dennis Publishing is one that takes…
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Business

La Fromagerie

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Words Kirk Truman Photography Si Melber “I wanted people to walk in and feel excited to find out more about the produce, and especially to walk into the Cheese Room…” Lamb’s Conduit Street is steeped in history; diverse, charming and engaging, it is considered by many to be one of the best in all of Bloomsbury and indeed London. Then, almost a year ago, it got even better. Sarah Bilney, a director at La Fromagerie,…
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Business

The Lighterman

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Words & Photography Kirk Truman “Cooking was a part of my upbringing, and part of my family. So really, going into a kitchen felt quite natural to me…” If you visit Granary Square, just over the Regent’s Canal from King’s Cross station, you will come across The Lighterman, a very modern venue for eating and drinking. The name was inspired by the neighbourhood’s industrial past, when Victoria Lightermen worked on flat-bottomed barges known as “Lighters”, on…
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People

Charles Fort

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Words David Sutton Illustrations Ross Becker “…he was determined to unlock whatever weird secrets the British Museum hid behind its imposing neo-classical façade.” As editor of Fortean Times magazine there are two questions I tend to get asked. The first, unsurprisingly, is: why is it called the ‘Fortean’ Times? I explain that the magazine is named after the American writer Charles Fort. The second question: Who was Charles Fort? Despite being something of a cult figure,…
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People

Giovanni Spezziga

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Words & Portraits Kirk Truman “…you know, I guess you could say it’s a grand café, and I’m the gatekeeper.” Just off Bedford Square, right in the heart of Bloomsbury, is a bar like no other, and today I’m getting the grand tour from its general manager, Giovanni Spezziga. We’re at The Bloomsbury’s Coral Room, where Gio, as he’s known, is looking as sharp as ever in a double-breasted velvet jacket as he takes me from room…
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Business

Redemption Roasters

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Words & Photography Kirk Truman “Despite us only working with a relatively small group of individuals, we’re having a much wider impact overall…” Everything is (almost) like most noteworthy cafes I know. There is coffee in a great location and an array of great people flurrying in and out of the doors. We’re on Lambs Conduit Street, which is arguably one of the greatest streets in London. However, the backstory and spirit of this newcomer to…
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People

Cathy Ward

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Words Cathi Undsworth Photography Etienne Gilfillan “The Internet has revealed much that was hidden. It is its own dark mirror by its very nature of conjuring up secrets and knowledge. But not everything can be googled. There has to be mystery out there somewhere…” “It was random, if not magical circumstances, that brought me here,” says artist Cathy Ward of Bloomsbury. “Family from many generations gravitated here, all within streets of each other, none born Londoners.…
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People

Robert Montgomery

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Interview & Portraits Kirk Truman “…I wondered if you went halfway between Jenny Holzer and Philip Larkin what would you get?” Rob and I ran into each other a couple of months back. Then, we talked a little about Journal, a little about his publishing venture New River Press and quite a lot about his art. I wondered why he hadn’t graced our Fitzrovia cover yet, and suggested it was about time we got around to it.…
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Business

Serge *et le phoque

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Words Kirk Truman Photography Si Melber “Great food begins with the suppliers…” When the Mandrake Hotel opened on Newman Street last September, it was the place that everybody was talking about. Entering through the long, dark corridor entrance, you are greeted by eccentric stylistic flourishes, surrealist design and hedonistic luxury; there’s even a stunning courtyard with its own hanging gardens and a greenhouse full of exotic plants. Founded by Rami Fustok, the Mandrake is a new breed…