Hackney Jungle

Since doing my 100 Day Project, I've really enjoyed finding little shots which go unnoticed - but I've also grown to love finding some of the often-photographed places too. It can be surprising to see some things 'in real life', and realise how creative people have been to get great shots. Ainsley and I had a coinciding free afternoon so we decided to head to a couple of the insta-famous places in Hackney; if you're on Instagram, chances are that by now you'll have spotted the places in this post at least once or twice!

First up: the beautiful jungle that is Conservatory Archives. It's the kind of place which makes people stop and do a double take as they walk past - filled to the brim with giant cacti, little succulents, trailing plants hanging from the ceiling and, my favourite, little air plants. Whilst we hadn't planned to come away with anything, neither of us could resist bringing home a couple of new additions. One day, I'll have a house exactly like this, all industrial fittings, concrete, aged textures and a metric tonne of greenery. For lunch we paid a visit to Temple of Seitan's new venture, Temple of Hackney, serving up vegan fried 'chicken'. I've posted about them before - but this time I got to try some too, in the form of their popcorn bites (delicious). Much to our amusement, there was a continuous flow of curious teenagers walking into the shop to ask whether it was 'actually chicken' and what 'vegan' was. Finally, we walked up to Palm Vaults. Their pastel-coloured lattes, pink and green colour scheme and retro interior are perennially photo-worthy. I grabbed a hot chocolate (they have five types, from white through to dark) and Ainsley had a pretty rose soy latte; I really want to come back for food! The staff were friendly, there was a great early-2000s playlist, and we were even blessed with a tiny dog.

FIND CONSERVATORY ARCHIVES AT: 493-495 Hackney Road, London, E2 9ED

FIND TEMPLE OF HACKNEY AT: 10 Morning Lane, London, E9 6NA

FIND PALM VAULTS AT: 411 Mare Street, London, E8 1HY