Ughhh business story

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In search of a business story, I went to James Smith & Sons, a 170ish-year-old umbrella and walking stick company. They make and sell their products right in the building. What I didn't realize is that they would be extremely rude people. I asked if I could take pictures of the store and if I could get down to the basement where they manufactured the umbrellas. They said it was fine, but that I could take pictures of the customers or employees. But, I kind of needed those pictures for the business story. I asked if there was any way, but then whatever guy I was talking to kind of flipped out and said he was busy and couldn't talk. Even though there was only one other customer in the store. If anyone feels like dishing out about £400 for an umbrella though, this is the shop for you. How are these people still in business?
Hand-made decorations on the 'crook handle' (technical term) on a few umbrellas. Tacky decorations definitely worth the extra £380 or so.

Camden Town

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Stables Market, a smaller market within the greater Camden Street Market area.

Today we went to Camden to take a look at the markets and to just look around. I had walked down the main street in Camden before, but I hadn't been into the depths of the markets. The markets were plenty, selling clothes, food, books, antiques and other bizarre odds and ends. The whole area had a different feeling from the Portobello markets though. Camden was darker and seemed to cater to a slightly different crowd. The fashion, not just what was being sold in the stalls but what a lot of young people were wearing, can perhaps be quickly described as 'alternative.' Punk and Goth subcultures were very common here. The place had a real organic feel to it, as the markets and stalls seemed to be built randomly into the walls, as if no real planning went into the placing of these stalls, but sort of just grew out from a central location. It kind of seemed like an underground city as sunlight wasn't too common in the narrow and crowded corridors. The expansive and unorderly area was dark, but inconsistent strings of colorful accent lights from within the market stalls produced some fantastic and peculiar light. Different varieties of music, but mostly trance and electronic could be heard throughout the market area. I bought a sweet black and green Chinese paper lamp at one stall and a nice messenger bag at another. I also enjoyed some Indian food. As for clothes, most of what was being sold wasn't for me.

Tubes, Stores and People

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Edgware Station and the Bakerloo Line.

Today I went down to Oxford Street to do a little exploring and shopping. I'm really excited that I basically have the tube system figured out. It isn’t nearly as complicated as the NYC station is to me. It's also a ton cleaner, and there aren't dodgy or homeless people on it. It makes busy days on tube when everyone is cramming onto the train before the doors close a lot easier when it’s evident that the people you are uncomfortably close to are clean, normal people.

I got off at the Marble Arch station and walked along Oxford Street for a bit. The buildings on either side of the road primarily sell clothing, and the entire area was very busy. Saturday is the big shopping day. I’d rather go during the evening on weeknights, but the vast majority of stores close at either 5 or 6 p.m. for some reason. It’s too bad, because I wake up kind of late, have classes until 5, and then everything is closed for the evening.

Primark is almost the Wal-Mart of the U.K., at least in terms of controversy. It sells clothing and some household items like bed sheets and curtains, and everything is suspiciously cheap. Of course, with my budget and the fact that the USD is horrible, it’s hard to resist. Primark sources its supply very cheaply and uses sub par materials for their products, I have read. It also ran into some trouble just earlier this summer when the BBC uncovered three garment manufacturing facilities in India subcontracted under Primark that were using child labor. Primark said it had no idea. It’s also gotten some publicity about poor workers’ rights.

Everything else on Oxford Street was too expensive for me. I also stopped into a bookstore and bought a few travel guides on the countries I’m thinking of visiting for fall break, France, Germany and Switzerland.

The people in the flat below us had a note delivered to our flat, complaining about noise. But rather than the type of noise you’d think of somewhere like a house on Ackerman Ave. emanating, they referred only to a specific incident where someone in the house dropped a pair of shoes on the ground, and how they can also sometimes hear us treading down our corridor. They ended their note by suggesting we purchase softer shoes like slippers so as to help us quiet down.

None of us were particular happy about this, mostly because they’re being ridiculous. We’re all trying very hard to keep the noise down, conscious already about Americans having a reputation of being loud and obnoxious. I don’t know what their problem is.