"John's." No. 2, Russell Street, Covent Garden, from 1981 onwards, was a world of its own in London.Styled like nowhere else and with an assemblage of products and knowledge which were also to be found nowhere else. And it was that assemblage that was the unique thing about the shop. I use the term in its Art History context: a 3D composition of "found" objects and items. The visual and tactile conclusion of a long process of evaluation and discernment born of experience and a self-imposed training in what works and what doesn't. The final words of an artistic 'conversation'.The place also had a sense of humour and an edge. A warmth & a seriousness. It engaged and educated, but always with a shrug. It was always down to you to follow up the leads on offer in "John's". Miles Davis playing in the shop? It was always down to you to get yourself down to Ray's or Mole Jazz to find out more.It was a greasy spoon cafe before it was "John's", serving the workers of the old Covent Garden Fruit & Veg market nearby, and post John it will be... whatever. Another Retro Sweet Shop? Whatever... As for me, I wouldn't have missed Mr. Simons' "Russell Street" years for anything.In my opinion, post The Ivy Shop & the difficult break with Jeff K., "J. Simons" in Covent Garden was John with his true friends and at his best so far. And the real story here is the guy who made it happen: Mr. Simons with the team he drew together around him. The shop premises were just the setting in which they placed what they were doing. Only a frame for the bigger picture. And so now the shop goes, but what do we actually lose? John, Ken, Jeff and ALL the other names over all the years ARE the real shop. We're not losing them. And so the story goes on... 1955 and counting. And talking of 1955, why not rewind to how all of this started? One guy with an eye for detail and a passion for style. An East-End boy Up West who just so happened to shape various aspects of the modern world of which he was so much a part by his quiet influence. There is no "Harrington" without John Simons. And I wouldn't be sitting on an Eames chair right now without having encountered the influence of Mr. Simons either... The Artist as Retailer is a rare thing. And I sincerely believe that that is what we have in Mr. John Simons. And so the story goes on.
J.Simons, 2 Russell Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B 5TD tel 0207 379 7353 fax 0207 240 4788
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