June 2010

Welcome to Matchbox June.

FORTY thousand people pour into the streets of Portobello Road every Friday and Saturday. It is home to the largest antiques market in the world and having lived and worked in the area for many years, I don’t think I will ever tire of the buzz of market day. But all is not well on our historic road. Property developers are slowly moving in under authority from the local council, a move that threatens the very fabric and culture of the market. Recently 150 traders and antique dealers were displaced to create space for the new two-storey All Saints fashion store – a move that triggered a backlash within the local community. Campaigners are fighting back to prevent Portobello becoming another faceless high street – the Facebook page alone has over 33,000 supporters and this month Nadia Chanelle reports on the highs and lows of the Save the Portobello Road Market campaign.

Gracing our cover this month is actress Ruth Wilson, most recently on our screens in the remake of the The Prisoner opposite Sir Ian McKellen and the recipient of a 2010 Laurence Olivier award for her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire, in which she starred opposite Rachael Weiss. Martha de Lacey meets the blossoming English rose to discuss her influences, ambitions and upcoming role in the stage production of Ingmar Bergman’s Through a Glass Darkly.

Also this month Liat Clark meets millionaire entrepreneur James Caan. Caan came to public attention when he joined Dragons’ Den in 2008. His business Midas touch is legendary and his belief that the entrepreneur is the most important part of the British economy has seen him recently launch his own business academy.

Finally this month, Joanne Mathews of TenPilates talks to Matchbox about her now international brand and William Sitwell discovers DIY is not always a cost-cutting exercise.

Enjoy!

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