Merchant City by Chris Hunt
Chris Hunt runs Genuine, one of Scotland’s leading luxury goods creative agencies based in the heart of the bustling Merchant City and works with global, national and regional clients.
Born in the Cotswolds I moved to Birmingham to study History of Design before eventually moving to London. There I studied fashion, luxury goods and city promotions at Epsom College of Art. This fascinating course took us from designing marketing campaigns for Barcelona to creating and styling advertising campaigns for Virgin denim and I’ve since worked on really interesting projects over the years within the luxury industry.
However, after eight years of the hustle and bustle of London I wanted to move to an area that had both the creativity I love and the peace and quiet I was craving. Glasgow’s Merchant City was somewhere I had visited on business and was a natural choice – great people, great architecture and my two favourite hobbies readily available; an amazing music scene and brilliant shops.
The Merchant City has so much to offer. There is never a dull moment, with new shops opening all the time as the urban regeneration programme makes this the most exciting area in Scotland for me. The area is close to the river and also Glasgow Green, so there is lots of fresh air and beautiful local walks to be enjoyed.
Historically this area was a trading centre for Glasgow’s Merchants – The Tobacco Lords - and the architecture reflects this, with wide streets coming from the old quay at the river and road names such as Candleriggs and Virginia Street. However, the area is also just in front of the main trading routes of the modern era; the Glasgow motorway junction and ten minutes walk from both Central and Queen Street stations – so it still serves the same function within Glasgow as a whole.
The stunning architecture here has been thoroughly restored and innovative residential designs are being carefully put in place behind exquisite neo-classical facades. The roads are being slowly and painstakingly converted into tree-lined avenues and all in all this means that you must keep your eyes open and look up everyday not to miss out big time!
For regular shopping in the Merchant City we have the best small independents. Peckham’s is a fantastic delicatessen with an amazing selection of foods and wines, and there’s always an aroma of fresh coffee emanating from its door. The Merchant City has a really cool vibe about it for interiors too. On my block we overlook Porcelanosa, the global luxury Spanish design house, inHouse where you can have some of their amazing designs adapted or made to order. Around the corner there is PR too, which holds design classics across the world of interior design.
Food-wise, there are two of the top Scottish award-winning Indian restaurants on the same street, The Dhabba and The Dakhin. The Dakhin’s top-notch menu is based around Goan dishes, and as this is my favourite travelling destination they suceed in making me feel a little bit like I’m on holiday.
There are also the great down-to-earth bars like Blackfriars for jazz, Red Lizard for beers, and Bar 91 for a great crowd. The 13th Note and Tron Theatre bars are also good, with creative and busy vibes. My personal hang out is The Brunswick Hotel café, Brutti ma Buoni (‘ugly but good’ in Italian), they do some cracking nights out in their new basement bar.
For indulging in a bit of retail therapy I simply just don’t know where to start. The area is full of amazing beautifully crafted shops including world renowned haberdashers VV Rouleaux, who provide for designers like John Galliano and the celebrity’s favourite spectacle store Niche Optical Tailor. Dr. Jives provides an urban skate wardrobe, and then newcomer Brazen jewellery is to me symbolic of what the Merchant City offers both residents and retailers. Brazen is an interactive collective of jewellery designers from The Glasgow School of Art who have transformed a visually breathtaking corner shop on Albion Street into a global template for artist communities everywhere. It’s a gallery, a studio where the jewellery is designed and created and a lovely retail space for people like me to sit and browse or commission hand-made contemporary Scottish jewellery.
The Merchant City also has the Tron Theatre on Argyle Street and the King Street development by the river and the railway arches. Here we have a mixture of vintage clothing stores like the famous Mr Ben’s and there are also skate and graffiti artists spaces. Fireworks art studios are also based here.
This area is full of a vibrant sense of creativity and suspense and as the urban regeneration of this much cherished area gradually reaches completion this quarter is lovingly and carefully going back to its historical roots.