London & South East

East End meets West End

INK LDN- Soho

Soho’s newest nightclub was unveiled in September; INK LDN.

The East End, tattoo inspired venue is situated right in the centre of London’s West End. Ink was the brainchild of Stephen Manderson; better known as Professor Green, and nightlife entrepreneur Gerry Calabrese and brother Jon Calabrese. The threesome wanted to replicate the attitude of East End tattoo parlours they often frequent.

Work started on the Leicester Square based project at the end of July 2013 and was completed six weeks later ready for the club’s grand opening on the 4th September. The club is located on the fifth floor of the building and boasts stunning views of the square.

Dimension Interiors, a London based specialist commercial design, fit-out and furnishings company, took complete control of the construction on the Ink project. John Hall, Managing Director of Dimension Interiors said his team were on site 20 hours a day, every day of the six week project.

INK LDN- Soho

He received a brief from Stephen, Gerry and Jon about how they wanted the club to look and had daily meetings with the founders to keep abreast of any changing ideas. John said the design of the venue is really special, with features being sourced from all over the world.

John added:

“Gerry and Stephen wanted the lighting to be a feature of the venue so I sourced original fittings from Japanese warships and Czechoslovakian factories, all from the 1950’s, from a company called Skinflint.

“At the entrance to the VIP section an impressive 1950’s prison door from Shrewsbury prison can be found which I managed to source from a reclamation yard in the North of England.”

INK LDN- Soho

The bar area creates the illusion of space in the venue due to the shelving, main bar frame and bottles being completely transparent. Despite the venue being just 300 square metres John, Gerry, Stephen and the design team have achieved great things with the space.

The toilets are a particularly quirky aspect of the venue comprising of feature toilet flushers and unconventional 1970’s Hustler Magazines on the walls acting as wallpaper.

Gerry Calabrese, nightlife entrepreneur, said the project has been extremely fun to be a part of and he is overjoyed at the results. Gerry added:

Like anything I do this project is extremely important. The venue brings a bit of cool back to Leicester Square and also is an unpretentious environment for people to go out clubbing in the West End which is a rarity.

INK LDN- Soho

It is also a venue that offers credible music programming in the West End.”

 The space hosts the artwork of reputed tattoo artists Nikole Lowe and Ibiza’s Neil Ahern on the walls, alongside graffiti murals created by renowned London crews. The club offers an impressive selection of seasonal cocktails which have been influenced by Gerry’s Calabrese’s lauded and awarded The Hoxton Pony. Ink also serves up food platters to its customers as well as scrumptious bar snacks reminiscent of a UK tapas selection.

Ink is a surreal venue; visitors are transported to the fifth floor in a graffitied lift operated by a bellhop boy. Self help tapes then play in the lift during the journey up to the fifth floor adding a tinge of abnormality to the clubbing experience.

INK LDN- Soho

After exiting the lift clubbers are greeted by impressive neon lighting designed and produced by Chris Bracey. The club is a stark contrast to the venue’s entrance which is dressed in luxurious heavy velvet drapes. The club interior instead exudes a raw, earthy warehouse feel.

John said the edgy nature of the venue adds to its charm:

“The entrance gives out the impression that you are in Claridges and then the visitors ascend the building and are greeted by an environment you are more likely to find in Hoxton Square in Hackney than Leicester Square in the West End.”

INK LDN- Soho

The previous venue was dark and dingy and provided the floor with no natural daylight, whilst the decor was 1980’s themed and in desperate need of attention. Dimension Interiors have exposed everything to allow the daylight to flood into the venue. The ceiling has been removed, the venue opened up and the beauty of Leicester Square is now clear to see both during the day and night.

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Roma Publications