Objective Lifestyle occupies the space in Flask Walk vacated by Judy Green’s Garden Store, which closed last December after 30 years.
The Hong Kong couple already knew of the pedestrian street before they moved to north London.
Inside the new shop (Image: Objective Lifestyle)
“Three years ago so many of our friends moved from Hong Kong to England, we came to visit and it brought us to Hampstead,” Emily said.
“We love this place so much, we joked we should have our shop here and now here we are it’s like an amazing magical dream.”
Objective Lifestyle sells design-led kitchenware cards, gifts, furniture made by Wilson and abstract artworks by Emily.
And one of their first customers when they opened three weeks ago was Judy Green.
Judy Green closed her Garden Store in Flask Walk in December after 30 years. (Image: Archant)
“She came to the shop on our first day to look at her ‘baby’ and said she loved it,” says Emily.
“We invited her for coffee,” adds Wilson.
“She ran a very successful business here and we would like to pay tribute to her and learn from her. We are so grateful and feel extremely lucky to be in Flask Walk.”
The duo were also delighted to be told that Flask Walk had featured in various films – including Bridget Jones Mad About The Boy.
“When people said Bridget Jones 4 was filmed here I ran home to watch it and shouted ‘that’s Judy’s shop!'” says Emily.
The window of Objective Lifestyle in Flask Walk, Hampstead. (Image: Objective Lifestyle.)
Emily and Wilson founded their interior design and architecture firm Studio Adjective in Hong Kong in 2016 – followed by their Objective Lifestyle shop in the city in 2019.
They spent two years operating as an online brand in Australia before relocating to north London.
The idea behind the shop is to sell handmade homewares from local makers and independent brands, and carefully curated gifts which carry a provenance.
They range from modern Japanese furniture to Finnish fabrics, bridging East and West with items from Europe, Japan, and the UK that “have a story to tell”.
One example are Tumi-Isi from Japan – five different blocks of 100-year-old wood that can be either a sculptural object or balanced.
“We love to travel and bring back the things we see around the world and we decided ‘why don’t we collect all the brands that we have met in our lives in one shop?'” Wilson said.
“We really focus on craftmanship and artisan items.”
Wilson has researched the history of Hampstead and the artists, creatives and architects who made it their home there over the decades.
Flask Walk has been used for filming over the years including for Bridget Jones Mad About The Boy. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
“It’s fascinating and strong history,” he says.
“We don’t just want to give customers what we have but we are located in Hampstead and we are neighbourhood driven – we really need to learn from our neighbours and respect the place here.”
Emily hopes customers will find something beautiful they couldn’t find anywhere else.
“I want people to find things in my shop and feel happy that they have found something they really like or bought a present that they really love.
“People have been super nice and welcoming. People are always coming in to say ‘welcome to Hampstead, welcome to the neighbourhood.’
Wilson adds: “A kid came in the other day, looked around and gave the thumbs up saying ‘I will be back.'”
Objective Lifestyle Shop is now open at 11 Flask Walk, Hampstead, London NW3. www.objectivelifestyle.com