Sheridan Coakley established SCP (Sheridan Coakley Products) on Hackney’s Curtain Road in 1985 to sell and manufacture modern furniture. Coakley has worked with the great and the good of the design industry for over 30 years, including Konstantin Grcic, Tom Dixon and Max Lamb, putting SCP at the heart of London’s thriving design scene.
Describe your ideal day off in Hackney.
I would start off at Campania in Ezra Street for breakfast. Then I would go to the Geffrey Museum – you can easily lose a few hours there. Then lunch at Leila’s on Calvert Avenue, before wandering around parts of Hackney I haven’t been to before. And I have just discovered Nobu, so maybe I would go there for dinner.
What is your favourite bar or restaurant?
Leila’s on Calvert Avenue, because she is fiercely independent, and the customers and locals keep her that way. And the food is wonderful.
What is your favourite shop?
The Jasper Morrison shop off Kingsland Road – it’s probably the best shop in London if you want to buy a stapler or a pocket tape measure.
What was your most memorable night out in Hackney?
Back in the 1980s Hackney was still on the fringe of London and all the warehouse parties were going on – it was much more exciting for alternative nights out in those days.
What is your favourite open space in Hackney?
Walking along Regents Canal to Victoria Park.
Where would you take visitors to show them the best of Hackney?
A walk around the Old Nichol which is a really historical and interesting part of Hackney in terms of how it developed and changed, then the Geffrye Museum. Then I would take them walk all the way up Hackney Road from Shoreditch, because it is a good example of how Hackney has changed and is still changing.