Friendly Place in Deptford was built in the 1930s to be used as a spice warehouse. Offering a fantastic and unusual location for filming and photography sessions, this 7500 sq. ft. diamond in the rough is set on its very own private road, and spread over 4 floors that use urban chic interiors, large windows and versatile events spaces. For outdoor shoots, there is a 1500sq. ft. rooftop that looks out onto the weather-beaten skyline of this part of post-war London, with the odd high-rise block of flats looming over terraced houses.
Indoors, you’ll find a sizeable stainless steel kitchen where your caterer can prepare your meals, a towering and elegantly crumbling conservatory, a small bistro, an enormous blank canvas studio space, a ‘mock rock stars pad’, and a floor of empty, industrial warehouse space. These different areas can be booked separately or as one enormous location, with enough collective floor space to house 250 people around props etc. The rock star’s pad is particularly impressive – set on the lower ground floor, a beautifully scruffy living room has been constructed out of an array of random furniture, centered around an original 1960s Vespa. All of the props here are easily re-arranged, and there’s a huge list of interesting and unusual items from which you can built your set.
There’s a very unique feel to Friendly Place. It’s baron and bare, but the minimal features that do reside have been carefully thought out and cleverly executed to give the space a welcoming, familiar atmosphere. A kind of ‘Squat Elegance’ has been achieved here, and you could imagine that the whole venue has been crafted by artists and performers who have strayed from the conventional path, gone in search of somewhere to live, found a fantastic warehouse and scattered it with interesting and unusual furniture, objects and wall hangings they’ve found on their journeys around the world. Shabby leather sofas sit next to ancient gymnasium equipment, and the occasional Persian rug stands out boldly against the polished concrete floors. One particularly impressive wall hanging is made from around 1000 pink paper roses, which are incredibly realistic and act as a stunning background to photographs. You could create stunning, textured shots here – including, if you wished, a perfect mock of the iconic image of Mena Suvari in American Beauty. Just for the personal album, of course…
Speaking of celebrities, this venue has seen many. Lots of music videos and high-fashion shoots have taken place here, and these walls have seen the likes of Kate Moss, Blur, Adele and Rachel Weizs capture some of their most famous and recognisable moments.
The building itself is incredibly practical for filming, and incorporates full height roller shutter access, fully functioning kitchenettes on each floor, and ample parking available on request. You also have the advantage of access to mature, intimate garden spaces for having lunch outside in the sun, and journeys will be made easy by the good transport links to Central and East London. There’s broadband and 3-phase power across the entire building, and the expansive rooftop also allows for electric equipment. You’d be welcome to bring your own food and drink, but if you’d like to use a caterer, the ever-reliable chefs to the stars at the famous Dalston Kitchen are at had to provide you with a bespoke menu of your choice.
Call Best Venues London to arrange a site visit, or to book your next shoot at Friendly Place.
