In the West Midlands of England, some four miles south of Birmingham, lies Bournville: an Edwardian model village as quaint as they come. The birthplace of the red-wrapper chocolate bar that shares its name (and many other sweet, milk-filled treats), Bournville was established by the Quaker Cadbury family in the late 19th century as a place for their factory workers to live. The moniker a marriage of ‘Bourn’ (a local stream) and ‘ville’ (the French word for ‘town’), this purpose-built suburb became defined by architect William Alexander Harvey’s Arts and Crafts- style houses, with characterful timber beams, brick chimneys, casement windows and pretty gardens. Alcohol was prohibited, so drinking chocolate was the worker’s after-hours treat of choice.
Today Bournville has come to inspire a charming new chocolate shop, Barnaby, which sits on Upper Saint Martin’s Lane in Covent Garden, London. It’s the second confectionery company founded by Barney Goff – the brains behind Buns from Home, a baking project turned fruitful cinnamon-bun business (there are currently 16 of the outlets across the capital). Barnaby’s speciality, however, is handmade, delightfully named bars filled with nostalgic ingredients – ‘Tip Tap’ features peanut butter, salted caramel and peanut cookie; ‘Cinema’ is a popcorn and toffee treat; ‘Matchstick’ is a spin on a marshmallow teacake, starring scrumptious blowtorched s’mores.
The bars might sound like the stuff of Charlie Bucket’s dreams, but Barnaby is worlds apart from Roald Dahl’s chocolate wonderland. ‘We wanted to avoid anything that felt too Willy Wonka,’ says Tom Morris, founder of design practice Morrisstudio, one of the project’s key collaborators (others include architect Harry Kay of Built Works and graphic designer Julian Roberts of Irving & Co). Instead, the store has been exquisitely crafted using rudimentary, natural materials used for the buildings of Bournville. The bespoke solid-oak façade, for instance, has been built using traditional tusk tenon joints – an Arts and Crafts-inspired detail that also nods to the chocolate-box village – so it protrudes from the street. The window display showcases rows of neatly presented bars to tempt passers-by.
Once inside, they won’t be disappointed – not by the chance to watch a trio of chocolatiers at work, nor by the pleasing Edwardian-esque wood-panelled interior. Thanks to the abundance of oak, the palette leans dark, while the lighting is deliberately low to ‘heighten the senses’, says Morris. ‘The smell of chocolate is incredible.’
But there are wonderful moments of joy and colour too, such as bolts of bright yellow from the packaging and signage, and the floor, which has been laid with oblong ceramic tiles that echo the shape of chocolate bars. ‘I like the metaphor of the tiles – they are made from clay, which isn’t a particularly sophisticated material, but then it goes through a machine and turns into this lovely end product, like chocolate,’ says Morris. Their gorgeous glazes – caramel yellow, chocolate brown, sage green and pastel blue – are based on the colours of Art Deco posters advertising Bournville as a place to live in the 1930s. Other delectable details include the cone lampshades, made from copper verdigris, a handsome material that pays homage to the Bournville Carillon (a huge 48-bell musical instrument played on a keyboard).
The interiors might feel grown-up but, as Morris explains: ‘We didn’t want Barnaby to be too serious.’ Enter: Barnaby the crocodile, the brand’s mascot dreamt up by Morris and drawn by illustrator Timba Smits. ‘In Japan, everything has yuru-chara – a mascot – which I’ve been obsessed with for years, so we decided to make our own,’ he says. Their cheery croc is a yellow- hat-clad South American native, who came to Britain as a stowaway on a ship in a barrowful of cocoa beans. His portrait can be spotted in one corner of the store’s window. ‘Barnaby is a chocolate shop, after all,’ says Morris. ‘We wanted to have some fun.’
For more information, visit barnabybars.com
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