Putney's Boutique of the Bizarre
Blakes Heaven opens on Lower Richmond Road
Grant Holdsworth with a dalek (left) but will the store live long and prosper
September 15, 2023
Putney just got a little bit wackier. The opening of Blakes Heaven on the Lower Richmond Road means that if you are looking for the present for the man with everything - a bad taste mug, a groovy lamp, odd ball ornaments for the desk, a corgi model, off the wall books, an historic film poster, anything from the Dr Who series and so much more, there’s now a place for you.
And the man behind the shop hasn’t moved very far. Grant Holdsworth for twenty years ran the London Mini Centre two blocks away. With that closing he has upgraded his model making hobby. And although its an odd quirky shop off the High Street, Grant maintains, ”I am well known around here and I am already doing good business and I have only just started my web site which is where the high end collectors will find me .”
So why Blakes Heaven?,” There were thirty names in the running but the other 29 had been taken, it’s a play on Blakes 7, the cult science fiction series in the 70s”.
The fact that the shop is so close to other cult series of the 70s Mr Benn (based in across the road Festing/Festive Road)makes Grant smile, ”He was one of my favourites but I am more into science fiction which is why Dr Who has such a high profile.”
Hopefully the store is not too much of an alien concept for SW15
But is this such a good time to be opening a cult gift shop?
“People always want to buy presents and although for the collectors there are rare items over £100 for those who like something a bit different and a bit of a laugh there is lots under a tenner”, says Grant. What is more many manufacturers of the odd ball and the interesting are picking up on this new outlet and the range widens daily.
Hugh Thompson
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