Illustrating the Famous Notting Hill Bookshop
Notting Hill Bookshop Card
This beautiful Notting Hill Bookshop had been stocking some of my Notting Hill greetings cards since mid 2024 so when I decided I wanted to paint an example of a charming London independent book shop this was the perfect place to start!
Just off Portobello road, this beautiful bookshop has a wide selection of books including unique leather and satin bound classics and children's books under a greenhouse roof at the back, super charming!
The Notting Hill Bookshop, with a Halloween window display
When choosing what time of day and season to set a picture in I decided on Autumn, partly because it was that time of year, and also the colours would compliment the blue front of the store. Plus with the tree just outside the shop I can add fallen leaves, which I find helps spread some warm colours across the picture.
My finished painting
Then in early 2025 their manager contacted me asking to use my artwork as greetings cards for their store. Pretty nice to get the appreciation and to have something exclusive to such a popular store like this. So now you can find these greetings cards in this bookshop!
If you wondering, does this shop have anything to do with the 1999 movie 'Notting Hill' the movie, it does indeed, the shops interior became the inspiration for that film. The actual interior was never used as a set but you can definitely see what sparked the ideas for the story when you step inside. Since the film was released, the shop has changed hands and expanded its range from just travel books (hence the name change from 'The Travel Bookshop') to many other categories.
If you find yourself in Notting Hill, this shop is definitely worth a visit, beware it can be extremely busy though (its a tight squeeze when its full). There are some great cafes very near though so you can recover afterwards (I enjoyed a very tasty passion fruit croissant at Chai Guys Bakehouse around the corner👌).