Leaky’s lucky look at MinaLima London

This Leaky correspondent was recently in London on business and saw on a map app that MinaLima London was right around the corner from my hotel. I’d always wanted to go to a MinaLima store in person but had not been back to any of the cities where their shops are located (Edinburgh, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul) since they opened. I’m from Chicago, and have spent a considerable amount of time living in London, Edinburgh, and New York, but I had not been back to any of these cities in years until this London trip.

As you can imagine, I nearly threw my bags into my hotel room the moment I could check in so I could dash to the MinaLima store and feast my eyes. (Funny aside: I work remotely so I only see my work colleagues over Zoom. I met one in person for the first time in London. We decided to meet at Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Station but a tube strike precluded that arrangement so we met at MinaLima instead. She even had tickets to see “Cursed Child” that night. Forget work, we were totally focused on Harry Potter London!)

The cranberry, lime, and gold shop stands out against the mostly monochromatic blacks, greys, and whites of the other businesses along Wardour Street the way I imagine Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes does in Diagon Alley. Going in the door feels both like stepping back in time in that quaint wizarding way and stepping into the magical world itself. Yes, it’s a store; it’s lined with shelves and everything has a price tag, but it’s set up with fireplaces and desks and plants and such to feel homey, like you are entering the house of a witch or wizard who is a fond collector of retro posters and artefacts that are both decorative and functional. Sort of a William Morris for the magical world.