A New Tribe is the destination store on Hackney Road that brings together a beautiful mix of ceramics, rugs, textiles and homewares in a way that feels very different to anything you’ve seen before. It’s refined without pretension; it’s vibrant without being overwhelming.

Inspired by her travels to Japan and Morocco while working in fashion, Ella Jones wanted to create a space that honoured the influences of these countries while also making something completely new. As lockdown hit, Ella moved the business online but is looking forward to being back in the shop as customers and life tentatively return to normal. We met Ella in the Walthamstow house she shares with her partner, Magnus, and their dog, Peggy, to discuss Le Corbusier’s colour theory and designing a home to be lived in.

Ella: “After graduating, I worked in fashion for around eight years but I ultimately knew the industry wasn’t quite the right fit. I explored a few different options as I made the transition, one of which was floristry, but as much as I loved the flowers and the artistry, the early mornings weren’t for me.

“I’ve always loved interiors, so I started selling modestly priced Moroccan rugs and select objects at pop-up shops. To begin with, it was more something I did on the side, but I soon realised this was what I wanted to do and it evolved from there.

“I opened my first shop on Chatsworth Road, which was perfect. I built the brand up slowly and steadily from there and developed relationships with suppliers; however, there was no storage, and I needed a larger space. The new shop opened on Hackney Road in October 2019.

“With A New Tribe, I wanted the store to be a real discovery of things you wouldn’t find elsewhere. I wanted to offer something different, working with independent designers, developing our relationships and introducing people to their work. I wanted it to have a taste of Morocco but also to bring in influences from around the world to create something new.

“My love of Morocco came from a trip I made there around 10 years ago; I’ve since spent a lot of time there working with local makers and suppliers. I discovered Marrakech-based LRNCE when I first opened the shop – I was obsessed with everything the founder, Laurence Leenaert, did. We were in contact for a long time before I stocked her work, but that’s how I like to work. I’m obviously interested in the objects themselves, but I also like to cultivate close relationships with the people whose work I stock.

“We moved to Walthamstow from Dalston in 2017. We were looking for a calmer, quieter place to be. This street leads onto St James Park at one end, which has a lovely, peaceful feel to it.

“The house had originally been rented out by the room – it was quite unloved and needed a lot of work. There was already a kitchen extension and a loft conversion, so the shell was good, but we stripped everything else back to the bare bones and started again. It took about a year in total, which was testing as we didn’t have a bathroom over the freezing winter. There were a lot of hot showers happening at the gym!

“The rooms in these Victorian houses aren’t huge, so we opened out all of the ground floor. The kitchen at the back had steps down to it and we moved these to the front door and lowered the floor throughout, using concrete as the material. A company called Period Projects made the front door, and we helped to design the stained glass that sits within and above it.

“We wanted the ground floor as one space, but we didn’t want it to feel like a big empty room, so we brought in the dividers to create smaller spaces. The living room is cosy, perfect for relaxing in front of the TV, then there’s the smaller space with our books and record player that leads into the dining room and kitchen area.

“To bring a cohesive feel throughout the house we focussed on a few key details such as the wood and the wall colours. We chose a type of wood called sapele that flows through various points in the house like the staircase, the kitchen units and the dividing walls.

“We chose a palette from Le Corbusier’s colour theory for the wall colours that would help bring things together. There’s a company in Germany called Keim that mix the exact paint to match his palette, which meant we were able to use a beautiful spread of colours in various spots. The blue in the kitchen is the most striking, and the rest of the colours are more harmonious.

“When it comes to furniture, we’ve always collected pieces over the years so have a mixture of vintage and modern alongside pieces that Magnus has designed through his company, FP&Co, such as the sideboard under the TV, the kitchen table and some of the lamps.

“Magnus’s father builds most of his prototypes in Norway, and the final products are made in the UK. His dad also created all of the furniture in my store; it’s really lovely to involve the family in our work.

“I have quite a few favourite pieces inside the house. I love the blue framed rug in the dining room. It was an overlooked rug in a shop in Marrakech, but I was drawn to the deep blue in the textiles and the idea of someone’s trash being my treasure. I had it framed and hung it against the blue wall to make it sing.

“The paintings in the dining room are also some of the works that I love the most. The piece on the right-hand side of the shelf is by an Australian artist called Emma Gale, and we recently bought a painting by Jojo Bedell from The Old Bank Vault gallery on Hackney Road, which hangs at the side of the display cabinet, as a Christmas present to each other.

“As the shop on Hackney Road has been closed for a large proportion of the last year, it still feels very new. When we went into lockdown and over the various stages of the pandemic, I’ve had to shut the shop temporarily and move things online. It’s been fine, and business has been steady, but it’s not the same as being in the space and seeing my customers; I’m happy things are opening up again. It’s been heartening to see people supporting the local independent shops. I hope that continues as our relationship with retail and the spaces around us become more personal.

“In the near future, I’m collaborating with Magnus and The Old Bank Vault gallery to open a new space a few doors down from the shop. It will house the gallery, Magnus’s work and some larger pieces from A New Tribe, such as statement rugs to act as more of a showroom for interior designers and architects working on commercial projects. It’s exciting.”