“A love letter to Brixton and Herne Hill”, is how Emma Barnett and Jeremy Weil describe Colour In Brixton and Colour in Herne Hill, two of the series of colouring-in books the Brixton wife-and-husband team have launched.
The idea came to them walking around Brixton with their newborn daughter taking pictures to create a record of the time and wondering how to share the memories with a five-year-old son and also teach him about the neighbourhood.
Friends started asking for the sheets they made for him to colour in and a business was hatched.
The pair have noticed that children get more than just colouring in from the books. “They are so happy to open a page and recognise somewhere they know,” said Emma, whose day job is presenting BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour.
Unlike on-screen activity, conversations can grow out of or take place during a colouring-in session.
And it’s not only children who love to colour in the outlines that are produced by an illustrator. Adults too find relaxation in the books.
There are many more books available, including local ones for Streatham, Dulwich, East Dulwich, Clapham and Crystal Palace – where Jeremy grew up. Others have reached Bethnal Green in the East and Hammersmith in the West.
The idea has expended to include greetings cards for Herne Hill and Dulwich.
The ambition is, eventually, to cover the whole of the UK.
You can find the books in local outlets like Forget Me Not in Herne Hill. They are also selling well via social media and the website colouryourstreets.co.uk
Instagram: colouryourstreets
