I was in London last week. It’s a bit of a second home at the moment. My meeting was in the City and afterwards I had a chance to have brief look at Shoreditch – an area of London which is on the up.

This is partly as a result of the fact there are a number of independents in the area, but also that there seems to be very cultural and ‘arty’ vibe. And then there is the very cool subway cars on the roof of a building!

But they also have a new retail concept – Boxpark.

Boxpark is a series of shipping containers which house small shops. The shops are aspirational – fashion, food and unique. I went to the Moo.com shop – They sell printed business cards and the shop showcases the stock but also acts as a collection point for their on-line business. Clicks to bricks / containers. Nike were there as were some food outlets on the roof.

I saw a similar thing in New York where they used the containers in front of the shops at Seaport after Hurricane Sandy.

But this scheme in Shoreditch seems to have found a place. I like the idea that tenants can come and go – that makes for an interesting experience. Boxpark are also reportedly looking at bringing the concept to the regions and hopefully they will see Nottingham as a great place for this.