Shanghai is one of the cities with the highest number of cafes in the world. By the end of 2023, there are more than 8,000 cafes in Shanghai. Nearly 60 percent of these cafes are specialty or independent.
The reporter learned from the Putuo District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau that there are about 500 shops in the district that take coffee as their business. The aroma of coffee all over the streets and alleys not only expands the connotation of Shanghai-style culture and broadens the social space of citizens, but also becomes an important part of promoting consumption vitality and promoting industrial development.
Just a few days ago, the Shanghai Municipal Government officially announced that the Shanghai International Coffee Culture Festival will also be held in May, when the city's largest "Coffee + Culture, Sports and Tourism Exhibition" carnival will be held. The Putuo District Rong Media Center will recommend several specialty coffee shops for the public with the theme of "Coffee Putuo".
First of all, we will walk into the shop LINsCafe in the M50 Creative Park, which is themed around coffee mix and antique furniture.
M50 Creative Park
Located at No. 50 Moganshan Road, Putuo District, M50 Creative Park, as the area with the strongest artistic atmosphere in Shanghai, has attracted the attention of a large number of artists, designers and citizens in recent years. Exhibitions, sculptures, art deals...... It not only brings together many art formats, but also gives birth to a number of unique independent coffee shops, becoming a new place for citizens to pursue a cultural and quality life.
When you enter the AbsoluteArt Space (later known as the Art Space) on the first floor of Building 23, the first thing that catches your eye is a collection of exquisite antique furniture. Since entering M50 in 2015, in the past nine years, the Art Space team has collected more than 5,000 pieces of antique furniture, early exquisite living utensils, clocks, oil paintings, sculptures and other artworks around the world. The exquisite carved solid wood hand-made furniture, with smooth lines, is full of classical charm, and at the same time can be mixed and matched with modern life and home style, which can be collected and appreciated, and can also light up the life scene.
"In line with the concept and fun of the past for the present and the West for the Chinese, we enjoy and respect the beauty of this cultural fusion and the nourishing lifestyle of the body and mind. Lin Hong, the manager of Art Space, said.
In the past 9 years, the space has hosted various themed sand dishes, such as the European Niche Perfume Exhibition, the Antique Silver Exhibition and the Antique Picture Frame Exhibition.
With the acceleration of competition in the antique furniture market, which belongs to a niche category, Art Space is also seeking innovation and change in this fierce change. In 2022, the store will iteratively upgrade the original studio on the 3rd floor of Building 23 to a café space with antique furniture as the carrier, and LINsCafe will be officially unveiled.
However, the transformation and upgrading is not achieved overnight, and this period is inseparable from the help of the relevant committees and bureaus of Putuo District and the M50 Creative Park. Lin Hong recalled that from the beginning of the company registration stage, the Changshou Road Sub-district Investment Promotion Office provided door-to-door services to allow enterprises to successfully apply for various licenses, and in the early stage of the store's opening atmosphere to create an upgrade plan, the strong support of the M50 Creative Park gave suggestions to make the plan smoothly realized. Lin Hong said: "The M50 media department also provided us with free advertising space to help promote the opening of the store. Build a better future in such a friendly business atmosphere. ”
For Lin Hong, this is not only a breakthrough in commercial transformation, but also an important opportunity to promote "niche culture" antique furniture. "I think coffee is a good medium for consumers to sit quietly and experience classic furniture products and understand the stories behind the furniture. Lin Hong narrated, appreciating things on the first floor and tasting incense on the third floor, "I believe that people who like second-hand furniture must be willing to sit down and taste the fragrance floating in the quaint space." It is also a kind of cultural linkage. ”
The LINs Cafe, which is over 300 square meters, is divided into three areas: "Cafe", "Private Dining or Business Meeting" and "Outdoor Terrace".
"Several of the bedrooms from the artist's studio period have been preserved intact, and we have created two 'immersive experience spaces'. Lin Hong explained that one of them is the most popular "old money style" Shanghai-style suite, and the other is a French-style Chinese-style theme space, "All of which I selected from the antique furniture on the first floor to the third floor." The style of the soft furnishings will also be adjusted regularly. ”
Lin Hong told reporters that the reason why the coffee shop was chosen as the display medium of antique furniture products was also because the afternoon tea culture was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and all kinds of second-hand coffee cups were the entry categories for the public to be familiar with and understand the antique furniture collection culture. "Citizens can choose an antique coffee cup with a cup of dark roasted Americano, and taste the bitterness and sweetness of life between the drops of mellowness. Lin Hong recommended the store's signboard "This is life" pour-over coffee.
What's more, LINscafe also has several café seating areas with excellent views. The seats face the Suzhou Creek, and when sunlight shines through the windows, the space is warm and comfortable. Just imagine, on a warm day in the spring breeze, the sun shines on the undisturbed Su River, watching the cruise ships go back and forth, citizens can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Suzhou Creek while sipping coffee, just like the elegant "old foodie" in "Flowers", feeling the charm of the city's prosperity and tranquility.
With the continuous improvement of citizens' pursuit of culture, art and quality life, this cross-border integration model of Art space has undoubtedly injected new vitality into the market. It allows people to see the close connection between art and life, and also provides a new place for citizens to relax. In addition, the reporter learned from the M50 Creative Park that in response to the Shanghai International Coffee Culture Festival, to create a good place to taste coffee in spring, and to light up the spring coffee map along the "Banmasu River" in Putuo, Shanghai, the M50 Creative Park will benefit the citizens of the Spring Coffee Month - Coffee Tasting Special Activities, and the scope of activities covers all coffee businesses in the park.
Source: Shanghai Putuo