Beloved Stratford piercing parlour set to reopen its doors
Renowned piercing shop, Marmalade Park, closed down earlier this year along with 60+ other stalls in Stratford’s Market Village. With queues circling around the store, it had a larger impact than you may think…
As a fresh-faced and excitable first-year university student arriving in London, I was adamant on marking my leap into adulthood with a physical alteration. And what better way to showcase your newfound maturity than through a brand-new shiny piercing?
With my accommodation based in Stratford, I reckoned I wasn’t too far off from a suitable piercer’s. A quick Google search confirmed that there was one in Stratford shopping centre, situated inside Market Village — a complex of over 60 market vendors selling anything and everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to electronic devices.
Conveniently situated by Lily’s Nail’s (where you could grab a fresh set of acrylics for only 28 pounds), Marmalade Park was opened in 1981 by the owner, known to her loyal customers as the lovely Samantha. The extensive queue outside the shop was enough indication that there was already a community surrounding the establishment. After a quick look at the pricelist at the window, I soon realised one of the reasons why — the services were quite cheap!
In search of the perfect nose ring for my reinvented self, I browsed the collection of cool studs and dangly hoops on display before finding myself perched on the seat with a needle in my nose. Before I had even processed what I was doing, my nose had been pierced with swiftness and (despite the unexpected sharp pinch) relative ease. Samantha proceeded to give me a full aftercare sheet, recommending saline solution to keep the piercing clean as it healed.
Even after I moved out of Stratford, I would find myself back in Market Village, donning a new metal piece each time I stepped out. Apparently, I was not alone in my appreciation for Samantha and Marmalade Park, as TikTok soon uncovered. Plenty of users on the app have posted videos about the studio; with one caption reading: “Real ones know about Marmalade Park”. Another put it quite plainly: “Point of View: You hate Stratford Centre but have been getting your piercings done here since secondary school”.
It is therefore understandable why Market Village’s closure on the 10th of January struck a few hearts, leaving the local Newham community riveting in its absence, including popular TikTok personality Aziza (@himynameisaziza) who expressed her dismay in a video entitled “No more curry chips, no more Marmalade Park???”
Reports from earlier this year detail the unexpected shutdown, with local retailers being handed letters telling them that Market Village would be closing that same night as the company running the market, Stratford Market Properties Limited, had gone into administration. Traders who had been running businesses inside the market since 1974 were heartbroken as they were told their entire livelihoods would be ripped away.
Serving as a hub for the local community, the market had been an essential space for the regulars, thus leading to the launch of a petition by stallholders calling on the mayor and council to reopen trading at Market Village “so that it can remain an integral part of Stratford’s vibrant community fabric”.
Luckily, after weeks of campaigning and a cabinet vote on April 2nd, Newham Council agreed to take on a 15-year lease of Market Village with a total of 700,000 pounds being invested into the operation of the market.
So, fear not! Although it has yet to officially open its doors to the public, Marmalade Park will be back in action in the foreseeable future, giving you plenty of time to start thinking about which new piercing you would like to rock this summer.
