Chapeau Bateau – keeping business afloat

Chapeau Bateau. Photograph: Eleonore De Bonneval

The canal and river network is a vital part of the east London landscape, and during the Olympic Games it is set to provide a necessary means of transport.

British Waterways (BW) is hoping to capitalise on the increased number of people on the towpath and provide opportunities for small businesses.

BW hopes to create a floating market, drawing visitors to the canals and towpaths, and allowing traders across the country to become part of the Olympic summer.

With Victoria Park designated as one of the London 2012 official ‘live sites’, the Hertford Union Canal is an attractive site for just such a market.  One trader who has already signed up is Will Waghorn, whose Chapeau Bateau has recently been moored at the bottom of Broadway Market.

Having lived on his sixty-four foot long canal boat for a while, Will decided to turn his home into a floating hat business, stocking high quality hats and caps from a range of carefully chosen suppliers.

His winter collection featured a large variety, from chambrays to fedoras as well as hand-felted scarves. With shelves hanging off the side of the boat displaying his wares, he has been catching the eye of passers-by. “People aren’t expecting to come across something like this, so they’re interested to stop and have a look,” he said.  It certainly adds something out of the ordinary to the towpath and on a sunny Saturday was pulling quite a crowd.

When I visited, entrepreneurial Will had co-opted some nearby buskers into playing next to the boat, creating a lively atmosphere and drawing people further up the towpath.

This has now developed into a series of canalside music sessions, providing live music while walkers, shoppers and passers-by browse the new spring collection.

If this is a preview of what the floating market will be like, then it’s something to get excited about, bringing fresh opportunities to small traders and extra vitality to east London’s canals. “It will be a change of scene,” says Will enthusiastically, “I’ve talked to other traders and I think we’re on track for a really fun summer”.

For more go to Chapeau Bateau.