Not Just Coincidence.

St Pancras and King’s Cross stations were first built in the 1900s to transport and store coal (and more) from the Midlands and further north, before it continued on its journey across London. By the 1990s, with no coal left to store, the area became a patchwork of warehouses, industrial units, periods of abandonment (and the raves that came with it), before eventually being redeveloped into what we now know as Coal Drops Yard in 2018—now home to our second London store.

Our shop in Coal Drops Yard has more than your usual amount of serendipity. Back in the ’90s, our Co-Founder David Keyte was travelling regularly from Nottingham to London for work, while Thomas Heatherwick—the designer whose studio would later lead the redevelopment of Coal Drops Yard—was setting up his practice in King’s Cross. That same station David travelled through (and still does) is built from bricks made on the street he now lives on in Nottingham. And the butcher’s block that has been in Thomas’s kitchen for the last two decades was originally found in the very unit our store now occupies, years before it became Coal Drops Yard.

Over the years, we’ve also made clothes for Thomas. A small, ongoing relationship that eventually led to an invitation back—a tour around Coal Drops Yard and a conversation at his London studio—to talk about the shared histories, chance overlaps, and the thinking behind the place our King’s Cross store now calls home.

“I’ve been coming to King’s Cross and St Pancras all my working life. I wanted us to be in that space because it was part of me, part of my history. It’s a lovely story, to continue to have that link.”—David Keyte, UW Co-Founder

Tasked with redeveloping the old coal drops sheds, Heatherwick Studio looked back to the original Victorian structures.

“We see buildings that already exist, particularly when they were made with care and good materials, as a blessing. It’s about using that history as a springboard, and not being scared of it.”—Thomas Heatherwick, Founder and Design Director, Heatherwick Studio.

One of the most recognisable features of the space is the sweeping, or ‘kissing’, roof. Using the two existing railway buildings as its foundation, the roof rises and connects them, creating a walkway between the shops.

“The challenge at first was that there wasn’t a ‘heart’ to the project,” Thomas tells us. “Where do you meet your partner? Where do you meet your granny? We made the roof solve the problem.”

That sense of heart, and how spaces make people feel, sits at the centre of Heatherwick Studio’s work. David echoes this when talking about Universal Works: “We need things that look exciting and enhance our lives. The only enhancement I can give you is clothing. But often, it’s how it affects other people as much as it affects you.”

Underneath it all is a shared belief in valuing human input, time, and intention—and in learning from the way things were made before. Coal Drops Yard is a reminder that shared history, care, and thoughtful design can come together to create places that feel meaningful. We hope the considered work of today can become part of someone else’s story tomorrow.

Thomas builds on these ideas in his book, 'Humanise – A Maker's Guide to Building Our World', which aims to confront what he considers to be a public health issue caused by "bland buildings" and inspire the public to demand better. You can also find out more here.