… It’s not that bad. As we approach the summer months, isn’t everyone looking for a new haunt to visit for a coffee before a long day of work, brunch with friends, or a well-deserved weekend treat? Eye Mag shows you just the place, served with an added dose of happiness...

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Nestled In Hanbury Street, just off much-loved Brick Lane, is social enterprise café and creative venue, The Canvas Café. More than just your commonplace hipster café serving flat whites and smashed avocado (when did it become smashed?), found on every street corner and inbetween in London – and let’s not even mention Starbucks – Ruth Rogers, owner and creator of the venue, hopes her venue offers something a little different. Branding themselves as “London’s first happiness café”, it has clearly found its ideal location in Shoreditch, offering locally sourced, ethical food and plenty of vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free options, a popular requirement for their customers.

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What’s in a name? In terms of The Canvas Café, its entire story is in its name. Ruth, an actress, used to take a white sofa with her to festivals and events she attended, encouraging fellow attendees to sketch, scribble, write or whatever took their fancy on the day, based on how they were currently feeling about their body: essentially creating a portable, ever-evolving canvas. Surprised at what people were writing – honest and beautiful messages – she was inspired to continue the venture and opened a café as a space for a bigger canvas. The once-white sofa, now covered in messages, is still present in the lower floor of the cafe, with the surrounding walls turning into the new canvas. With questions from “What do you love most about this city?” to “Name a book you couldn’t put down” (and the slightly more vague “What makes your soul sing?”), peoples’ answers are certainly thought-provoking, the perfect accompaniment to a coffee. According to assistant manager, Anna, there are plans to paint over parts of the walls that have faded or have small marks on to create even more room for doodles. The popularity of the walls varies, she says, “it really depends on how expressive people are feeling, and whether or not they like drawing!”.

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Continuing the carefree vibe, a large emphasis is put on making their customers feel at home, with staff encouraging customers to work all day in the space; Anna says, “people are encouraged to stay all day, have a meal and a couple of coffees” – a stark contrast to the dreaded S word we mentioned earlier, where it can feel as if you’re simply taking up valuable seat space in the fast-paced environment. The Canvas Café offers an entirely different take on going for a coffee, leaning towards a slow pace over fast food: the carefree barista peacefully sings an unrecognisable tune as she prepares your drinks, chatter from various different languages surrounds my table, and coffees are brought over to your table individually as they are best drunk straight away (as it has been written on the wall - obviously). The mismatched tables and chairs, and almost five minutes the friendly barista spends trying to fix the broken lamp next to my table, only adds to the charming character. When I enquire about the sorts of customers that come to sample the many delicacies on offer - including the vegan freakshakes (not cheap at £8 a pop) - Anna gives an answer to be expected, referring to the area’s “artistic people”, but also sharing that the space is especially popular with coworkers. The day that I visit, I see at least three tables that appear to be meetings over an early lunch.

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Situated just next door to The Canvas Café is the aptly-titled Museum of Happiness, offering all sorts of happiness-boosting activities ranging from a giant ball pit and silent discos, to the more relaxing dance classes and mindfulness sessions. Also on offer are yoga classes and free talks from influential speakers within the ‘happiness world’. Blue Monday of this year saw the launch of The Winter Happiness Festival, described as the perfect antidote to the January blues for Londoners - a venture the capital so desperately needs. The latest analysis of wellbeing released in 2016 by the Office for National Statistics revealed people living in London supposedly have the highest anxiety levels; not a surprise considering the happiest place to live in the UK is the Outer Hebrides, just about the furthest you can get away from the city without leaving the country entirely.

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The partner to The Canvas Café , the Museum of Happiness, is a not-for-profit organisation that provides what they themselves describe as an “experiential adventure”; while this may initially sound quite pretentious, it it difficult to put down the vast range of events they put on. Anna tell us that the “funky and unique” events are the museum’s most popular: funky and unique here meaning stand-up comedy, poetry and, of course, the giant ball pit for adults, which unsurprisingly drummed up a large amount of publicity. They are constantly trying out new things, some more popular than others, “a growing event are the jazz nights, which are organised by Martha” - Martha being the resident barista and chef by day and jazz singer by night (once a week, that is). While it seems there is no link between the events they are putting on, the underlying aim is to teach people of all genders, ages and backgrounds about the essence of happiness and well-being through the interactive workshops and exhibitions - again, the clue is in the name. With the four C’s as their values - that’s compassion (and kindness), community, creativity and consciousness - there is no room for cynicism here.

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With such a USP (excuse the jargon), it is surprising not many other cafes just like this one have popped up yet, especially to capitalise on the draw of summer happiness. However, this is all part of the charm at The Canvas Cafe - it manages to avoid being sickly and instead genuinely feels like a place of happiness and positivity, a tricky balance. As many people living in London remain unhappy with recent events such as Brexit, social enterprise spaces like these are the perfect antidote to the low mood and current political climate, something so badly needed.