So you’ve finished service on a busy Thursday night: it’s 2 am, you’re off tomorrow, and dying for a nightcap. You’ve been steadily drinking filter coffee up until around 9 pm, when your section got so busy that you then didn’t drink water until midnight. It’s safe to say you’re not ready for bed just yet. There’s this place down the road, and it’s open till 4 am. The bartenders wear painters’ overalls and mix cocktails like they are potions in a laboratory. Situated on Kingsland Road in Dalston, you’ll find the rather inconspicuous Bar with Shapes for a Name. Although its exterior may appear quiet and unsuspecting, everybody knows about this bar - it is infamous, a regular hospitality haunt, almost a rite of passage, some may say?
At the Bar with Shapes of a Name, Maria Kontorravdis is the red square. The other two shapes represent the cofounders, Remy Savage and Paul Lougrat. As an integral part of this operation, Maria tells me the founding ideas of this Bauhaus-inspired project. The Bauhaus movement teaches principles such as ‘form follows function’; behind the harsh industrial metal shutters hides the most beautiful, Bauhaus-style bar. You’re greeted by a cacophony of artistic mediums - mahogany-coloured wood shrouds the bar area, whilst some seats are rattan, others feature long, communal, primary-coloured cushions upheld by twists of burnished steel.
As Maria speaks, she explodes with knowledge and excitement; you can see how she captures the attention not only of guests, but also at the numerous events she gives presentations at. As our conversation comes to a close, I ask her how her next couple of months look. She pauses before relaying the multitude of events she is going to like the Bartenders’ Weekender in Brisbane, another in New York and one more in Mexico. This woman is on fire. She’s designed trainers for the St Germain liqueur company in her own time… her creativity, passion and unwavering desire to explore are extremely impressive.
I’m Stella, and I’m gonna take you out for a drink.
