How Gelato helped East London Print House turn local moments into wall-worthy art
When Nikesh started East London Print House, it was never about chasing trends. It was about bottling the feeling of a city he loves—one coffee run, one pub front, one memory at a time.
“I probably started it… peak lockdown,” he says. “I always wanted to try and get into a bit of drawing… I might have started on Etsy with illustrations for cards and they surprisingly sold.”
The spark? Takeaway coffees on long Dalston walks. “The place you get coffee is almost part of your identity,” Nikesh explains. “It’s actually quite cool to have that as something you put up on your wall and personalise it and make it a story of yourself.”
Today, East London Print House is a growing collection of bold, colourful art prints—shopfronts, cafés, pubs, and London icons—made to celebrate the places where life actually happens.
Why Gelato works for a one-person studio
Nikesh runs the brand alongside a full-time job—so fulfilment has to be fast and hands-off.
“When it’s automated, it’s quite hands off,” he says. “Once it’s linked… it all gets taken care of… it’s all simple.”
With Gelato’s global network and local production, orders move quickly without the heavy lifting. That means more time for drawing—and fewer late-night packing sessions.
Peak season: gifts with a postcode
Sales surge for Nikesh “in October, November, December.” Why? These prints are personal.
“These make really, really good gifts,” he says. “They’re unique, quite personal… people ask for personalised items… wedding gifts or something cool like a gift for the first date.”
Gelato helps him ride the wave without losing sleep. Orders flow from Shopify to production; he steps in only when a customer needs a tweak or has a delivery question.
What’s next for East London Print House
Expect more London pubs (he’s on a roll), plus broader themes that travel well—think espresso martinis, pasta shapes, destination posters, and city icons that feel universal. He’s also weighing a calendar: with a wider range now, curations like Pubs of London or Coffee Shops of London are ripe for a 12-month spin.
And because his work lives where memory meets place, we can’t wait to see what new corners of the city get the Nikesh treatment.
Final word from the artist
“It’s all about capturing those memories,” he says simply. “The buildings have significance to things that you do and the memories you make.”
With Gelato handling production behind the scenes, East London Print House can keep doing what it does best: turning everyday London moments into prints people can gift, frame, and keep.
