David Colman with his Islington memento

WHEN David Colman and his wife Teresa opened their picture framing shop in Upper Street in 1997, it was the week after the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales and the same year their neighbours Tony and Cherie Blair swapped their Angel postcode for a more exclusive Downing Street address.

The couple were in their early 40s and had two young children when they started up their own business, The Only Place for Pictures, after quitting careers in film and advertising.

“We’d always thought that we should do something together,” recalled Mr Colman.

“And we’d always liked picture framing. We’d always liked images – we always thought we had an eye for things. And so we decided to buy some prints, get them framed in a way that we thought they looked good, and then just see whether people liked what we did.”

It turns out the good people of Upper Street did like what they did – for 27 years – until the pair made the decision last year to hang their final picture on the wall and call it a day.

The day they moved in

Their last day of trading will be next Saturday, January 27.

“We’ve been slightly… not overwhelmed but taken aback at the outpouring from people since we said we were going,” said Ms Colman. “We’re very grateful and we’ve had the most wonderful customers.”

They made the decision to leave for two reasons: one was the escalating costs of running an independent business against a backdrop of inflation and energy hikes; the other was their age.

They now plan to focus their efforts on their framing workshop in Palmers Green, close to where they live.

More importantly, they want to spend more time with their children and two grandchildren, and go travelling – particularly to Rome, where their daughter lives.

Having spent decades in the print industry, Mr Colman spoke about how he had seen trends come and go, including the popularity of American artist Mark Rothko. But he said one thing has remained steadfast: people like local things.

“I think it’s quite a transient population in Islington and people who are here for three or four years want to have a memory of the area when they go,” he said, explaining the interest in pictures of local parks and landmarks.

And now, he too will be one of those people, for he will be leaving next weekend with a print of Highbury Fields tucked under his arm as a memento of their time in Islington.