Specialties
The Canvas Cafe is your happy place. London's first Happy Cafe and home to the world's first Museum of Happiness, we look after your happiness both inside and out, with homemade food made with love, and free events in emotional health and well being.
History
Established in 2014.
The Canvas Cafe is a social enterprise opened by Ruth Rogers, who also founded the positive body image charity Body Gossip.
Realising that empowering people's thoughts and ideas through shared creative writing can offer opportunities for human connection, Ruth opened The Canvas Cafe because she wanted to remind people of their faith in humanity.
Thanks to the CSR programme run by Beyond Business and Investec, Ruth was granted funding in 2013 to open the first Canvas Cafe, just off Brick Lane in Shoreditch. A not-for-profit social business, The Canvas Cafe not only offers its community free events in emotional health and well being, it funds self-esteem programmes for young people delivered by the charity Body Gossip.
Meet the Business Owner: Ruth R.
Ruth has spent most of her adult life as an actress and puppeteer, but secretly she was a social entrepreneur all along.
She founded positive body image charity Body Gossip in 2006, and has since then produced 8 live theatre productions, 7 short films, published a book and created the world's first Body Love Flashmob, as well as designing a powerful theatre in education programme for years 7-9 that works with young people combining creative writing and self-esteem education.
In 2009 she had an idea to create a venue where people's thoughts, ideas, secrets and stories were shared on the walls of the venue itself, allowing human connections, moments of reflection, and a space to explore happiness and emotional well being.
In 2014 her dream came true, when she opened The Canvas Cafe just off Brick Lane in Shoreditch.
Ruth is inspired by people's stories, and she loves seeing people write and read her walls. Come see them for yourself!