Oddballs Juggling

Oddballs, 200a-200b Camden Lock Place, London NW1 8AB

Tel: +44(0) 207 284 4488; www.oddballs.co.uk

Owner: Phillip Maxwell-Stewart (Max Oddball)

Among all the other colourful, funky shops in Camden, you could be forgiven for overlooking Oddballs, which is quietly positioned along a nondescript corner. In fact, I walked past it twice... and I was actively searching for it!

I found out the trick is to walk up to the Camden Lock railway bridge and then look back – at which point Oddballs becomes apparent.

Packed inside this tiny shop is as much paraphernalia as can be crammed: from juggling clubs, knives and balls to diabolos, skateboards, and plenty more – in every shape and size imaginable.

The shop is also crammed full of people – so the three shopkeepers have to juggle taking delivery of goods, running the till and demonstrating products to customers. The shop gets impossibly busy, but Dan, Nathan and Mat keep their calm: “We're jugglers; we're used to multitasking!” says Nathan, while tending to an older American couple.

I wonder if it's not better to come back some other time as they're so busy, but Dan tells me “not really, it's all right – you learn to cope very quickly!”

Mat adds that this was relatively quiet: “you should see us at weekends!”

I can only picture pandemonium...

Still, I try to get into the juggling spirit, and decide to interview whoever happens to be free at that point in time – particularly as Mat has just dashed off to pick up the phone and deal with an order for 450 coloured balls!

Dan takes his place, and tells me more about the history of Oddballs - Europe's oldest juggling shop.

Established in 1984, the Oddballs story starts earlier - with a Covent Garden street performer called Phillip Maxwell-Stewart (stage name: Max Oddball).

Juggling had fallen into relative obscurity, and like other jugglers Max found it hard to find the right materials; he ended up improvising due to necessity – for example, adding sand to plastic bottles for makeshift clubs.

He then discovered there were plenty of juggling balls, clubs, rings, hats, knives and more available from the USA - so he asked friends and acquaintances who were travelling there to bring him some kit back.

Finding that his fellow jugglers were in need of juggling equipment just as much as he was, Max started importing goods wholesale from the United States and selling them from a suitcase in Covent Garden, and later from his house.

Demand grew so fast that Max soon decided to open a shop!

Oddball was a force in the juggling revival of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s – in addition to offering customers the quality goods they were longing for, Max also made appearances in daytime television - and even more importantly, organised the first British Juggling Convention in 1988 – now a massive annual event where the world's top jugglers can meet up and learn from each other.

Having orchestrated the juggling craze, Max decided to retire from the shop and now lives in Brighton. That didn't last for long though – he opened an Oddballs in Brighton and the company now also sells merchandise online through a warehouse in Crawley.

Oddballs' product range has also expanded: 

“We sell skateboards, unicycles, kites and more - but they've all got one thing in common: they're skill toys” explains Mat.

“There's nothing in our shop that you can just pick up and play with instantly: you have to practise.”

It takes me a while to realise what he means: even behind the counter, Mat is busy honing his contact juggling skills by balancing a ball on his head!

When the shop gets temporarily quieter, off comes the ball: Mat takes hold of another delivery and restocks the shelves. “People think we just play about all day, what they don't notice is the legs frantically paddling beneath the surface!”

With that he's off to deal with a customer, and Dan tells me more about Oddballs' products.

“Most of the toys we sell are centuries old – we made helped make poi popular in the 1990s but they're an old Maori tradition from New Zealand. 

What we've done is modernise our products – we also sell Kevlar fire poi and carbon fibre Diabolo sticks for better handling. Oh, and LED-lit juggling balls – they've made a huge difference to night-time performances!”

With perfect timing, one of the customers wants to see how good those carbon fibre Diabolo sticks are, and Mat helps him.

I turn around to resume the interview, and see Nathan standing where Dan was a few moments ago!

I ask him how Oddballs has coped with the current economic climate. 

It turns out that the shop's innovations in juggling materials have helped it cope with the recession: “By definition, the spend-to-mileage ratio is very good: you buy a new toy, and spend a lot of time playing with it. You could spend the same in a cinema or a pub and after an hour you've nothing to show for it!”

In addition, Oddballs' online presence has helped the company thrive as it can export all over the world.

“Our online prices are cheaper than in store, because in essence all you have is a warehouse plus postage and packaging costs. In the stores you have to pay much higher rent and staff costs, hence the higher prices – but for small orders it works out cheaper to buy in-store than pay the P&P, and of course the store allows you to actually try out the equipment!”

Personally, I think that's what's helped Oddballs popularity: they have the widest range of juggling equipment in any UK shop, and the shopkeepers are all accomplished jugglers themselves.

A newly-returned Dan shows off his hat-juggling skills to a customer and explains his top tip to anyone learning to juggle:

“Most people can learn to juggle in a week or two: the key is to think of what you're doing as play and not practise: since you're just fooling about you're less tense, not as worried about results, and you end up learning a lot faster.”

I leave the shop impressed. It's not every day that you see performance art in a shop, from staff and clients alike!

I think they've made a new customer; suddenly enthused, I decide to go home and... play.