Museum of Brands

Founded in 1984 by consumer historian Robert Opie, and based in its current home since 2015, this Notting Hill museum houses highlights from a collection of some 12,000 items tracing the history of branding in Britain over the past 200 years. Its permanent display is called the ‘Time Tunnel’, and comprises of a maze of dark cabinets stuffed with wrappers, magazines, posters, toys, boxes and other colourful curios arranged in date order. With the arrival of each new decade an information panel helps to put the changing designs and new fashions into context. A highlight – literally light thanks to a sunny, south-facing gallery room – is a sort of shrine to a few particularly recognisable brands. One cabinet holds every iteration of can and bottle produced by Guinness, another is packed with cereal boxes from Kellogg’s, even Brasso gets its moment to , *ahem*, shine. This is a museum that will appeal to any lover of stuff, a nostalgia-stuffed tribute to the many, many things we buy.