![]() “Inside, we wanted to create an environment that wouldn’t appear too crowded, with lots of small cupboards and drawers for a clean look,” he explains. In Kerr’s words, it was “a design challenge”, for each red phone box is officially a Grade II listed building, so they couldn’t change anything in the carcass, the windows or the exterior. One day I spotted a disused phone box in the street, leased it from the owner and hired a designer to refurbish its interior.” “I was working in phone repairs and was looking to expand, but the rents in London were prohibitive and kept rising. “It all started eight years ago,” says Kerr. The two of us cannot fit inside the phone box together, so we head for a nearby coffee shop. “Too busy for that,” he smiles, and explains that he and his colleagues routinely repair 1,000-1,200 phones a month. “Don’t you feel claustrophobic here?” I ask Choaibi. After a quick perusal, I tick off a work bench, a chair, electric lights, heaters, tool cupboards, phone chargers, internet router, CCTV camera, a perforated screen with a magnetic tool holder at eye level. It is amazing how many features and facilities a tiny phone kiosk measuring less than 1 square metre can accommodate. Waiting for Kerr, I squeeze myself inside the box (Choaibi has to exit his workplace to allow me in) and look around. In fact, there’s only one desk, or rather a bench, inside the phone box – now manned by technician Fouad Choaibi, expert in iPhone repairs, who explains that his boss has popped out and will be back shortly. The highly distinctive kiosk is hard to overlook: bright red and eye-catching, it stands out in the drab December crowd. ![]() I want to question Kerr about one of Lovefone’s workshops-cum-offices inside that iconic British landmark – a red K-type phone box. Yet it is not about the company as such that I want to talk to him. I am about to meet Robert Kerr, CEO and co-founder of Lovefone, a small London-based start-up specialising in PC and iPhone repairs. ![]() In this case, however, I have no such worries, because the address in my notebook is laconic: Sicilian Avenue, Holborn, Red Phone Box. I am running late for an interview in central London and would normally be stressed about the time required to negotiate some endless office corridors before I can face my interviewee.
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