Armstrong Audio

‘Then I knew I’d stumbled into a place of actual magic.’
Lovely words from Ed Oxley in Issue 1 of .mag
It’s a real joy to be featured in a ‘tactile’ magazine like this - one of the things we value in analogue audio. Get yourself a copy and see what T and Shamil had to say. Please do check the magazine and the idea behind it - it’s beautifully put together!

Does vinyl sound better than a CD? Can you tell if a recording has digital or analogue origins? Is it the sound that’s appealing with analogue or the multifaceted interfaces you often get? The digital vs analogue argument is much debated but for us the joy is often in the fact that analogue was made to last, built to be repaired , unlike some more modern audio equipment. However one of the biggest factors is nostalgia- that moment when you are transported back to a different time; be it a memory or feeling - your grandfather’s living room or a recording of a lost voice. These are the moments we cherish when repairing audio equipment for customers.

📢 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 📢
Waltham Forest Pet Foodbank donation point is now at Armstrong! We have moved it from where many of you regularly donated and we hope that you continue - it’s having a huge impact! As a way of saying thank you, we will give a free loyalty stamp for every donation drop off ❤️

Good morning! You may have noticed our new coffee machine - we’ve swapped and now have this beauty from The Willow Tree. Never fear, our gorgeous is still in use in our ‘brother bar’ where you can now enjoy a leisurely coffee in the bar whilst trying out the delicious new lunch menu (Italian small plates developed by our very own Italian chef Marco). Go check it out Monday-Friday 11.30-3.30pm.

Missing The Willow Tree? Don’t worry, we’ve got you! We’re offering a free pastry with every hot drink today to ease the pain ☕️🥐. Also, if you have any magic stamp rewards from The Willow Tree, we will honour them here at Armstrong- happy Monday! 😘

Good morning! Whilst our coffee shop will be open as usual, Shalma and T are taking a much deserved break, so the repair shop will be closed from today until Friday 19th. Our engineer Hamed will be working away on units still but any correspondence won’t begin again until Shalma returns.

Have you popped in recently? We’re not just audio and coffee! Keep your eyes peeled for some exciting new additions coming soon 👀

Good morning! ☀️
Please see our Easter opening times:
🛠️Repair shop open as usual Friday and Saturday
☕️Coffee shop 9-3 Friday, Saturday and Monday
❤️

We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and wish you all a happy, healthy New Year! The coffee shop will reopen on the 30th and the repair shop on the 3rd, we can’t wait to see you all again! ❤️

Thank you.
Thank you to all our wonderful customers and supporters for your kind messages and your patience over the last few months. We’re pleased to say that T has made a great recovery, thanks to all of those who cared for him in the NHS at Whipps Cross and St Bart’s. Although he’s taking things at a slower pace, he is back in the repair shop! We are slowly getting back to business as usual - watch this space! ❤️

Happy birthday to the legend that is T!
You may have noticed that we’ve been a bit quiet recently - T has unfortunately been quite unwell but he is receiving excellent care. He’s our main man and main priority right now. For those of you who know him, you’ll know that he wants more than anything to be at his beloved desk fixing again and we can’t wait to have him back. So here’s to T, the most generous, kind hearted, knowledgeable, dependable and wonderful man - we love you!❤️

Let us introduce Shalma, the first port of call in our repair shop! Many of you will have met her or spoken to her on the phone (or seen her on tv recently!).

Shalma has worked at the repair shop with her husband T for over 25 years. Her favourite thing about working at Armstrong is meeting different people and hearing their stories. She says ‘I may be a bit too chatty but I like giving a good service and love my job- it puts a smile on my face’.

Shalma is most definitely the glue that holds the Armstrong family together - we couldn’t do it without her ❤️

These dream team are back from their well deserved holiday! Did you see Shalma and T on last night in another episode of Retro Electro Workshop? If not then you can see them in real life again - the repair shop is back open Wednesday-Saturday 10am-5pm. Please bear with us while we get through all the enquiries ❤️

📢 We are very excited by this! If you didn’t know already, Shamil and T have been working on this project for several months now and it’s finally hitting your TV tomorrow evening! ‘Retro Electro Workshop’ is a series about the dying art of repairing electronics. When they were approached to appear they couldn’t say no - it encapsulates our Armstrong motto of ‘It’s better to repair than replace’ beautifully. It is mainly filmed on location as they join ‘super-fixer’ and presenter Rob Howard, but there are some great scenes from our very own Blackhorse Lane too! Tune in on Tuesdays 9pm
Well done Shamil and T - legends!💥

** Repair shop closed 10th July- 2nd August **
Shalma and T are taking a well earned holiday, it doesn’t happen often but there aren’t many 76 year olds who work 6 days a week! Shalma will get back to all enquiries when they return and T will be ‘soldering on’ with the repairs.
Our brilliant baristas will still be holding the fort in the coffee shop with the normal opening hours ❤️

Thomas - bringing French flair and awesome tunes to Armstrong every shift he works! His passion for music is one of the reasons he loves working at Armstrong, he gets to meet different people in the music industry and see some amazing and rare units. Thomas lives locally like Natalie so loves being able to serve coffee to other locals!
We love what he brings to Armstrong and he’s very much part of the family now ❤️

🔎 Have you ever seen a mixing desk from this angle?
🛠️ Did you know that our repair shop is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10-5 and you can pop in and have a look? Shalma and T love to welcome customers and visitors and let them see some of the fantastic repair work T is working on. So if you love audio, engineering or are just fascinated by the story why don’t you pop in and have a look? We often have visits from people who moved away from the area or had repairs done years ago and are so happy to find us still going strong! (And no, we don’t sell any of the items but our friends have some great stuff!) 🙌

Many of you will recognise this face! This is one of our baristas, Natalie. Our favourite thing about Nat is her infectious smile and the joy she brings. Natalie was one of our very first employees in the coffee shop and has been with us over 5 years now. Her favourite things about working at Armstrong are the conversations she has with customers and being able to share the story and history of Armstrong. For Natalie, Armstrong is also about family - she is certainly a part of ours now, we have so much love for this lady and we know you guys do too!❤️

Did you know that Armstrong Audio is one of the original businesses on Blackhorse Lane? Although the family business has evolved over the years, we have kept the same values and are really proud to say the we have been a part of this community since 1980! We are a small team but over the coming weeks we’d like to introduce you to them and share some of the great stories we have. Have a swipe to see how we’ve changed!

*NEW STOCK* we’re really excited to have the fabulous cards now in stock! Even better is the fact that Sam is a local artist, from just around the corner, meaning that we can continue to support local business and arts!

The partying of the bank holiday may seem like a distant memory now, but just imagine the tunes this Garrard 401 beauty has played in the past… always a pleasure to repair one of these.

❗️That’s right, our fantastic filled croissants are back!❗️
It’s a perfect day to grab one of our new baguettes, a filled croissant or delicious pastry and enjoy at our tables on the sun ☀️
Thomas will also be serving up coffee and tunes until 3pm, come and pop in!

The blossoms are pink
The sky is blue
We have delicious coffee
Waiting for you 😉

❄️We are closed as of tomorrow for Christmas, the coffee shop reopens on the 3rd and the repair shop on the 4th. ❄️
Wishing all our customers a happy Christmas and New Year, thank you for all your support, we really appreciate this wonderful community ❤️

Don’t forget your four legged friends! 🐶 We have treat bags and selection boxes, tried and tested by our very own Raffi who gives them the woof of approval!🎄

A perfect gift (for you or someone else!). These beautiful ceramics are made by local maker and creator - not only are you supporting local, independent business but if you purchase one of her Christmas baubles, £1 will go to a Waltham Forest charity who give furniture to women and children living in furniture poverty ❤️

Although she lives in Hastings now, the wonderful will always be Walthamstow in our hearts! We have some of her iconic Christmas cards for sale again this year - we love them and hope you do too! Where possible we try to support small, independent businesses, so please if you can, help support them too!❤️

Christmas loveliness is adorning the Armstrong shop! Pop in to see the lovely selection of gifts and cards we have. Keep posted as we show you what we have! We hope to see you soon ❤️🎄

Are you a sun person or a shade person?☀️ Either way, a lovely iced latte!

*CLOSED MONDAY AND TUESDAY*
For the comfort of our staff and customers we’re going to only be operating from our sister café - where we will be basking in beautiful air conditioning - join us there to keep cool and hydrated! ☀️