CCK pronounced a "trend-setter"

cck pr timeline 2004 futurelaboratoryOctober
The Future Laboratory, a global trends consultancy, identifies Coffee, Cake & Kink as a trend-setter, and a pioneer of things to come. Surely enough, the rise of the CCK-style "fusion cafe" follows from 2006 onwards, with the trend in "fourth wave" destination cafes coming from 2011 onwards. Likewise, the cafetiere-style, single-origin coffee, which we raised eyebrows with in 2004, is fast becoming the way to enjoy coffee (we have lost count of how many times we have refused to serve espresso-based drinks - as it turns out, rightly so)! Ahead of the pack since 2003, we are regularly consulted on coffee industry matters and surveys big and small (including Allegra Strategies industry reports)...

Start Of Academic Collaborations

cck pr timeline 2004 bucks5 November
We strike up our first academic collaboration when Julie Wright, a Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Advertising at The Buckinghamshire New University, sets her students a CCK-based assignment. In a project brief (course module GD302A), she asks the students to come up with an advertising campaign and branding for Coffee, Cake & Kink, with the final works judged by us. We spend a fun afternoon with the students, all well-fuelled with coffee and cake on the house. Julie's advertising course goes on to be among the top three in the country, with students scooping a clutch of prestigious top industry awards. For Coffee, Cake & Kink it's the beginning of a series of academic collaborations, from London College of Fashion students designing uniforms for us to Florida State University featuring CCK in their student handbooks as a cool London hangout.

London Fetish Map in the Wellcome Collection

cck pr timeline 2004 wellcomecollection mapOctober
The "London Fetish Map" (started by the Coffee, Cake & Kink team when working as www.whatsyours.com) is included in the Wellcome Trust's print history archives. In a meeting at CCK, we discuss the history and background of the publication, as well as providing additional copies of the 2002 and 2003 map for the archive (General Collections; Ephemera; Box 583). Our "London Fetish Map" was also shortlisted for the Publication of the Year Erotic Award 2003 (we declined due to a conflict of interest as we had already offered assistance with this Outsiders Trust charity event).

Emily joins CCK

cck pr timeline 2004 emilyjoins31 July 
Emily joins us as our very first employee. She came on her own as a customer the first couple of times, to enjoy the ambience and do her BA work, and brought Mum for coffee on her 18th birthday. Seeing the "Staff Wanted" note in the window, she came up to say she was interested and that "Mum approves"... who could resist that? She will stay with us for the full run of the first store, and all its ups and downs, and be the last to go when we close the door in 2008. We never lose touch, and catch up regularly (see her adventures "after CCK")

"Innovation of the Year" Erotic Award

cck pr timeline 2004 innovationoftheyear29 April
Coffee, Cake & Kink receives the Innovation of the Year Erotic Award. Founded in 1994, the Erotic Awards are run by the Outsiders Trust, a charity that helps disabled people to find partners. They honour the most talented, influential and sex-positive artists, writers, politicians, academics and pioneers, nominated by the public and judged by the Grand Jury. In a ceremony at Night of The Senses, we pick up our Golden Flying Penis Trophy, which joins the first one already in our office (for the previous, non-CCK achievements of the very same team).