With just one year under it's belt, The Birdcage has totally secured itself a position in my personal top ten list of best shops in Bristol. Well, I don't really know if you can call it a shop, because it literally does everything, from sandwiches to live music. Either way, it's a great venue and I was lucky enough to have a quick chat with the Head Of Retail, Emma, who gave me the down low on all things Birdcage.
When choosing stock
for the birdcage, do you aim to please a certain group of people?
Well, I think when we first opened, we were aiming for
people of 30+, but slowly we began to notice that we mostly attracted students who
wanted to come in, have cup of tea, do their uni work and shop. So now the age range we’re really looking at
is between 16 and 35.
Do you usually try to
stick to a trend when buying the stock for birdcage’s store?
Yeah, before we go on stock buys we get all the staff
members to get involved as well. So, we’ll do mood boards where the staff pin whatever
they like we try and look for similar things at the warehouses. We also go on
sites like Trend Report and Topshop to see what’s in fashion which really
helps.
Speaking of highstreet
brands like Topshop, would you say that as an independent company, you are in
competition with it?
I think that there is some competition. But it’s not bad because
places like Topshop sell at a higher price, because well, they are Topshop, but
you could buy similar garments cheaper. For example, I often put pictures up on
tumblr or facebook showing dresses from Topshop and our dresses which are
really similar but cost a few pounds less and I think that really works in our favor.
At the moment, you
sell predominantly vintage clothes, would you ever consider having a fashion
line sold in store?
That’s what we’re looking into at the moment because, vintage
is great, but it’s that thing of having only one of each item. We’re looking at basic item to sell like, polo
necks, crop tops and leggings because you can constantly reorder and restock,
however, when you haven’t restocked in a while with vintage clothes, it can
sometimes look like there isn’t much in store.
I know that Birdcage
is only a year old, but have you thought of expanding the store into its own place,
separate from the café?
Not really, but we do have an Asos store as well, which is
great, but we’re thinking of creating our own separate online store as well.
The Asos store is doing really well but it’s not getting as much attention as
it should be because of the way the marketplace is. If we were going to have
our own online store I think it would be used to sell mostly more expensive and
high-quality vintage.
What would be your
tips for someone shopping at the Birdcage for the first time?
My only bit of advice is, when you go into a vintage shop;
don’t be put off just because you don’t think something is your style. You have
to be creative and know how to style it, always think outside the box.
Finally, If you could
describe the retail section of Birdcage in one word (not vintage or retro),
what would it be?
That’s a tricky one!... A place to find love …
Having been to the Birdcage on multiple occasions, I can safely say that all of what Emma said is true. I always get the impression when I'm in at The Birdcage that everyone is having a good time, the sofas are comfy, the food is good and there's always music on that we all know and love. Walking in, it kind of feels like a really cool shared house where you have to pay for a cup of tea, which you never mind because, when you meet the staff, they act like they really want you to be there, thus making it feel like your paying for not only the cup of tea but their lovely hospitality as well. To summarise, The Birdcage is great and you should go there, now. B.x
Hit them up on their website, facebook & twitter :
www.birdcagebristol.com
twitter.com/birdcagebristol
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Birdcage-Bristol
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