Words cannot describe how terrible I feel for leaving it over two months before I posted this! But if you've been reading this from the start you'll know that one of my first posts was about ShOp. Back in those days I was always to scared to ask anyone questions I would just spend time giving my own opinion about things (which in some cases - is much easier) and getting my facts wrong!
Moving on - if you can't be bothered to go that far back to see what I said about ShOp in the first place - it's my favourite vintage shop/art space, mainly because it's the first one I went to so I feel at home (kinda) when I pop in and Jayne and Brett are so so so lovely! Which is a nice change from your usual pretentious people who run vintage shops ( You know what I mean - right?). So - without further a due - here's what Brett and Jayne had to say about running their biz...
Why did you open ShOp in the first place?
Jayne : Well, it's not very exciting really, but me and Brett met...Romantically and we both didn't like our jobs at the time. Brett was a gardener and I was working in computing, not anything exciting, literally a phone-monkey. We were both really bored and we originally wanted to open a cafe together - like an all-night cafe - but then we found out there was a lot of legislation and it would be a lot more expensive than we thought it would be..
Brett: But the cafe would probably have still felt like ShOp does and still have an element of vintage to it. There were all sorts of ideas going around - we had thought about having a section to sell vintage in there.
Jayne: But it just turned out too complicated and we realised that we weren't really interested in having a cafe and we were more interested in the furnishings - so we thought it would be a lot more simple and a lot more interesting to have a shop!
You still serve tea and coffee though which is nice..
Jayne: Yeah, there are definitely still elements of shop being a little bit like a cafe.
It's great because it's a bit like a lounge - y'know a nice place to hang out..
Jayne & Brett: Yeah absolutely.
You have expanded shop and moved from next door which is now the art space, did you ever think about just keeping it as one really big shop?
Jayne: This actual premises is just one premises but the landlord had put the wall in there (points to the right of the counter - where there is a wall with a door leading to the artspace) so at the time we didn't really have a choice and when we were in the space next store they were using this area for storage so we had no choice, so when we eventually got this space as well, we just thought it would be quite nice to have a shop and an art space as well, together but separate.
Brett: Because at a time we had the art space in here but it became a bit jumbled and a lot of people didn't really get that the art space was in here..
Jayne: Yeah we'd get people coming in looking for an exhibition and we would just have to point at the wall and say "It's those pictures there"
Brett: Whereas now there is more of a defined line so it works better.
Do you think that having a shop on Christmas Steps is a good place to have a vintage shop or would you rather have had it somewhere that's a bit busier?
Jayne: It's been a bit of a double edged sword really
Brett: We did chose to have it here, well I was always looking around this area but we did look at a few on colston street, but there was never really an option of anywhere else. Then again we're not really business people so it wasn't really a priority.
Jayne: But I think that now we're here, we couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Maybe in our first year when we were like "oh shit - it's really quiet" but now I don't think we could ever change.
Brett: But I also think that if we weren't here it wouldn't really be the same thing, I suppose if you were more business minded you might chose somewhere else.
Jayne: We go with our heart rather than our head
Would you ever think about making a clothing line for ShOp?
Brett: It's definitely something we have thought about but we are very much about vintage and retro clothes aren't we?
Jayne: Yeah, the thing about retro and vintage clothes is that I really like the design and I just think that if we were to make clothes it would probably turn out quite vintage anyway so it would be slightly pointless..
Brett: Well, we have wanted to sell some before because Jayne does a bit of sewing, for example Jayne has made, using vintage patterns and vintage fabrics and we have sold some of it, but if we were to make clothes - that is where it would go.
Jayne: And it would take 6 months to make 1 thing.
Brett: but we probably wouldn't do it very much because there is a recycling element to ShOp as well.
And finally, would you ever make ShOp a chain?
Jayne: Yeah, we keep it like this but still very small
Brett: Yeah, we'd have to be very careful. I wouldn't want more than one in every city.
I hope that this little interview has given you an insight into why ShOp is one of my favourite shops, they always have brilliant stock which is always updated on their blog (link below) and there is never a lack of cheerfulness in ShOp so it would be a pity on your behalf if you didn't pop in and buy something. Also, while you're in the shop you should definitely become a member, you get a really decent discount and updates about all the goings on at christmas steps. Most recently mumsie and I went down to watch some old films and have a curry while it was projected on the steps, I love free things like this and you always see people enjoying themselves no matter what the weather is like! B.x
http://www.talesfromshop.blogspot.co.uk/
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