The Little Shop of......

Around the corner from my house there is a little shop that fascinates me. When I first moved in here two years ago it was an Antiquarian bookshop that had just closed down. I remember feeling gutted that it was no longer open, as it looked just like a magical bookshop from a kid’s book. You know the type. Old fashioned window panes, small but stuffed full of piles of books: the sort of place that Balthazar would run to hide from bullies in “The Never Ending Story”, or where Mo would find a copy of Inkheart. As a rabid book lover, this store held the promise of so much magic that it was devastating to discover it too late.

It sat empty for a while, the outline of the words “Antiquarian bookshop” still visible despite all of the signage having been taken down. I was curious to see what would happen with this cosy space, it just seemed so sad and lonely empty. After a couple of months of lifelessness things began to change. I walked passed once on the way home, the front door was open and it was being cleaned. Life was returning and I felt quite excited about it.

This excitement was replaced by confusion. It is hard for me to describe the new identity of the shop. It was one part gallery, one part geek-fest, one part second hand “stuff” shop. I suspect that it was trying to position itself as a source of great collectibles. There were Star Trek figurines, model boats, second hand books, a giant tortoise shell and the list goes on. It was the shop equivalent of a car boot sale and it struggled to find its feet. Instead of having shelves full of different things to search through, they had a limited number of items displayed in cabinets (hence the part gallery feel). It wasn’t cosy at all and I don’t think the building approved. It didn’t embrace this new look at all, but seemed to throw shadows to deliberately clash with the decor and contents. I never saw anyone actually browsing in there, only the large shop keeper and a woman I think may have been his mother. One of them would always be sat in there waiting. It made me think of a spider sitting patiently in its web.

It took well over a year but I wasn’t surprised when the “Closing down sale” signs appeared recently. I did feel sad for those that had tried to make a go of it there, but having never spoken to them I didn’t have a personal connection with them. I was a little pleased for the shop though, hoping that the new incarnation will fit the personality of the space better.

The new signage has just gone up on the window and it is now going to be a florist’s shop. The lettering fits perfectly with the window panes. This bodes well. Maybe, this shop has found out what it wants to be, only time will tell but I will be treating myself to a bouquet on opening day.