Shops / Shop of the Week
Shop of the Week: Dear Old Thing, West Street
Walk too quickly down West Street in Bedminster and you might miss it.
Dear Old Thing looks unassuming from the path, but step inside and fall down the rabbit hole.
If Bristol had a living room, this would be it.
Owned by Robert Rosewarne, Dear Old Thing started twelve years ago.
The shop spent its first two years across the road but soon needed more space so moved into their current location. It was once a butcher’s, then an undertaker’s.
Sue Rosewarne, who works at the shop alongside her brother Rob, told Bristol24/7: “When we took over there was still a great big body fridge in the building”.
The building is huge, with multiple rooms full to the brim with interesting artefacts
Sue went on to say how she felt that Dear Old Thing was the “half-way house between North Street and East Street. She commented: “Lots of shops have closed up around here, there were a couple of coffee shops and antique shops near here but they have now closed down… there’s only us left”.
Back then West Street was busier.
Now, with shops closing and new flats plastering the streets, Dear Old Thing feels like one of the last bastions of Old Bristol.
It’s slightly chaotic, completely welcoming and absolutely full of character.
Dear Old Thing sees all types of people walk through its shop doors.
“Absolutely anybody comes here… sometimes its people starting university in the flats nearby, their parents will bring them here and help them get furniture. And sometimes its old dealers… it’s right across the board,” Sue said.
Walking through the shop is like time travel. You brush past a 1960’s lampshade, a mid-century dresser, stacks of books from all ages and mirrors that feel as if they reflect a different decade.
Sue said that “stock comes in every day, the shop is open seven days a week and there are five of us
“We all do different times and bring different things, you can tell who has bought what in every time you walk through the door”.
She told Bristol 24/7 how the owner “loves weird and wonderful things”, all whilst being observed by a vintage animatronic clown.
The shop has such a wide variety of stock, from furniture to animatronic machines
The West Street antique shop is on social media and tells people “to give them a call if they need help with something
“We don’t want to pounce on people but a lot of people reach out to us and we’re here to help”.
They offer a delivery service and can even get the merchandise abroad.
When Bristol 24/7 asked Sue what makes Dear Old Thing so special, she observed: “People want to finish work and go have a look at interesting things, people like mooching don’t they and they get lost in here… its good for you”.
She also added that when inside the building “you see things from your past, your parents past, stuff you remember seeing in your house”.
Dear Old Thing is the kind of place that anchors a community.
Being inside the shop opens up your imagination to owning pieces and items that you would have never thought of before.
The building feels like being inside someones home, learning stories as you navigate through
Bedminster is changing quickly, but Dear Old Thing feels like a gentle act of resistance.
Sue hopes that they “will just keep going and be able to maintain prices in the future”. It’s a reminder that beauty doesn’t have to be shiny or new
So next time you’re walking through Bedminster, slow down a bit and step inside of Dear Old Thing, you might buy something, you might not. But you will leave with a story.
All photos: Nell-Leech-Briscoe
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