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Single-Purpose Shops

There is a Knobs & Knockers store in Dublin. At least there was 5 years ago.
 
Xanatico said:
There is also a shop in Amsterdam that sells only christmas stuff all year round. Close to the flower market.
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I'm sure there's one of those in Stratford upon Avon!
 
There is a shop at Duke Bar Burnley Lancashire that is called "the Private Shop", a sex shop that sold only porn, sex toys and computer equipment, I suppose it goes hand in hand really (pun intended lol).
 
My ex and I used to drive past a barometer shop in deepest darkest devon on the way to the seaside. I never saw it open even in high summer.

In the town I grew up in we had a chronically old fashioned ladieswear boutique which was the only shop on the highstreet to still have the victorian double bay windows and looked completely out of place once all the phone shops and primark surrounded it a few years ago. The window display didn't ever seem to change and was full of knee length bathing suits and those floral swimming caps old ladies love to wear as well as enough nylon to have left the street molten for weeks should there have been a fire.
Obviously I never ever ever saw anyone shop there and yet it was open until fairly recently.

one more, we also had a candle shop. nothing but candles. no keyrings, no drinks mats, no 'your name on a pen' crap. just goddam candles.

oh, and a shop selling 'american' stuff. by that i mean leather jackets with howling wolves on, stetsons and models of harley davidsons.
it's right next to the candle shop!
 
There is a shop at Duke Bar Burnley Lancashire that is called "the Private Shop", a sex shop that sold only porn, sex toys and computer equipment, I suppose it goes hand in hand really (pun intended lol).
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There used to be one on Manningham Lane in Bradford like that, might also have been called the same thing, it sold porn and sex toys but also had a wall of stuff like plugs, fuses and screwdrivers.

Some how I always assumed the stuff was meant to attract people in because they had a ready made sh*te excuse if they got seen in there... oh, the fuse went in the kettle...! :lol:
 
There is a shop here down the end of my street that sells household/electrical stuff, bb guns and sex toys, I have been in there and never seen the sex toys though, they must be under the counter.
 
There was, maybe still is, a door knob shop in Penzance, there is also a little boat, that sits in the harbour and has been turned into a pirate shop!

In Bath there was a shop that only sold doll's house things...

I've also seen a shop that only sold china dolls, but can't for the life of me, remember where it was. Maybe I forgot out of fear *Shudder* :shock:
 
cherrybomb said:
There was, maybe still is, a door knob shop in Penzance, there is also a little boat, that sits in the harbour and has been turned into a pirate shop!
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Anything you get from there will presumably be a steal...
 
With so many vacant premises in our town centres it is not surprising that a rash of Christmas shops has mushroomed up like cold sores in unexpected places.

I was in Bury yesterday and have to say that I have never seen such a display of utter schlock in all my life. Except possibly last year around the same time. The odd thing is that the stock in these hovels of horror looks exactly the same as last year. I swear that the boxes of unsaleable DVDs have not been touched from last year. Storage costs money so presumably someone buys something each year to pay for the rent etc. Perhaps someone wants an alarm-clock a foot in diameter with the face of John Wayne on it? Or watches made out of gold foil? Or perfumes that don't seriously set out to imitate famous brands so much as take the piss out of them and put it in the bottle.

Mind you, come Christmas Eve, I can always claim it was the last place open and do my entire list for about £12.50. Happy Christmas kiddies! :evil:
 
I always love the January sale in the pound shop in Lancaster (honest!).
 
Perhaps someone wants an alarm-clock a foot in diameter with the face of John Wayne on it?
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The nastiest thing I've seen is like a large fake bonsai tree with LEDs on it that looks quite nice if tacky from a distance, until you get close enough to see that it looks like it's covered in insulation tape.
 
JamesWhitehead said:
I was in Bury yesterday and have to say that I have never seen such a display of utter schlock in all my life. Except possibly last year around the same time. The odd thing is that the stock in these hovels of horror looks exactly the same as last year. I swear that the boxes of unsaleable DVDs have not been touched from last year. Storage costs money so presumably someone buys something each year to pay for the rent etc. Perhaps someone wants an alarm-clock a foot in diameter with the face of John Wayne on it? Or watches made out of gold foil? Or perfumes that don't seriously set out to imitate famous brands so much as take the piss out of them and put it in the bottle.
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I'll take two, please!

Actually, I had a look in a watch strap shop the other day.

No watches. Just the straps!

It was no dusty, small cupboard either. It was a fair size (not that I can compare it to any other watch strap emporiums, you understand.) I can't remember the name, but it was well fitted out. They had big blown up pictures of different branded straps etc. and even had a while-you-wait seat.

It was in quite a swanky mall too, so I'm guessing they were super-expensive or ultra-trendy watch straps.
 
"I'll take two, please!"

No, really you wouldn't. It sounds like a fun, high-camp sort of thing but the materials were so wretched that the overall effect was dismally depressing. Think more wanky smell than swanky mall.

Of course you might have in mind some people who deserve those kind of presents. Come to think of it, so do I.

That's four, then, sold, over here! :)
 
JamesWhitehead said:
"I'll take two, please!"

No, really you wouldn't. It sounds like a fun, high-camp sort of thing but the materials were so wretched that the overall effect was dismally depressing. Think more wanky smell than swanky mall.

Of course you might have in mind some people who deserve those kind of presents. Come to think of it, so do I.

That's four, then, sold, over here! :)
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I've just googled "John Wayne clock" :shock:

There's all shapes and sizes! It's a whole industry! I take it you are referring to the "John Wayne 'The Duke' Twin Bell Alarm Clock"? John Wayne cuckoo clocks go for 199 dollars! :shock:

http://www.nextag.com/john-wayne-clock/shop-html

N.B moderators. This isn't advertising. This is a truly fortean link! :shock:
 
JamesWhitehead said:
True Shit! :shock:

edit: simpler and truer than original version.
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Yep. There are presumably people out there that look at that John Wayne cuckoo clock and say, "Yeah. I'd rather have that than 200 dollars that I could spend on something / anything else."

I think I might open a shop...

Incidentally, I did a follow-up search for other celeb-based clocks. All the big names; Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Madonna etc. It's only 'Wayne' clocks that command those kinds of prices! Go figure! :shock:
 
In one word: WHY? :shock:
 
Is there a Reap The Wild Wind clock where Wayne is being attacked by the giant squid on it? A couple of the tentacles could double as the hands.

Or maybe a Greatest Story Ever Told one where he's the roman soldier (with a yankee accent) at the foot of the crucifiction, Jesus's arms could go round behind him!
 
BlackRiverFalls said:
Is there a Reap The Wild Wind clock where Wayne is being attacked by the giant squid on it? A couple of the tentacles could double as the hands.

Or maybe a Greatest Story Ever Told one where he's the roman soldier (with a yankee accent) at the foot of the crucifiction, Jesus's arms could go round behind him!
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Actually, you should get a job designing this stuff! Seriously!
 
Someone mentioned Chester and it's selection of single purpose shops, we also have a year - round Christmas shop in the city centre. I think these sort of places thrive in cities with a large tourist industry as people will buy any old rubbish as a memento of their holiday. I know I'll blow holiday money on all sorts of odds and sods instead of holding onto it until I get home. Having said that, my girlfriend will impulse buy Christmas decorations all year round. She did decorate our bathroom this year though, so I think this may just be a symptom of her particular festive mania. Down the road from home we have a vacuum cleaner repair shop that never seems to be open, just a grimy window full of dust covered vacuums, possibly just the home of a refugee from the Strange Folk thread. The Grosvener precinct used to have a branch of Knobs and Knockers too, I used to love the fact that someone gave a chain of stores such a Finbarr Saunders name and got away with it. Also, near the cathedral is a shop that only sells horrifically expensive glass ornaments. My favourite is a place down the road that only sells crisps and alcoholic beverages, seems a really popular place :p .
 
Xanatico said:
There is also a shop in Amsterdam that sells only christmas stuff all year round. Close to the flower market.
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There's one of those in stratford upon avon.

Hay-on-wye is a town of book shops (and very little else)
 
Our local shopping centre (expensive and swanky, catering to the rich locals and expats here in Malaysia) has a shop that only restrings tennis racquets.
It doesn't sell racquets.... just restrings them.
Now that is specialised!
 
There used to be a hardware store in Toronto that sold only antique woodworking tools, I guess maybe for people who wanted to restore old things, or people who preferred traditional woodwright methods, or maybe for hardly any people at all, because I think it went out of business.
 
Norwich, home of Coleman's, has a mustard shop. Its former premises is a coffee shop, called Mustard.

There is also a cane furniture shop which no one ever goes into but endures none the less. Is this a front?
 
wairddeb said:
Norwich, home of Coleman's, has a mustard shop. Its former premises is a coffee shop, called Mustard.

There is also a cane furniture shop which no one ever goes into but endures none the less. Is this a front?
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That cane furniture shop burned down in the early 80s and was rebuilt, which is even more suspicious....
 
Timble2 said:
wairddeb said:
Norwich, home of Coleman's, has a mustard shop. Its former premises is a coffee shop, called Mustard.

There is also a cane furniture shop which no one ever goes into but endures none the less. Is this a front?
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That cane furniture shop burned down in the early 80s and was rebuilt, which is even more suspicious....
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What sort of a pervert canes furniture?
 
Yeah, that Norwich cane furniture shop is quite mystifying. Years ago there also used to be a large shop near the Railway Station that sold only lamps. Again, you never saw anyone in there. It eventually closed down, to be replaced by a shop that only sells mattresses. I've never seen anyone inside, so I can only conclude they do most of their business online. They have a highly annoying theme song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2_lRtDeVmA
.
 
It would take an economist to fathom the details but the survival of these businesses in a world where stores are shutting all around them may have some rational basis.

If no one is ever seen in them, they save on staff and opening hours.

The company may actually own the premises and find them unprofitable to sell in current market conditions. CMC may never improve but if the spot is on a High Street, owners may be hoping for redevelopment projects to increase the value of their holdings.

The company may have long-term lease or rental agreements that make relocation to an anonymous warehouse unit uneconomic.

They may be evil, tentacled space-invaders who wait inside mattresses in dehydrated form, awaiting the lustful embraces of chavkind looters.

Sorry, I got bored with rational reasons. :)
 
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