18 July 2013

CITY LIFE // SOMETHING ELSE

When friends told me a new design shop had opened its doors in the art quater of Bristol, wild horses couldn't keep me from it. With a passion for beautiful things, I hurried down to Perry Road with F in tow to check out Something Else, a curious little design shop and studio all in one. And what a shop! My eyes feasted on the plethora of products from stationary to prints all beautifully displayed amongst walls lined with raw wood, like a cabin of cool. This was Something Else, Something Good.

The shop/studio is run by the lovely design duo Sid & Kyle, who happily agreed to be interviewed for this post. When you find a hidden gem like this then it's rude not to share, right?

Please can you introduce yourself and what you do?
Kyle: Our creative design studio, Something Good, has been running for two years. There are two of us, Kyle and Sidonie, and we bring in extra creative muscle when we need it. Lately we've been painting murals, designing signage and working on websites. We opened our shop, Something Else, in Bristol Arts Quarter in April of this year. We stock beautiful, design-led stationery, books, magazines and greetings cards from all over the world. We also have an online shop www.buysomethingelse.com

When and why did you first realise you wanted to own a shop?
Sidonie: I've wanted to own a shop since I was about 16. My friend Caroline and I dreamt of having a shop which was full of clothes and shoes for taller girls with size 7+ feet and Tatty Devine jewellery. 
Kyle: Since starting the studio, I've thought about selling physical things rather than just a service, but I never aspired to be a shopkeeper exactly. I've always wanted to make items, which we will do in the future.


It is such a unique space, having your working design studio open to the general public. What was your idea behind this?
Sidonie: You're right, the space is unusual for Great Britain in that half is a studio and half is a shop. It gives the public a unique opportunity to walk into a design studio, which would usually be unaccessible without an arrangement. People who are interested in working with us can visit and see us working and interacting with customers before approaching us, and the space is a showroom for our style. It also means we meet people. Our days might be quite dull if it was just the two of us in an office! When we were moving our practice to Bristol, we begun looking for a shop where we could also run our studio. After months of searching, the studio search became the priority and the shop was put on hold. When we found this place (eight months later) we saw the opportunity to realise both our studio and shop dreams, albeit in an unconventional layout.












You stock such a beautiful products in your shop. How do you decide what pieces to stock and what is your favourite thing in the shop right now?
Sidonie: It's quite simple really. We pick items that we love ourselves. The tricky part is whittling down the never ending list of items. My current favourite is Malibu Babez - a print by Tess Redburn. I also love the foiled set of correspondence cards from Rifle Paper Co. 

I'm a big fan of Copenhagen, and Danish design so I practically drooled when I saw you stocked Hay Brass Scissors. Where would be your design destination and why?
Kyle: Detroit. Huge open spaces, empty buildings, brick work. There's a lot of potential in that kind of industrial beauty and there are many young creative people starting businesses there.

Excitingly, Hero of Switzerland will be taking over your shop this weekend for their exhibition Travel. What excites you about their work? 
Sidonie: As a collective, it's all very varied which we particularly like. They also have a totally different style to anyone we've had in the shop before, different to anything I've seen in Bristol, and then the styles are totally different within the collective. They contrast fantastically. I could buy one piece from each of the illustrators, hang them on the wall above my sofa and feel happy instantly. 


What up-coming designers should we be looking out for?
Sidonie: Pen on Paper - we stock their notebooks and they're so beautifully crafted. We can't wait to see what they do next.

I can imagine balancing a design studio, design shop, exhibitions and social media keeps you guys pretty busy, can you describe your perfect day off? 
Kyle: Do they exist? 

Bristol is a city full of hidden gems, what has been your favourite discovery?
Kyle: We're still quite new to Bristol but I've enjoyed a day in the beer garden at The Spotted Cow, a BBQ on the edge of a cliff overlooking the water and the ever-changing street art on Jamaica Street (I walk past it every day). 

What inspires you? 
Sidonie: People and their skills and motivation, furniture design, interiors, photography, magazines.



If you had to pick a song to describe yourselves would it be?
Sid: Kyle's not very in touch with his emotional side so he'll have to skip this question. I'll pick Thorn Castles by Gardens and Villas because I love camping and picking berries and that whole romanticised adventure thing! 
Kyle: I have never seen you picking berries.

Where would you like to see yourselves in the future?
Kyle: Opening some sort of eatery, designing our own range of stationery, being in a position to have the odd holiday. 



The exhibition Travel runs Monday - Saturday, 10am-7pm between 20th july and 20th August at Something Else, 1&2 Perry Road, Bristol, BS1 5BQ. Pop along from Friday 19th July fom noon to see the window going up or join them for a drink on Saturday 20th July, 7-10pm. You won't regret it!

Images (from top to bottom) 1/2/9/10 (Something Else © 


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2 comments

  1. Wow!!!!! As a Design Studio and online shop owner this really appeals to me and the hubs. If I'd been involved in buying the premises where we work from at the very beginning I would have loved to have a space where we could show how we work. Me and hubs love the idea of having an open shop and space to work from in one.

    It sounds and looks like the ideal place to work from and love what they've done with the interior space. If ever we are down that way we will be sure to drop by.

    Thank you for sharing such an amazing place and lovley peeps!

    Cat x

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