I don't know about you, but I love, little quirky shops. Ones that break away from the norm, the everyday uniform of the chain stores. I love being able to open the door to somewhere and feel like I've stumbled upon Aladdin's cave. It's like the feeling of the unknown, but you're not scared because you know nothing but cuteness and delight awaits you as you enter.
There are so shops like this that I've passed over the years and wished I'd just stopped and had a little peek inside. Not even to buy anything. Just to have a little browse and look at all of the pretty things. (See what I did there.)
The other day I went
with my mam to try and find something suitable to put her wedding cards in. She
is getting married on Saturday, and was running out of time to get something. She did have a lovely vintage style little
suitcase that she got from my nanna. The plan was to cover the inside in a chic light blue polka dot material, but things didn't go to plan and we
ended up wrecking the inside. (Well I did.) It's salvageable though so it's all good. It will just be a future project.
So in a last minute rush, we stumbled upon All Things Pretty on our drive home from the Intu Metro Centre. You might miss it if your'e not paying attention. You can find it on a street corner in Bensham on Prince Consort Road.
All Things pretty specialise in furniture, cards and gifts and also cushions and candles among other things. It's your typical gorgeous shabby chic place. The outside is a nice grey colour and the inside has amazing wallpaper and big pieces of furniture in pastel tones.
It has any amounts of lovely things that you can riffle through. I
love it when there are just unique and cool things stashed in little nooks. The
lady in the shop was great and didn't bat an eyelid when I asked if I could
creep around and take a few photos. There was a beautiful vanity table filled with charming little pieces, wooden trees stocked with kitsch Christmas style decorations. Even a old fashioned unit with mugs and other kitchen goodies.
We were in a rush, and as soon as we spotted a little rustic
grey wash crate my mam fell in love with it. It’s kind of shabby chic and the
lady informed us that it was made local by a man in Boldon. (Even better.)
If you’re on the lookout for anything girly and cute and
maybe a little bit different then definitely check out this shop. I could have spent hours really looking at everything. I only concentrated on one small part, there were so many other things to see.
This has just made me want to go on the hunt for other stand alone shops just like this one. You find that the staff are more passionate and the goods a better quality. Maybe I'll go back to this one and stock up on cards...
All Things Pretty is open from 10:00-17:30 Monday to Friday. Then 10:00-17:00 on Saturdays.
Have any of you been to all Things Pretty?
Recommend any similar shops?
