• 5 months ago
Cabot Circus' Prior Shop has launched a new café area with a difference and an exhibition space.

Located on Philadelphia Street, the award-winning not-for-profit independent store hosts a collective of 150 artists' work featuring high-quality handmade goods.

Around 30% of the work sold at the shop is made on-site, which is really unusual for Cabot Circus, commented Beck, owner of Prior Shop.

Their exhibition space has recently been expanded and hosts a monthly exhibition.

Following the increase in events and workshops hosted on the premises, Prior Shop has begun to offer coffee, cake and tea in their new coffee space to drive more footfall.

Beck, the owner of Prior Shop shares with BristolWorld more about the additions to the store.
Transcript
00:00What sets us apart from other shops is that we stock really, really, really high quality handmade goods
00:07that are made to last a lifetime, made to be repaired, and just generally bring back a shopping experience
00:15from yesteryears where we're supporting local, very skilled craftspeople.
00:2130% of the work that we sell in the shop is actually made on site, which is really unusual for Cabot Circus.
00:29So right now I'm in our exhibition space. We've just extended it, and we have exhibitions here every other month
00:37where we take on the whole space, artists take on the whole space.
00:41We also run workshops here. When we haven't got an exhibition, it turns into a cafe space and an extension of our shop.
00:48We hire the space out and don't charge any profit. It's just because we want to make sure that the space is as accessible as possible.
00:56Our current exhibition is called On the Wing, and it's a collective of seven artists who are all making work, mixed media, with the subject of birds.
01:06We started a coffee, cake, and tea offering in the shop to drive more footfall.
01:12Because we have so many events and workshops, it just makes so much sense for us to offer a hospitality edition.
01:19We want to try and do it a little bit differently. We're zero waste, and we want to start with trying to not use any single waste coffee cups at all.
01:28We're using edible coffee cups. I'll show you an example here.
01:34If you have a gluten intolerance or allergy, because these are like an ice cream cone wafer, you can have one of our mugs or bring your own for 50p off the coffee.
01:46The coffee that we buy is from Wogan, which is a local roaster's really close to the shop.
01:52It's all direct trade, and 10% of every coffee goes to Team Canteen, who are a CIC in Bristol who are working with the hospitality sector and local charities to reduce food insecurities in Bristol.
02:07So yeah, every cup of coffee makes a difference.

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