Vintage Harbour, run by Dave and Jacqui Pryer, opened its doors on Monday 9th June in a small complex of units just off Harbour Street in Whitstable, known as Reeves Yard.
by
Jacqui Pryer
If you walk down Albert Street to the corner of Warwick Road you will step back in time to when furniture was built to last and interior colours were popping orange, yellow and purple. Ercol, Gplan, Stag, Mobler and other Danish influences can be found in the Vintage Harbour corner shop, along with mid-century lighting, glassware, pictures and other pieces of the time.
It all started in late 2023 when our own collections of glass and ceramics started to take over the house and small furniture projects at home were getting in the way. We decided to open an Etsy shop and start selling our items online. In March of 2024 my husband, Dave, took the decision to quit his job as a civil engineer of 32 years, and go full time with the business. I was a virtual assistant at the time, with a handful of clients and have slowly transitioned over to the business keeping just one long term client. We both said, ‘lets give it a year and see if we can make a living.’
We started off by doing the antique and vintage fairs in Kent and London, taking our furniture and homewares, and started to sell. The first year was finding out what fairs and markets worked for us. At the end of the day this is our livelihood, and we can’t afford to be only taking a few pounds here and there. We have to make money. By mid 2024 we realised the appetite for mid-century furniture was huge in London, but also in the south east, fairs and markets in Whitstable and Faversham proving this. Now, with an established calendar of vintage fairs, which can be found on our events page of our website, the next step was to bring mid-century directly to our customers.
Sourcing furniture and homewares from all over the country, Dave makes regular trips to Bath and Bristol, bringing furniture back and sympathetically restoring it in his workshop which is on the side of the shop. Don’t be surprised when you come in to get a whiff of polish or freshly sanded wood as another piece is being prepared to go out into the shop. The shop is small but packed full of everyday functional furniture, along with one or two statement pieces and homewares that are practical or ideal as a gift. Everything is carefully sourced, cleaned and restored before going out. We have to like the items that we choose. We don’t just buy anything. Some items we get attached to but we know we have to let them go.
Vintage Harbour can also source furniture for you. If you have a specific piece in mind, or have seen a piece you like, just contact us with a picture and we will do our best to find it for you. Think of us as your personal interior shoppers!
With an ever-conscious environmental generation coming through, furniture from yesteryear is becoming more and more popular, especially mid-century. To quote a phrase heard recently: `Buy from the past to preserve the future’.
You can find Vintage Harbour at: Unit 12, Reeves Yard, Warwick Road, Whitstable, CT5 1HX.
Email: info@vintageharbour66.co.uk
Telephone: 0748 4411 352
Website: www.vintageharbour66.co.uk
Opening hours, Monday-Friday and sometimes Saturday. If the sign is out and the door is open, come on in!
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