Thursday, 9 December 2010

Christmas news...

CHRISTMAS SO FAR AT SHOP!


As anyone who follows us on Twitter will know, it's been a leeeeeeeettle bit on the cold-side in SHOP during the big-freeze. Luckily for SHOP, however, we have some very kind family, friends and customers to keep the cockles of our hearts warm, even if our toes aren't. Not least, Gary Marshall who donated to SHOP two brand new oil filled radiators which undoubtedly have stopped us from getting hypothermia. Not only that, but Gary, as a local electrician, put up the Christmas lights on the Steps for nada! That means free in Spanish. He really is a hero, so we thought we give him a plug to say thank you. Here are his impressive crendentials:



Also keeping us warm with their delicious mulled cider and lighting up the area with good cheer, is the new Bristol Cider Shop at number 7 Christmas Steps! Not only are they are a great and very welcome addition to the Steps, one half of the shop is no less than a Mr Snowman, Mr Snowman of Christmas Steps. Ace.


And what of SHOP? Well, we are truly a Christmas SHOP, our decorations are spangly and we are doing our best to spread Christmas cheer, as we have plenty to go round, becoming very excited as we do at Christmas-time! SHOP is open on Sundays until Christmas, 12pm - 4pm and til 8pm on Thursdays. SHOP also has free tea, coffee and mince pies on tap throughout the month.

SHOP's monthly Artisan Market on the Steps, also makes a welcome return - due to demand from stallholders and customers - for a second Christmas Artisan Market on Saturday the 18th December from 11am - 4pm. There are over 30 stalls selling allsorts of beautiful handmade gifts and decorations. Perfick for unique and lovely pressies! PLUS, Father Christmas himself will be shacking up in his grotto in SHOP's arts space, for the kids and big kids alike to visit him for free!

Finally, SHOP's last exhibition of 2010 in the arts space from the 10th until the 14th December, is 'Jewellery Box', a selling exhibition of contemporary jewellery and crafts from several designers working with different mediums. They say, it is a great opportunity to pick up unique, special and affordable Christmas gifts and we are inclined to agree :-)


MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

Thursday, 2 December 2010

Christmas Lights Switch On!

The Christmas Steps Christmas lights switch on was the perfect community event with the children and teachers from St Michaels on the Mount Without School providing a feast of festive carols for passers by and traders and residents to sing along with.

Mulled wine and Mince Pies (what else?) were handed out and the evening culminated in a countdown and the children plunging the official light switch!

The lights abandoned and left in a cellar in theArts Quarter have been repaired and put up by us at SHOP!











Wednesday, 1 December 2010

Christmas SHOP!

Couldn't resist showing off how puriddy SHOP looks this Christmas! Well, we can't let down our eponymous home now can we? And we don't want to risk being put on the naughty list either...












DECEMBER AT SHOP!

A Very Merry Month to you all SHOPpers!

Below is a festive diary of festivities to get you in the fiesta-ing mood for the most wonderful time of the year.

BUT! Before you start vigourously printing and memorising it, there are just a few announcements.

Christmas Hours

SHOP will have additional hours in December, as well as 11am - 7pm Monday - Saturday, SHOP will be open on Sundays in December from 12pm - 4pm. SHOP will also be open Christmas Eve from 12pm-4pm.

Christmas Closing

SHOP will be closed from the 25th December until the 6th January, reopening on Friday the 7th January at 11am.

Last Chance Saloon for Shop Club Gifts

If you are a SHOPper or a Hot SHOP Member and have not collected your birthday gift this year then December is your last chance. Come January we are making a bonfire of them all to keep warm.


FESTIVITY MONTH AT SHOP

Here at SHOP we absolutely ruddy love Christmas (so shoot us) and why not, we do live on the Christmas Steps after all, so December is an unashamed celebration of the joy of the festive season. There will be extended hours at SHOP, as well as plenty of events to get you in a celebratory mood. See the full weekly listings, below.

EVENTS IN SHOP

THROUGHOUT DECEMBER
‘Christmas SHOP’
A SHOP Installation


All month SHOP will be decked up to the max. We’ve got two Christmas trees as part of the Christmas Steps Arts Quarter Christmas Tree Trail, as well as probably a few too many decorations. If that doesn’t melt your hearts of black stone, then we’ll also be stuffing you full of free mince pies and hot drinks all month long. And while you’re here grunting an admiring approval through a mouthful of mince pie, you can take a load off those weary shopped-out feet in SHOP’s comfy and welcoming Lounge.

THURSDAY 2ND DECEMBER

CSAQ Christmas Lights Switch On
5.30pm – 6.30pm
The children of St Michael’s on the Mount will be serenading all with joyful carols, whilst the adults drink lots of mulled wine (to stay warm, kay?) and hand out mince pies before a local celebrity doesn’t switch on the official Christmas Steps Christmas Lights.

CSAQ Late Night Opening Until 8pm
Some of the very loveliest traders in the area (ahem, that means us) are opening late until 8pm on Thursdays running up to Christmas. Once you’ve shopped yourselves out, you can enjoy a discounted pint in the Urban Wood, even Scrooge would enjoy that.

SATURDAY 4TH DECEMBER

Artisan Market 11am – 4pm
SHOP’s regular Artisan Market on the Christmas Steps. This month there are two and they are super-extra Christmassy! Both markets are sell-outs so be sure to come down and admire the wares of the local makers spread over 30 stalls!

SUNDAY 5TH DECEMBER

SHOP Sunday Opening 12pm – 4pm
Throughout December SHOP will be open on Sundays to offer you an alternative to that capitalist sinkhole, Cabot Circus and all their equally unethical cousins.

THURSDAY 9TH DECEMBER

CSAQ Late Night Opening Until 8pm
Some of the very loveliest traders in the area (ahem, that means us) are opening late until 8pm on Thursdays running up to Christmas. Once you’ve shopped yourselves out, you can enjoy a discounted pint in the Urban Wood, even Scrooge would enjoy that.

SUNDAY 12TH DECEMBER

SHOP Sunday Opening 12pm – 4pm
Throughout December SHOP will be open on Sundays to offer you an alternative to that capitalist sinkhole, Cabot Circus and all their equally unethical cousins.

TUESDAY 14TH DECEMBER

CineSHOP 7.30pm – 9.30pm
Trading Places
December wouldn’t be the same without a Christmas film! This year the choice was inspired by a Zine we read in our Zine Library. For a ‘wager’ on whether breeding or environmental factors are more important in determining character, two business tycoons engineer the 'trading places' of one of their young financial wizards (Aykroyd, in fine smug form) with a black low-life hustler (Murphy, at his most brilliant) and sit back to watch Murphy rise and Aykroyd fall in one of the very best Christmas comedies of modern times.

THURSDAY 16TH DECEMBER

CSAQ Late Night Opening Until 8pm
Some of the very loveliest traders in the area (ahem, that means us) are opening late until 8pm on Thursdays running up to Christmas. Once you’ve shopped yourselves out, you can enjoy a discounted pint in the Urban Wood, even Scrooge would enjoy that.

SATURDAY 18TH DECEMBER

Artisan Market 11am – 4pm
SHOP’s regular Artisan Market on the Christmas Steps. This month there are two and they are super-extra Christmassy! Both markets are sell-outs so be sure to come down and admire the wares of the local makers spread over 30 stalls!

SUNDAY 19TH DECEMBER

SHOP Sunday Opening 12pm – 4pm
Throughout December SHOP will be open on Sundays to offer you an alternative to that capitalist sinkhole, Cabot Circus and all their equally unethical cousins.

EVENTS IN THE ARTS SPACE AT 18

37TH CHAMBER
FFI: Search ‘37th Chamber’ on Facebook

Film Night 7.30pm onwards
Saturday 11th November £2


A Christmas kung-fu classic from the arts space regulars.

FAN
FFI: www.thefancharity.org

Friends and Neighbours Meeting
8th December 6pm – 7pm FREE

FAN meets monthly at SHOP, the second Wednesday of the month at 6pm. FAN means, Friends and Neighbours and it’s a chance to meet to talk others in the community.

EXHIBITIONS

Natasha Almeida
Treasure: A Group Illustration Exhibition
24th November – 8th December 11am – 6pm

One person's junk is another's treasure. A magpie is one who compulsively collects or hoards small objects.
The work displayed for this exhibition will be diverse in style and materials used (painting, mixed media collage, screen prints and 3d work), but held together by a common theme.

Corinne Evans
Jewellery Box
10th – 14th December 11am – 6pm


Jewellery Box is a selling exhibition of contemporary jewellery and crafts from several designers working with different mediums.

It is a great opportunity to pick up unique, special and affordable Christmas gifts.

Monday, 29 November 2010

CHRISTMAS STOCK!

SHOP has been busy amassing plenty of Christmas presents for you! There is a whole party dress section for the ladies and Christmas jumpers and even a pair of cuban heels for the gents. If you don't wear clothes then SHOP also has new homeware, books, games and other gifts for you!

Below are a few sample pics:

Christmas Jumper!

Christmas Cuban Heels!

Tate and Lyle golf jumper.



Royal Paddock Wax Jacket



Sheepskin coat, just the thing for this weather! And selling secondhand cars.


Pretty film star lady (haven't managed to actually figure out who it is yet)

Awwwwww, 'Peg' the cat!

A caribbean sunset, just the thing for this weather ... oh, used that line already.

Piccie frames.

Cocktail anyone?

Rabbit piggy bank.

P-p-p-p-p-p-penguins!


Handmade beaded dress


Black spangly 80s cocktail dress


70s coloured spangles dancing dress!



Yellow lace ballgown, just what you always wanted!

Saturday, 27 November 2010

Treasure: Private View

Thursday night saw the opening night of 'Treasure', the new exhibition in SHOP's arts space. The show is about one person’s junk being another’s treasure. The work displayed is diverse in style and materials used (painting, mixed media collage, screen prints and 3d work), but held together by the common theme of treasure.

There was plenty of very good cake and the work is pretty dash good too. The show is on until the 8th November and we strongly recommend a look.












Zine Club: Review

The first Zine Club took place in SHOP's lounge on Thursday. Everyone came with an open mind and a different take on how the evening might transpire: some wanted to read the Zines, SHOP wanted people to read the Zines and then submit a review to the Zine Library blog and yet others had even higher aspirations.

As the 2 hour meeting unrolled, the idea for a collaborative Zine arose, as did the idea for setting up a Zine and Comic Market. There were lots of exciting ideas discussed and we will keep you posted for sure of all developments. Or, if you would like to get involved in either the Zine or the market, then get in touch with SHOP.








Thursday, 25 November 2010

Buy Nothing Day - 26th November at SHOP

SHOP will be closed on the Friday 26th November for Buy Nothing Day. Apologies for any inconvenience, business resumes as unusual from Saturday at 11am

Monday, 22 November 2010

Wholemeal Breadmaking WorkSHOP!

Saturday saw SHOP turn into a Micro-Bakery for the afternoon to the delight of passers-by and visitors who took part in the WorkSHOP!
Lynda wowed everyone with her quick and simple techniques on bread making and even had time to demonstrate making peanut butter, oat cakes, lemon curd and soup, while the bread was in the oven!
She's a wizard in SHOP's makeshift Lounge/Kitchen!
Meanwhile outside SHOP free sample chestnuts were handed out, in preparation for the Christmas Artisan Markets on the 4th and 18th of December!
All in all it was a very tasty day!