26 replies to this topic

[Adeline]

Hello, I'm French and I went on holiday in Scotland this summer.
It's a fantastic country !

I don't know if it's the right place to ask this :
In Glasgow, Buchanan Street, I saw a clothing store with lot of old sewing machines around the storefront.
Could you help me to find the name of this shop?

Thank you and sorry for my bad English!

Adeline

[maggs]

Hello, I'm French and I went on holiday in Scotland this summer.
It's a fantastic country !

I don't know if it's the right place to ask this :
In Glasgow, Buchanan Street, I saw a clothing store with lot of old sewing machines around the storefront.
Could you help me to find the name of this shop?

Thank you and sorry for my bad English!

Adeline

What kind of merchandise were they selling

[rolo tomassi]

All Saints. A London-based company.

In the former Borders Store at Buchanan St/Gordon St.

Mid-end quasi-designer label---very rock'n'roll orientated stuff, all grey, black and white---some very nice pieces here and there, but frankly I find it vastly overpriced myself.

But full marks for the window display---hundreds upon hundreds of vintage sewing machines, the vast majority from the Singer works in Clydebank.

Your English is remarkably good, btw, 'Adeline'

[HollowHorn]

Is it this one? It's just off Buchannan Street in Mitchell Lane:
Sew Easy

[HollowHorn]

Obviously not.

[ozneil]

Obviously not.

nice pic anyway

[harper]

All Saints. A London-based company.

In the former Borders Store at Buchanan St/Gordon St.

Mid-end quasi-designer label---very rock'n'roll orientated stuff, all grey, black and white---some very nice pieces here and there, but frankly I find it vastly overpriced myself.

But full marks for the window display---hundreds upon hundreds of vintage sewing machines, the vast majority from the Singer works in Clydebank.

I saw a branch of this shop and wondered where the hell they found all those Singer sewing machines.

[tam]

Oz:
nae idea who took the photae but if it was taken by HH, it is not one of his best efforts.He has some brilliant stuff in his puter.
tam
and noo am laughin because of a typo....typed peter for puter...
it's an age thing.

[Pat]

Obviously not.

Nice though, HH.

It's this one: http://www.flickr.co...ler/3888710845/

[Adeline]

All saints !
Yes, it is this store!
Thank you all for your help!

[Pat]

All saints !
Yes, it is this store!
Thank you all for your help!

Glad we could help, Adeline, and pleased you mentioned it. Must check it out. Buchanan Street is bliss for retail therapy - most wisely window shopping.

[Iona Weedug]

Don't mention singer sewing machines I had a beauty complete with table and accessories that I restored myself (never actually used it)
When I moved to England I decided in a moment of madness (1980's black ash furniture era) to dump it as it didn't fit in anywhere. It gets worse - I left it outside in the garden for the binmen and no sooner had I done that but I got a knock on the door and a man asked how much I wanted for the thing. I said something stupid like £20. Why didn't I remember when he enquired about it what I actually had?
Anyone any idea what they would cost now? or can you still get them

[lynnski]

Don't mention singer sewing machines I had a beauty complete with table and accessories that I restored myself (never actually used it)
When I moved to England I decided in a moment of madness (1980's black ash furniture era) to dump it as it didn't fit in anywhere. It gets worse - I left it outside in the garden for the binmen and no sooner had I done that but I got a knock on the door and a man asked how much I wanted for the thing. I said something stupid like £20. Why didn't I remember when he enquired about it what I actually had?
Anyone any idea what they would cost now? or can you still get them

They're priceless antiques that sell for thousands of pounds Iona.







Actually I haven't a scooby! I do know they're very sough after items but no idea of a price. Can't be too expensive if the All Saints, both here and in Ireland, have windows full of them.

You were lucky in one respect Iona, the guy gave you money for it, most folks would have just picked it up and gone.

[HollowHorn]

That man went on to host 'Dragon's Den' It's true. No, really.

[Pat]

They're priceless antiques that sell for thousands of pounds Iona.







Actually I haven't a scooby! I do know they're very sough after items but no idea of a price. Can't be too expensive if the All Saints, both here and in Ireland, have windows full of them.

You were lucky in one respect Iona, the guy gave you money for it, most folks would have just picked it up and gone.

I gave mine away when we flitted a few years back as we had no room for it. I had it for about 30 years and it was a cracker. Pretty old but it had been turned from a manual into an electric machine. Made plenty of curtains and cushions over the years.

One of my friends has now passed on their mum's portable machine to me and it will be useful but will never look so beautiful.

[rolo tomassi]

Don't mention singer sewing machines I had a beauty complete with table and accessories that I restored myself (never actually used it)
When I moved to England I decided in a moment of madness (1980's black ash furniture era) to dump it as it didn't fit in anywhere. It gets worse - I left it outside in the garden for the binmen and no sooner had I done that but I got a knock on the door and a man asked how much I wanted for the thing. I said something stupid like £20. Why didn't I remember when he enquired about it what I actually had?
Anyone any idea what they would cost now? or can you still get them

I wouldn't worry, Iona, thousands of the things still survive worldwide, I doubt they're worth much, if anything, more than the £20 you got.

My grandad worked in Singer; we have two machines left in the family, one treadle, one not. We keep em more for sentimental reasons than any intrinsic 'worth'. Mind you, if anyone knows different and we're sitting on enough to retire to Spain sharpish, DO tell

[Dexter St. Clair]

A long time ago in the seventies there was a craze for Singer sewing machine tables, Not the machines. Every coffee bar and some pubs had to have the wrought iron tables. The machines were removed and dumped.

[Iona Weedug]

Thats what I was going to do. I went all Laura Ashley with mine and draped fabric over it and had little fancy boxes with trinkets/buttons on it. I must have had a lot of time on my hands then

[Hamsterbert]

A long time ago in the seventies there was a craze for Singer sewing machine tables, Not the machines.

Ah, that might explain something. In one place I lived as a young student Hamster, what served as my writing table was actually a sewing machine table without sewing machine, but still with the treadle thing that you work with your foot. Stupid thing, I thought at first, but then it became amusing to do this thing and the wee wheel would go around, albeit with nothing for the wheel to drive. A sad wheel, deprived of its reason for being. But I figured I might be the only person to write my essays by the "rhythm method". So it wasn't my landlady being mean, but was a sort of fashion?

But you people actually like sewing machines? I hated them enormously: scary fierce things with sharp points - really, given the choice, I would prefer to make friends with a tiger. I resented that it was compulsory for girls at school to learn to cook and sew but not for boys.

[samscafeamericain]

Ohhhhh a French girl, how did I miss this. Ding ######, bonjour ....



Picture is 'free to use'