Following on from the discussions about the state of the shopping in Llandudno, here are my own views.These are purely personal comments on what I like to shop for when I am on holiday or a day out somewhere but what I think is lacking in this area.
When I am away I like to look for things which have been made locally and which remind you how you have enjoyed a place.
This also means that if I find something I like I will want to go back to that shop and the place to look for something else another time.
I would like to see a shop in LLandudno that sold locally made goods including paintings, photographs, cards, ceramics, textiles, jewelry etc.
It would also be good to be able to buy locally made food stuffs in the same place.
What about a cooperative department style shop that could incorporate all things local and that could be manned in turn by each of the producers?
There is a cooperative shop in Conwy that sells items from various potters but I think that is exclusively pottery.
I know there is the Mostyn Gallery but to me it doesn’t seem to have individual enough goods for sale. I do not know how much they actually sell there.
A combination of new and old goods would be of interest. Somewhere for example that you could buy vintage welsh quilts along side new ones.
Vintage shops are much in vogue at the moment. I was recently in Cardiff in the Royal Arcade where there is an excellent mix of vintage and new shops. including Melin Tregwynt.
Other favourites of mine are,
Ruthin Craft Centre: This shop sells wonderful inspiring things but there are not many everyday purchases to be had there. They sell special things you need to save up for.
White Lion Street Gallery Tenby : where they only sell cards made by the artists that they feature in the shop.
Oriel -Y - Felin St. Davids:
Roundhouse Gallery: Sennen Cove
These are all places that I have bought things and that I look forward to going back to.
There are always small interesting shops in small seaside villages but as soon as you get to a bigger town the shops become less interesting and the goods more mass produced and also produced abroad.
I presume, but I do not know, that this is due to higher rents.
Llandudno has lots of shops that sell cheap mass produced things. What about some more expensive but more worthwhile locally made goods for sale?