SWEET DREAM COMES TO END AS VINTAGE SHOP CLOSES UP
THE entire contents of a Midland vintage-style sweet shop has been sold for £8,000 as the shutters come down for the final time.
Dave Walker, 50, spent a lifetime scouring flea markets and antique fairs to kit out the Edward & Vintage sweet shop in Tissington, Derbyshire.
After ten years running the business, which customers dubbed “the best sweet shop in the world”, he sold up to relocate to the Orkney Islands.
More than 100 items went under the hammer including the Victorian counter, Bakelite scales, Cadbury’s cabinets, 100-year-old till, sweet jars, scoops, packets of 1940s sugar, enamel signs and a bar of 1920s chocolate.
The treasure trove of sweet shop memorabilia sold for a total of £8,000 at Midland auction house Hansons on Saturday.
Mr Walker said: “I’ve had the most amazing time and the customers have been brilliant. They’re a brilliant bunch of loyal people.
“I hope people will buy them who’ve enjoyed visiting the shop over the years.
“I’d love them to have a memory of Edward & Vintage. Or maybe someone somewhere is looking to open a sweet shop.”
Mr Walker, 50, opened Edward & Vintage in 2012 and filled it with his antique finds from over the years, with the store appearing on TV shows including Escape to the Country and Countryfile.
Customers have included Joanna Lumley, Christine Bleakly and comic Micky Flanagan, and visitors have flocked to the shop from as far afield as Japan and Australia.
Despite the huge success of the nostalgic sweet shop, Mr Walker is moving to a new venture in Scotland. The shop closed its doors last month and reverted back to being part of the Tissington Estate.
“Maybe it’s a midlife crisis but I decided to make the move while I have the energy and time left to do something special.