Our Shop Refit and History
| Dan takes a well earned rest for a beer in the chaos of the refurb
This is the story of the refit of our shop with some pics of the interior of the original shop and of the refit we carried out in 2018 to turn what had been a travel agency named "Continental Travel" into the shop we know and love today as Jimmy Egypt & Sons. Continental Travel was run by a lady who specialised in trips to Europe and helping with visas and travel to and from Poland. She had been in business trading on this site from the late 60s. I had known and admired the shop and it's frontage for many years having lived in the West End, passing by daily. I found out that she was thinking of retiring so I visited and had a chat with her and the rest, as they say, is history.
There was a false cieling, it having been lowered by about 5 feet creating a lovely artex covered canopy with harsh strip lighting. We didn't really have a plan and hadn't been able to survey the property much before moving in so we set to work. We found many surprises in the process of restoring the shop and uncovered more of the history dating back to the 1900s! Read on and I'll tell you more... |
| So we started the unmasking of the shop, removing layers upon layers of panelling and timber framing to open up the space and make it suitable to display some fabulous guitars. This was A LOT of work! We did it all ourselves with the help of a couple of our favourite customers. We made things up as we progressed and discovered things some good, some bad really and some of which were a complete surprise! We had to carry out major repairs to the floor and sub floor, deal with a water leak and remove the cieling and a heavy concrete column in the process. We had an emergency when it was discovered that the internal electrics were dangerous so the entire shop had to be rewired! (Thanks to Paul of PR Electrics). The timber panelling in the shop is original and dates back to the early 1900s we merely washed it then hung the guitars up! The columns once obscured by a concrete column are the original support columns for the building. The origin of the tiled wall is anybody's guess. Did you spot the "up the mods!" grafiti on the wooden wall panels? |
| In the process of the refit we discovered a niche at the rear of the shop where the original victorian fireplace had been. Our friend, Ricky who was helping us with joinery work in the shop thought he saw something glinting in the darkness...we uncovered a nest of medicine and shampoo bottles some with their printed Victorian labels still intact! According to the name on one of the bottles a gentleman by the name of Henry Klinkert ran a hairdressers and perfumerie salon at this address around 1910. We cross checked and found an entry bearing his name on an old Glasgow City census document which detailed his home address as 61 Airlie Gardens in the West End. |
| After designing the carnival inspired sign with it's various 3D elements it was printed, created and assembled at my friend Graeme Murray's printing company Point Media in Bishopbriggs before installation above the shop. The cleverly designed ironwork was created by my multi talented customer and all round great guy Stevie Murray! |
| So there you have it! That's the story in pictures. I hope you've found it interesting. |
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I think we must have the most photographed shopfront in Glasgow! |
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We did it! ...The team! |
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Now let's get on with some of these repairs |
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The Shop as it was in 2018 |
