Bohemia of Porvoo.

Today I’m ending the latest Porvoo saga with a post of a place that is probably one of my favourite meccas to shop: Bohemia second hand, interior and lifestyle shop.

Enter the boutique of boho-chic wonderland here.

A composition of autumn apples and tea mugs.

Bohemia is actually a mix of various different types of items from different sellers.

The shop itself offers a wide selection of imported boho style clothing, jewellery, decorative items etc.

There’s also hand-made local products like the jewellery made from recycled paper above.

I wish I had one of those candles. And robes. And everything.

As you may already have guessed, my favourite section of the shop is where people can rent a rack and shelves for a period of time – so you may get to find really cool and unique pieces with just pennies. Although all of the items sold in Bohemia are absolutely lovely, I do admit that the price range of many of the imported and hand-made goods are a bit too high for my budget.

There was a couple of pieces of these gorgeous old wooden toy horses around the shop.

A peek of the second hand/vintage section with the fitting room that is oh so familiar to me…

To finish this post, I have to highlight the friendly and assertive customer service that works in at least three languages, Swedish, Finnish and English. So don’t be afraid of asking for help or assistance!

When I asked the permission to take pictures for my blog, the owner came forward as super supportive and interested in reading what I’ve come up with. I know it’s a long time since visiting but I do hope that the staff of Bohemia sees this! I do love your place and I hope I can get as many people as I can to visit your shop in the nearby future.

Yours,

Miah

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Doris & Duke – Vintage and Modern.

One of my most passionate dreams for the longest time has been to visit Doris & Duke – Vintage and Modern shop in Old Town Porvoo.

Unfortunately for me, I have always either been too busy to visit the location or the shop has simply been closed at the time.

This time though, I was determined and opportunist enough to check the opening hours in advance. Hooray internet and social media!

The shop is divided into two parts according to the origins of the pieces: if they are modern reproductions or actual vintage items (not that there’s anything bad in either of them – they’re all lovely as seen from the pics).

I would definitely recommend visiting Doris & Duke for those who are especially interested in pin up fashion. Just look at those fluffy petticoats hanging out of the fitting room ceiling!

Gorgeous fitting room table!

Of course I couldn’t get away without finding something to try on. I actually ended up buying this vintage dress (above) from the 1970’s. The price, 20 euros, wasn’t bad for a student budget, either.

The vintage side is behind the counter.

You know I had to.

Doris & Duke isn’t just about clothing since there is literally heaps of accessories and jewellery from which to choose.

The prices of the vintage items may vary a bit but overall I’d say that none of the stuff is at least badly over-priced.

This side of the shop is dedicated for the colourful retro items.

For some reason I just found the black sing to be highly amusing to me. Though I should probably get the silver one for the university seminar…

Even though I personally feel that the vintage side of Doris & Duke is meant more for me, I still know a couple of friends who would absolute love all of the reproductions.

Urho K. Kekkonen (replica above) is still one of the most well-known presidents of Finland.

Without starting an unnecessary political rant, I just want to point out that it is really funny to print a black-and-white picture of a respected old male figure with his own words ‘saatanan tunarit’ (something like ‘fucking morons’) into the parking indicator we use in Finland to tell when we have parked our vehicle. And yes, people move around the meters if the allowed parking time is running out. I think it must be a pretty very universal phenomenon to try to avoid a ticket. With this indicator I don’t think it would even be a proper chore.

Yours,

Miah

Freida Mo’s – Finally!

Remember the rant I had about missing out the opening weekend of a new vintage boutique the last time I was in Liverpool?

Well, I finally got there – may I introduce you to Freida Mo’s bakery, vintage and vinyl shop on Lark Lane!

The lovely garden gate invites you to step in to the small but enchanting place of everything cute.

I have to confess having a serious fan girl moment when asking in a shy Scandinavian way if I could take some pictures for my blog. The nicest owner (below) was thrilled and even accepted posing for me in one of the shots!

This is the day dress I got – placed onto the chair while I was taking all the pictures I needed.

The collection consists of selected pieces prior the 1980’s. Students like me can also appreciate the reasonable prices: with 20-30 pounds you can have an ageless piece of clothing.

The owner told me that all of the jewellery on the table is hand-made by her.

Like promised in the sign outside of the shop – there are special find for the vinyl enthusiasts as well!

You know that you have found a good place to shop when even the toilet is decorated well and according to the theme. It’s not about running your business just because of the money but because you really care about giving your customers an overall experience that will make a lasting memory.

But Freida Mo’s isn’t just about what to wear – it’s also about taking a deserved moment of rest with delicious tea and dream-like cupcake (or two).

Like my companion said, the secret in succeeding these days is not just what you sell, it’s how you sell it – otherwise, what you have to offer in the post-modern economy based on fast, disposable consumerism. I feel that it has become a time to step away from the faceless capitalism into a more community-based form of sustainable living where you know what you’re buying and from where it has came from.

Luckily there are places like Freida Mo’s who provide a sense of truly whole-hearted customer service and a unique collection of carefully selected high-quality items!

Yours,

Miah

Gasp – Vintage!

Next in the ‘Lark Lane series’ is a vintage (or even more like antique) shop called Gasp Vintage.

Even though I personally am more of a clothing freak, I’ve always found it pleasant to come and check out what kind of cool stuff Gasp has this time.

The shop is basically almost like an old warehouse full of unique finds ranging from old plane or theatre seats to small porcelain cups.

What I love about the place is its colourfulness and variety of even strange objects sometimes!

Design for the tea-lovers!

I have really wanted to get some of those reproduction retro posters but so far I’ve just been too worried that they’d get all wrinkly in my backpack. Well, maybe next time! Tell me in the comments section which is your favourite – and maybe I’ll even send it to you…

Yours,

Miah

Vintage on Bold Street.

Cow

I was actually heading to another vintage place on Bold Steer, Pop Boutique, when I randomly (out of curiosity for the quirky beautiful display window) popped my head into Cow.

And what an oasis of good-quality vintage shopping did it turn out to be!

Even though I happened to find the best stuff from upstairs…

…the downstairs was also filled with racks full of cool-looking clothing.

The fitting rooms are also located downstairs so you kinda can’t avoid digging into the collection. Which is a bad thing only if you’re in a rush!

I absolutely love the design of the whole store though I have to admit that the fitting room doors may be a little bit confusing. On the positive side, the lighting is good and there is definitely enough room to place everything until you’re ready.

Pop Boutique Liverpool

The second shop in this post is my absolute favourite vintage place called Pop Boutique.

After visiting the place they have in Manchester, I realized how much better (and affordable) the vintage scene in UK really is. Compared to Helsinki, I mean.

Okay, I understand that sometimes you just have to get new sports bra or tights from Primark or H&M – and that’s completely fine as long as you understand the effect ‘fast fashion’ has on nature and the workers. But honestly, when there’s places like Pop Boutique where you can find a unique piece of clothing made to last with the same amount of money that you’d spend on a normal shop, why still choose to support the nasty industry?

Resurrection Liverpool

My friend told me that he used to basically live in this shop about 10 years ago when he was a student. Unlike most of the other second-hand/vintage boutiques, Resurrection still had a student discount available.

The downstairs is full of ‘menswear’ (but you can still go there and try on some of those gorgeous grungy flannel shirts…) and the upstairs is for the ladies’ second-hand, vintage and retro reproduction clothing.

Yours,

Miah