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TIU: Hi Phil! Can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?
P: I’m Philip Johnson and I buy and sell 20th century collectibles so glass, furniture and pottery. I’ve been collecting for about thirty years. I used to sell art because that’s what my degree was in and it seemed like the most logical thing to start selling because I had so much stuff -there’s even more stuff upstairs! It funds my collecting and its an enjoyable thing to do.
TIU: So a hobby that you decided to grow into something more?
P: Yes I was always surrounded by stuff. My dad was a bit of a hoarder…
TIU: A collector?
P: Yes he’s a car dealer but he used to take me to auctions and he’d buy furniture and sometimes sell it – and that’s how I got into it.
TIU: Do you have a favourite era? I guess the shop stock is indicative of your tastes?
P: It’s funny really because bizarrely it seems to go back to exactly when I was born. Some of my favourite designers are from that time. I look at a piece of glass and when it came out will be exactly when my birth was. So yes it’s a bit odd. I wasn’t surrounded by anything like this when I was a kid it was all antiques back then. My parents would have died a million deaths to have been surrounded by G Plans. That set behind you – we had a few pieces of that when I was growing up so when I saw a job lot of those I thought, “Wow”, because it is what I grew up with. Those ones were aspirational because they were all hand painted and expensive when they came out. I suppose it was my parents who taught me to like and appreciate things.
TIU: You pick up on the background or historical significance of something as well as perhaps the emotional sentience?
P: Yes definitely.
TIU: There is a degree of personal sentiment in what you do I can see that. How long have you been operating out of this building we are in now, which I take it is also your home?
P: I moved here in 2007.
TIU: Who are your main clientele?
P: It’s mainly online and people from down south. I’ve got a courier so a lot of what I sell tends to do down south, London, Brighton and sometimes its Manchester or Leeds. I’ve only really been open here in Ulverston for six weeks and we are still getting known. People can actually come in here now and they tend to be the 30s and 40 somethings, quite arty. You can normally tell just by what sort of clothes people are wearing whether or not they have an interest. It’s obvious that they like second hand and vintage.
TIU: Is it mainly personal buyers or do you get commercial business?
P: I’ve had a few commercial buyers but its mainly personal.
TIU: Do you run any kind of finding service?
P: People leave me notes! It’s more of a favour to be honest because I get asked to find things that are not necessarily things that I would be buying. Someone asked me if I could have a look out for 18th century tea caddies but its just not something that I myself would buy. If someone wants me to try to find something I will do it. In my bedroom / living room I’ve got a 17th century chest of drawers. I’m not a design stickler – if something looks nice, it looks nice.
TIU: So not a purist in that sense?
P: No, this is a Georgian house and I am surrounded by 1960s pieces!
TIU: Were you born in Ulverston?
P: I was born in Lancashire but my mum and dad moved up here, roughly this area, between Hawkshead and Newby Bridge in 1980. So we used to come to Ulverston quite a bit. I moved here in 1994 – so I sort of knew the area anyway and in 1994 Ulverston was a lot cheaper to buy property. People realised it was actually quite a nice place and property prices went up.
TIU: It definitely has had a kind of Balamory effect / gentrification. And with that in mind and in terms of this being so new do you feel it is going to take off here?
P: It hasn’t yet…
TIU: But there is still the first festival season to get through…
P: It’s got a good a chance as any. If people know what they are looking at and that its not stupidly priced in here. I can also see myself doing a bit more bulk dealing for people. So I can’t see why not, ultimately. Ulverston is a diverse place – most people who have come in to the shop so far have been pretty complimentary. Quite a few who have come in have been pretty intrigued by the place.
TIU: This is quite a spot to have a shop as well as a house! It is on a main car park in central Ulverston and right between two popular pubs. It has a prominent placing on a well walked route. So footfall should be good.
P: It’s like a little oasis here.
TIU: Do you have any favourite pieces in the shop? When we were selling ourselves I would become emotionally attached to certain things and it made it difficult to part with them. I was always battling in that emotional sense of money over matter.
P: I can understand that! I certainly used to be more like that myself but having the shop space downstairs is useful because it means if I buy something on eBay it gets delivered downstairs, I open it downstairs and it stays downstairs on the shop floor so that I don’t get attached. I’ve reached the stage where I’ve got so much stuff that its easier for me not to get attached. There are somethings that I don’t sell but I just don’t bring them downstairs! Unless I get really skint and then I might! There are things that I know are more saleable, or rare.
TIU: Did you go through any business training before you started Retrophil?
P: Not really. I had a gallery in Cartmel for a bit and a gallery in Preston. So over the years I’ve gained experience. I don’t know how many auctions I’ve been to. That’s why I do glass because I’ve been sitting in the auction waiting for furniture and pottery and the glass has come up. Its not been much money and I’ve not known what it was at first but I’ve kept buying it and researching. I can be obsessive about it now. I can tell you what a piece of glass is from thirty feet away because I’ve spent so many hours doing it.
TIU: You did your own apprenticeship!
P: Oh completely yes, I am that type of person. I am a total obsessive. I have to not show my girlfriend photos of stuff that comes in.
TIU: My husband used to send me photos of our latest imports when I was on maternity leave and ask me what I wanted. It was very tempting to say most of it, but then, that doesn’t make for good business! I’ve lost track of all the start ups I’ve seen that are just so in love with their own stock that their business sense has gone out of the window! Coming into your shop here is like stepping back into that world that we had a for a little bit. We sold clothing mainly though, would you branch out into that?
P: I like vintage clothes I buy them for myself but Mags sells them and I wouldn’t step on anyone’s toes in that way.
TIU: She has a great selection and a fantastic community space- but what can happen in a town this small is that niche businesses can sometimes bolster more business for each other rather than become each other’s competition and that would be advantageous. Ulverston as a whole could do with that. It becomes a shopping destination at that point, known for lots of choice.
P: I went to have a look, she has some nice things.
TIU: Without both Retrophil and Evermore people would have to catch a train to larger towns and cities for vintage – like Lancaster or Manchester. I would love to see a set up a bit like Quiggins in Liverpool or the Corn exchange in Leeds or Assembly Rooms in Lancaster, here in Ulverston. The Market Hall is close to what I mean in terms of set up. Ulverston seems very open to someone having a dream and trying to turn it into reality. Whether it succeeds or not, it seems it’s a town that enables people to have a go. Did you mention that you offer a delivery service?
P: Yes, I will always deliver locally but I do have a courier too. I tend to drive stuff to Scotland though because he won’t go to Scotland. I drive to Edinburgh or to Glasgow, and I will just do it for petrol money because I don’t mind the driving at all.
TIU: It gets you a change of scenery!
P: It does, I went up to Helensburgh one time and I had never been before and it’s gorgeous! Also I had never really been around Loch Lomond so I stopped off there and decided to have a walk for an hour. I was feeling good and I’d gone to somewhere so beautiful, I wanted to enjoy it.
TIU: The beauty of working for yourself is that you can do that kind of thing from time to time.
P: There has got to be some perks!
TIU: Against all the taxes and admin…
P: Business rates and all that. And I get charged twice for water which really annoys me.
TIU: Is that because of same building but dual use?
P: Yes unbeknownst to me when I bought this house it retained its business status as it was formerly The Ugly Ducking restaurant. Most people still call it The Ugly Ducking.
TIU: It’s quite small in here for dining?
P: It was just these two rooms and the kitchen which is now also full of shop stuff. The kitchen was way larger than it needed to be. I used to work in catering as well.
TIU: Okay, a jack of all trades?
P: Yes I was restaurant manager of The Samling Hotel – an ultra luxurious place. Its where Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman used to stay. They would fly in by helicopter and I would have to meet them. I met some stupidly famous people when I was working there. There was quite a lot of hush, hush stuff going on!
TIU: It sounds very rock and roll!
P: It was! There were interesting people like Seamus Heaney the poet. He used to come up quite often he was pretty cool. The usual people would come up like Melvyn Bragg and then we had Vogue holding conferences. Anna Wintour…
TIU: Ah that’s interesting I was in the Vogue Influencer Network whilst it lasted. It was always a fun day when the box of products arrived for sampling. It was tough going turning down New York fashion week tickets because yes, entry was free but New York return flights and hotels were not!
P: It was a beautiful place to work absolutely gorgeous just overlooking the lake. If you had to ask the price of something there you couldn’t afford it. Some people wore their fame and influence very well. One event, every single guest was a Sir someone and they were probably the most polite people. The guy who led the event made sure that he knew all of our names.
TIU: I’ve put down in my diary, visit The Samling! So, to bring us back to Ulverston and the famous last question here at TIU – do you have anything special to share with us about the town?
P: The reason I live in Ulverston is because it is a really good mix of incomers and locals. I like the fact that there are lots of individual shops and its not too corporate. And the mix pf people. There are enough interesting people locally but also a lot of people who have had a life away from Ulverston. I’ve never been to the south of Ireland but my mother and sister used to go a lot and the way they described it sounds like Ulverston. There are lots of people here with these very interesting lives who have decided to come and mix it up a bit in Ulverston. I like the diversity of that and I like living in the north. I’ve lived in the south but I was at university then I spent a couple of years there but I prefer being in the north for lots of reasons. The people are friendlier. I remember what mornings on the tube were like. Its just very interesting in Ulverston and the fact it takes five minutes to walk away and out of it into the countryside. I can see the hills from my bedroom and that’s a beautiful thing. From my bed I can see Hoad. I’ve got an allotment here and it costs me £12 a year. It is such a nice area!.
Retrophil is located at 1 Buxton Place, Ulverston LA12 7EF and is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10am to 4pm.
