With a captive audience on his doorstep, the Commercial District seems like the perfect area for a bespoke tailors “Liverpool is a great city and with a business like ours, you need to be in a major city, full of people who need suits; the Commercial District is perfect for that! Whether it’s for day-today, a job interview or a graduation, we’ll create attire worthy of a celebration.” But it’s not just business people who Walter can cater for. Back in 1962, four floppy haired Scousers walked through his door and tried their luck. A lesser known band at the time, The Beatles needed smartening up for their first ever television appearance on Granada and Walt still remembers the blue wool and silk mix suits he made for the Fab Four. It just goes to show a well-tailored suit really can get you anywhere… LAWRENCE ALBRIGHTON MUSIC NOTES, NORTH JOHN STREET A stone’s throw away from one of Liverpool’s most famous music destinations, The Cavern, sits Music Notes – an Aladdin’s cave of printed music and instruments. Music Notes is the creation of Lawrence Albrighton who, after 21 years as Head of Music in a High School and eight as a manager in a music shop, decided to take the plunge and set up his own. So with decades of experience in the music industry, it would be fair to say that you’re in safe hands in Music Notes and Lawrence agrees “A shop like this needs good musicians on the staff. As such, I’m very proud to say that everyone who works here are all avid musicians. I play piano and organ and also sing in a large choir of 170 voices. One of my colleagues plays and teaches cello and another is making a name for himself in his Ukulele group, Ukebox!” Not your average Commercial District establishment, we’re sure you’ll agree. “We decided to base ourselves in the Commercial District because of the busy thoroughfare. For a specialist shop like this being close to the city centre is always a good move - we’re in a prime spot where people work and shop.” When we walked into Music Notes, we were astounded by the range of instruments on show but also the printed music that was available to buy. Lawrence continues “We’ve got over 180,000 titles on our website but there are probably 2-3 million titles we can get. Whether you want a beginner piano book for a five year old child, a complete orchestral set for a professional orchestra or the latest piece of popular music for guitar, we can supply it.” With a collection like that, you can’t help but think all bases are covered – but not for Lawrence. “The only way is up. We’ve got plans to improve on what we do and we’re always looking for ways to make the shop more interesting and more relevant to musicians and anyone with an interest in music.” And it’s that type of determination that is certainly music to our ears… LUCY BYRNE DOT-ART, QUEEN AVENUE (OFF CASTLE STREET) Originally voyaging into the city to study, Lucy Byrne of Castle Street’s dot-art soon set her sights on something a little bit different when she spotted a gap in the market. “I originally came to Liverpool to study the History of Art, mainly thanks to the city’s wide collection of fantastic and internationally renowned visual arts infrastructure organisations. When I graduated, I spent a lot of time meeting people in the industry and kept hearing the same thing – there were just no commercial galleries in the city, meaning artists were struggling to find the right outlets for their work.” This fact, coupled with a desire to do something different is what got Lucy thinking: “I knew I wasn’t the only person out there who didn’t want some generic, mass produced print on my living room wall. I’d always prefer to buy something unique and original from a talented, local artist.”
And so dot-art was born. Having a prestigious Castle Street address within the Commercial District has helped Lucy with her loyal client base and she admits that most of her clients are within walking distance. “As a large proportion of our clients are based in the BID area, it means that we’re always on hand to answer questions or fulfil those last minute requests. The fact that we’re surrounded by such excellent coffee shops means that we’re spoilt for choice if we want to step out of the office for more relaxed meetings! In addition, we’ve always had such great support from the Commercial District BID team over the years.” As well as supplying paintings, prints, photography and sculptures on a sale, commission and rental basis, there is a second arm to the business in the form of the social enterprise offering, dot-art Services CIC. Lucy explains “dot-art Services CIC is a not-for-profit organisation which exists to support North West-based visual artists, both emerging and established, through a range of services and activities designed to help them develop their careers and gain exposure.” But dot-art is showing no sign of slowing down. “We intend to stay in the Commercial District area, whilst growing our corporate client base. My goal is to see locally sourced, original art in every office in the area. We’ve also just announced an exciting new partnership with the Walker Art Gallery, who will be hosting the 2014 dot-art Schools Exhibition, so the growth and expansion of this programme will also be key to the next few years.” dot-art is certainly on a mission and we can’t wait to see the result. CLIFF SIMPSON SUTTONS AND ROBERTSONS, NORTH JOHN STREET You may have to do a double take when walking past Suttons and Robertsons, as the sparkle of the window display is sure to catch your eye. Suttons and Robertsons offer a high-end pawn-broking experience to the business world and where better placed in Liverpool than the Commercial District’s North John Street? Part of the affectionately named ‘Posh Pawn’ trend that’s gripping the UK, the business offers a wide range of coveted items to the professionals and entrepreneurs of the city. We sit down with Cliff Simpson, Manager of the North John Street store and marvel at his 27 year long experience and expertise in all things luxury. “Suttons and Robertsons set up their Liverpool offering in early 2012, but as one of nine stores across the UK, founder T.M. Suttons started out in 1770. I’ve always had an interest in watches and diamonds and have been in the industry since I left school. Over the years, I’ve further developed my valuation skills to include antiques, fine art and silverware.” We ask Cliff how he feels about having that prestigious North John Street address “We’re in a prime spot here – we’re surrounded by affluent professionals whose tastes match the selection of items we have here.” As our eyes wander around the showroom, we can’t help but ask what the most interesting items they’ve ever come across; Cliff’s answer doesn’t disappoint: “Some of the more fascinating and exceptional items we have valued and held as pledges include a 19th Century Russian side cabinet that belonged to Tsar Nicholas II, artwork by Salvador Dali, a first edition X-Men comic – the list really does go on!” In their relative infancy here in the BID, what lies on the horizon for the business? “We want to continue to provide exceptional service to our loyal customers. We can provide £10,000 in cash within the hour and also have the financial resources to loan up to £1 million.” We’re looking forward to keeping an eye on this North John Street gem...
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