A new shop has opened in York that is loud and proud to be gay.
This Shop Is So Gay, located on Parliament Street, is the sibling-shop to the Sherlock Holmes Imaginarium on Low Petergate.
The bright and colourful shop, which opened last week, stocks an array of LGBTQ-themed gifts and memorabilia – such as pins, figurines, wall art, mugs, keyrings, and soft furnishings.
Owned by sibling duo Claire and Xander Platz, they decided to open a second shop in response to the homophobia they have experienced while running their original shop.
Xander and Claire took over the Sherlock Holmes Imaginarium last year. It had been the siblings’ dream to open a shop of their own after their mum sadly passed away.
Originally a souvenir and gift shop that specialises in York and Yorkshire products, the Sherlock Holmes Imaginarium has had a coming out of its own and is now a beacon for queer celebration in the city.
But unfortunately it has attracted some negativity.
“We’ve had people come in and make homophobic comments, we’ve had drinks thrown at the window, and somebody going past pretending to spit,” Claire told YorkMix.
“We said if it carried on we’d open another shop,” she said. “And it did so here we are!”
Claire explained that the opening of the second shop was a “byproduct” of the homophobia they’ve experienced, and wasn’t necessarily planned – “I mean we haven’t even done a year yet!”
The two shops on Low Petergate and Parliament Street will run concurrently.
Many of the products in This Shop Is So Gay are actually handmade by Xander himself, such as the ghostly figurines on display that are crafted from resin and hand-painted.
Despite the negativity they’ve experienced, Claire emphasises that the “the majority of people that come in are so nice. When they come in they say it’s so nice to have a safe space where they know they’re welcomed and can be themselves.”
The support for the shops is not just limited to queer people, and Claire mentions the support from straight people too. “It’s really good.”
Since This Shop Is So Gay opened last week, they’ve had a “positive” reaction. “Somebody came in and said it’s ‘competition with the other gay shop’ – it’s not a competition!”
This Shop Is So Gay is open every day from 10am to 6pm. To find out more and to keep up to date, visit their Instagram page here.
Take a look inside in our gallery below.
Gallery
