Best of Glasgow: Independent businesses like mine are what make our city interesting

Modern Love is a quirky, colourful and welcoming home and gift shop in the city’s Saltmarket, having first had a physical location in the Southside and then The Barras - before opening in its current location on Parnie Street.

Owner Sarah Gibbons told us: “We’ve got loads of good neighbours round here and it's a good wee place for a mooch.

“It's a home and gift shop that's colourful, fun, quirky little bits from mostly around Europe, America, and some local artists and people like in the UK.

With Sarah’s career in music events on hold because of the lockdown, she looked at how she could share her style with others.

Sarah explained: “It started in 2020 during lockdown because I worked in music events and they were banned because of the restrictions, but my house is a wee bit like this.

“So I spoke to two of my pals and said, ‘Would you buy this stuff if I imported it from Holland and Denmark?’ And they said yes. They ended up coming on board and helping me out at the start.”

Sarah then opened her first spot in the Cooperage in Glasgow’s Southside before eventually taking on a two-year stint at the Barras. Now she has settled on Parnie Street - described by Sarah as a “cool and just a bit quirky” area.

She said: “I like this street. It's got a bit of character. It just looks nice with the railway line there. And the pet shop has been there for over 100 years. It's just got some old businesses.

“My nana used to always talk about Parnie Street in the 50s. It seemed like it was the place to be. So, again, I felt like it was a good fit for me. And the shop was the number eight, which is my lucky number!”

The continuation of a physical location is important to Sarah, with people looking to tangibly engage with products. She said that she believes independent shops like hers are what make cities like Glasgow unique - and she’s had support from Glaswegians.

She continued: “I think the general public in Glasgow so far have been really supportive of the shop and a lot of people know me from the Barras. And if you go to the big high street shops it's all the same.

“Like the shops in town are the same as the ones at Silverburn. They're the same as the one at the Fort. All the shops are the same. You could be in Liverpool, you could be in Manchester, you could be anywhere. But it's all the wee independent shops that make a city unique.”

Sarah said she was nervous as to whether people would travel outwith their own neighbourhoods to the city centre, but tourism and big events, such as gigs, have had a positive impact on independent businesses like hers.

She explained: “The amount of tourists in Glasgow is unbelievable. Like the amount of people coming now for city breaks from elsewhere in the UK or from abroad, people are coming from Berlin, people are coming from Paris.

“And loads of people come to Glasgow for gigs, which is good. When there are big gigs on, that's really made an impact on the shop. One particular star has a standing invite to return to the city according to Sarah. She said:“Especially when Charli XCX was playing. Oh, if only she played every day.”

Modern Love Store, 8 Parnie St, Glasgow G1 5LR