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Southampton Shop Spotlight: Retro Time at the Loft Ladder

The second in my “Southampton Shop Spotlight” series is very similar to the first – and I apologize! You can probably guess my shopping habits right?

Before I get into the spotlight, this leads me on to an idea: do you have a shop/store in Southampton that has impressed you lately with it’s service, range of products, uniqueness or quirky-nature?

Then please get in touch with me using the “Contact Me” form and I’ll gladly host your write-up!

Onwards with the spotlight… Retro Time
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Did you know that West Quay isn’t the only shopping mall in Southampton town centre? There is the oft-forgotten Marlands just up the high street towards the London Road end.

Unlike the uber-commercial West Quay, Marlands has an ace up it’s sleeve in the form of an upper level featuring something called “The Loft Ladder” – explained on the Marlands website thus:
Step up to the first floor and explore our uniquely designed space full of brilliant ideas, fabulous gifts and exciting talented individuals. If youโ€™re looking for something different, this is the place to come.
An innovative retail concept with space designed specifically for smaller independents, fledging companies and creatively driven enterprises. Join a community of vintage, urban, arts & crafts retailers.

One of these shops is “Retro Time” manned by the multi-talented Steve.
As the name suggests, you will find all manner of Retro goodies here from Vinyl records, record/fashion bags, games consoles (including a large selection of handheld systems like Gameboy Advance and PSP), video games and those beeping electronic games from the 80’s.
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There are also hobby/geeky things like Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon cards along with hardback “coffee table” type books covering Star Wars, Marvel/DC History, Halo, Final Fantasy and suchlike.
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Look carefully and you might find pocket binoculars, board games and even a sat-nav – it’s all part of the experience ๐Ÿ™‚
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It’s not all retro stuff – as you can see they have a selection of PS4 and Xbox One games (we’ll allow it Steve ๐Ÿ˜‰
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The surrounding shops feature products like home-made leather goods, indie clothing and ethnic jewelry – so maybe you can convince the girlfriend/wife to visit with you while you checkout the geeky stuff ๐Ÿ˜‰

Since all the retro stuff is all used pre-loved, you can also sell your unwanted retro stuff here for others to enjoy again.
Give them a try! Check out their Facebook page, it has details of the newest stock, offers, promotions etc

Southampton Comics
I cannot mention Retro Time with mentioning the equally wonderful Southampton Comics who share the same floor-space.
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These guys alternate every weekend between Mark (aka “The Space Ligers”) and Gavin (aka “The Gavster”) – each with their own range of comics. Both are friendly and knowledgeable dudes with Braniac-levels of encyclopedic knowledge of all things comics.
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If you’re unsure what to read or want to get started then just ask them, set a budget and they will pick out good stuff for you.
Go there for a huge selection of comics from the usual Marvel/DC range to indie titles and graphic novels. They also have a selection of mini-figures and jewelry themed along comics/TV lines (I’ve personally been meaning to buy the Thundercats logo pendant…).
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Check out their Facebook page for offers, promotions, events, video messages etc etc etc ๐Ÿ™‚

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