If you often walk through Sheffield’s Devonshire Quarter you may well have come across a curious little store that seems to be perpetually closed, yet enticingly full to bursting with mysterious trinkets and glittering antiques. This charming store is Filibuster & Booth, Sheffield’s one-stop-shop for fine vintage jewellery, art and collectables.
There is a certain vibe exuding from Filibuster & Booth’s gothic exterior which reflects the atmosphere within; that of your Grandma’s packed attic room, filled to the ceiling with tall piles of crushed velvet and unnamed mystery ornaments. Upon your first steps into this treasure trove you will be met with walls drenched with vintage beads, necklaces and stunning broaches.
There is an endless amount of jewellery inside Filibuster & Booth; every inch of the store is saturated in rhinestones, brass and beads. The sheer quantity of jewellery in store brings to mind imagery of a shrunken Alice inside an enormous jewellery box. Filibuster & Booth is a veritable tardis of beautiful jewellery, but you would be wrong to think that quantity is the main attraction. Each piece is uniquely unusual and fantastically good quality. Filibuster & Booth’s owner, Nick Morgan explained their approach to sourcing items for the store:
Obviously the store is fit to burst, so it’s really important that each piece is something that’s going to grab a customer’s attention or be exactly what they’re looking for. This isn’t quantity over quality. Everything in store is hand picked and it’s all brilliant value.
Brilliant value is right. Admittedly, you don’t have to look too far to find an eye-wateringly expensive antique, however the majority of Filibuster & Booth’s merchandise is fantastically well priced, particularly so when considering the age, rarity and quality of these items. However, great value doesn’t always equate to great sales. According to Morgan, the student frequenters of Division Street rarely have any cash to part with despite the exceptionally low prices offer at Filibuster & Booth.
We used to be situated on Ecclesall Road and got a lot more business, but increasing rent meant we had to move to Division Street. But this was a time when nothing was up here, there were no students and no one living around here to shop. Even now surrounded by University halls we don’t find a lot of business from students as they don’t have the funds to part with, but international students love to shop here and we love having them.
Pieces within Filibuster & Booth vary exponentially and it is difficult to pinpoint an overarching style or theme to the collection other than to say it is ‘vintage’. However, vintage encompasses many era’s, as does the jewellery showcased in this treasure trove. From art nouveau to art deco, Filibuster & Booth’s collection spans across one hundred years of fine jewellery.
Our collection varies so much because we take a ‘magpies eye’ approach to sourcing, by which I mean if we see it and we like it we’ll have it. I don’t think there’s a lack of communication between the pieces, it’s all beautiful. It’s just that one piece can vary massively to the next, which personally I think is a great thing. If we exclusively stocked retro pieces we would probably be alienating a lot of our customers. Choice is always a good thing.
There is most certainly an abundance of choice offered by Filibuster & Booth. Displays are drenched with vintage beads ranging from big and bold retro necklaces, coloured in rose gold set beside pine green for a striking effect, to dainty art nouveau pendants decorated with faint silvers and intricate detailing. Pearl, glass, amber, jade, alexandrite and garnet litter the store in varying shapes and sizes. Aside from jewellery, the store also offers a very particular range of antiques. Morgan expands...
The revenue of the store is split about 50/50 between the jewellery in front of house and the antiques we source and supply to private clients. There’s a huge market for it in Sheffield and we’re very happy to be a part of it.
After almost eighteen years residing in Sheffield, Filibuster & Booth is truly an independent institution. So, whether you have been searching for striking, chunky beads reminiscent of the 1980’s or delicate, ornate pendants from the turn of the twentieth century, with such a unique taste and approach to sourcing, you’re sure to find whatever it is you’re looking for hidden somewhere inside Filibuster & Booth.
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