Style Space: Let's Bounce
Fashion columnist Siobhan Maroney takes her Style Space to Bounce Vintage in Folkestone
Hello There You Lovely Lot,
It is finally here, SUMMER. Well sort of….. The heatwave over the Early May Bank Holiday made me so happy! Not only because I got to lay in the sun and drink Pimm’s all day, but also because it seemed that the whole of the UK had realised that Kent was the place to be. It was phenomenal to see thousands of people flock to our seaside towns. It made me fell super fuzzy inside and so blammin’ proud to call Kent my home.
Folkestone was one of those seaside towns that was absolutely inundated with visitors, did you see the photographs of the Harbour Arm? To be honest with you I’m not surprised. A couple of months ago I visited Folkestone for the first time and I instantly fell in love. It has a vibe to it that I can’t really explain, there is an air of creativity wherever you go, a real buzz to the place.
I’ve also never been to a friendlier town, everyone who lives there has the nice human gene. Maybe it’s the colourful art that is dotted everywhere, maybe it’s the phenomenal seafood, maybe it’s because Folkestone is an incredible place to live.
Well I know one place for sure that certainly makes Folkestone a great place to visit, Bounce Vintage. If you haven’t been, Bounce Vintage is situated right at the end of the Creative Quarter. It is the multi coloured building on the corner, you can’t miss it. Another thing that you can’t miss is the pure joy that Bounce Vintage brings to everyone that visits. The owners Saul and Rachel and their amazing staff are an absolute ray of sunshine.
Not only that, their vintage clothes are rather epic too, so I thought it was about time we got to know them a bit better.
Hi guys, tell me a bit about yourselves..
Bounce Vintage is made up of six people. Ourselves (Rachel and Saul), who established Bounce, the amazing Amber, Constance and Malaki who work with us regularly. We also have the very talented Alison who repairs and re-works our clothes.
Both of us have backgrounds in the creative industries (Rachel was a lecturer at the University for the Creative Arts while Saul was a graphic designer for 20+ years in London and Kent), while Amber is a mum and loves archaeology, science and most things that are antique.
Constance is a very talented artist based in the Creative Quarter. Alison is the Stitchist and a gardener. Malaki is studying at the Glassworks, Folkestone and is a local music producer, skateboarder and colour fanatic.
Tell me about Bounce Vintage…
Bounce Vintage was established in 2012 and grew from a business which toured the UK at vintage fairs and had pop up shops in Folkestone, until our first shop on The Old High Street opened in 2016.
Bounce is all about sourcing the best, unique and affordable everyday vintage clothing from the forties to the noughties. Our stock changes constantly but we always have the staples: jeans, dresses, t-shirts etc, as well as some rarer unique pieces.
Sustainability is at the heart of Bounce. Not only are we sourcing and selling vintage clothes – a form of recycling, we also hate waste at Bounce. We do not throw any item away – our clothes are either beautifully repaired or re-worked to create a unique vintage piece. Such unique quality pieces are not bound by fashion seasons. This is the perfect antidote to fast fashion, which is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. Buying vintage is a way to help save the planet with style.
Tell me what you love about Folkestone?
We love Folkestone. We have happy childhood memories of seaside holidays. We always wanted to live on the coast. Folkestone is a great location, close to London and looking out to France.
The Creative Quarter is a fantastic asset to Folkestone and Bounce is happy to be in the heart of this and the Old High Street community. Shopping local is important to us at Bounce and we are committed to this.
When we aren’t in Bounce you can find us on the Harbour Arm, in the bar at Space or in Steep Street for a coffee. If you like your street food then Noiy’s Noodles is the place to go, for a Pizza, try Luben or Follies and for a pub lunch you will do well in the newly restored Harbour Inn.
For an intimate evening meal The Folkestone Wine Company is great. Among the many unique shops in the Creative Quarter our favourite is Sentient, owned by artist Rebecca Mason, a gallery and boutique with dark and witty art and gifts.
What does the future hold for Bounce Vintage?
We are passionate about sourcing unique vintage clothes that cannot be easily found anywhere else. In the near future we plan to explore across the channel to find unique French and other European vintage gems, also across the pond to the US and Canada in search of the best vintage.
BIG LOVE,
Siobhan
As ever be sure to contact me at siobhan@justauniform.com- I’d love to hear from you, especially if you visit Bounce Vintage.