Two little shops on Lark Lane are a treasure trove of wonderfully weird items, from jewellery and vintage items to Christmas decorations, prints and one of a kind pieces.
Number 13 and Larks, located opposite one another on the bohemian Lark Lane, have been a mainstay for a number of years, with Number 13 first opening 26 years ago. The eclectic and wide-ranging stores are the passion projects of husband and wife team, Phillip and Jill Southall.
Phil, who lives in Aigburth, told the ECHO there's been a number of "ups and downs" over the years, but he loves working in the area. He said: "I came to Liverpool when I was 18 - all roads lead to Liverpool.
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"There was a record label - 3Beat - that I set up with two friends and then after a while, I discovered Lark Lane as a student. It's always been the bohemian quarter of Liverpool and I always loved it and was drawn to it.
"I'd had businesses in town and fancied a change of scenery and I thought it would be a great place to have a business. I love the Victorian architecture and there's just a really nice feel to it."
Phil, 54, continued: "Originally, Lark Lane was a complete student area and it was really funny because loads of the houses were squats which were full of, like, 20 people and the Lane was always packed but the summertime would come, and it would be dead.
"Then, it became trendy again. All the houses were done up and the area got gentrified. What's good now is, because it's got such a strong identity, you've got students travelling from town to come to Lark Lane, whereas in the past there were loads of halls of residence so it felt like it was only students here, but it's more eclectic now.
"Lark Lane has such a strong identity - it's brilliant, you've got a massive mix of professionals and students. Young, old, everything in between. It's a really vibrant scene and everyone knows each other, everyone lets on, it's a really nice atmosphere to work in."
Phil began his Lark Lane venture with Number 13, a corner plot where every square inch is jam-packed with products. There's candles, retro vases, funny and risqué greeting cards, Liverpool memorabilia - some of which is made by Phil and his team - like coasters, mugs and other trinkets, as well as a range of quirky lamps, incense, tea towels and more.
Hidden near the back wall of the store is a set of steep stairs that take customers down to the basement, which is a treasure trove of film prints, art prints, slogans and more. There's boxes and boxes to choose from, and Number 13 also sells frames.
Over the road is sister venue Larks, which sells clothing, jewellery, furniture, accessories and plenty more. Phil opened it with his wife, Jill. The business owner said: "I started Larks with my wife. Having two shops, it's great having more space - they've got a different identity, each shop is quite different.
"Number 13 has always been quite alternative, we've got all these amazing prints. We manufacture a lot of our own products. I met my wife Jill through the shop [Number 13] - she used to be a chief steward on Concord and she'd been around the world collecting loads of things and she had a love of vintage, and so basically, what we wanted to do was open a shop together that was vintage inspired.
"It has a mixture of furniture, clothing, lighting, jewellery as well as new things, too - we sell accessories. We wanted to create the type of shop we'd visit in our youth.
"The thing we've always talked about is when you were younger and you'd go shopping with your mum, and you'd always have these old haberdashery shops with all these amazing smells and thick dark furniture and amazing fabrics.
"The shopkeeper always looked smart too and we just wanted to create that here, this old fashioned, lovely quality shop - somewhere where you knew if you needed a gift for somebody across the board, like your grandad or your niece, you could. We've filled every nook and cranny, and the variety is massive."
The couple is determined to keep both stores varied and intriguing for customers. Phil said: "I've put a lot of hard work into it - there's been lots of ups and downs. I've been here so long, there's been youngsters that used to come in and now they've got young ones of their own.
"People travel to come and visit our shop. It's just about always keeping the shop exciting and different, we work really hard to keep things interesting."
As part of those efforts to keep things interesting, Phil arranged for a mural to be painted on the wall above Number 13. Explaining the thought process behind the piece, Phil said: "I've always wanted to put a mural up there - the space is crying out for it and it's been such a terrible time with covid and even now with energy bills and war in Ukraine, I wanted to do something positive up there.
"I wanted to feature the lark with it being on Lark Lane and I've done a lot of research and it was a vision and image of hope. Then, I wanted to have something quite spiritual, where it didn't matter what faith you are, you'd maybe say a little prayer to the lady before a night of debauchery on Lark Lane.
"Then the cracks on her face are filled with gold, which is a Japanese practice of celebrating the struggles and scars of what we've been through - they repair breakages with gold. The 'sweet silver song of a lark' is from You'll Never Walk Alone, and that's got the football link but we wanted it all to tie in and be a vision of hope."
Number 13 is based at 13 Lark Lane, Liverpool, L17 8UW. Larks is based at 22 Lark Lane, Liverpool, L17 8US.
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