The beginning of it all….
Way back when, in 2003, I decided, with full support of Rachael, to open up a punk record shop. What a crazy idea. Anyway, Ruby arrived just before I opened up Hidden Records and Rachael carried on studying. I carried on serving pizzas.
Perhaps in hindsight it was the maddest thing we could possibly have done. However, 3 years on, I realise it was the best decision I have ever made. Everything I learned in those 12 short months have enabled me to go on and set up a bigger, better business (getatrowel.co.uk) and be successful in my job (TechnoPhobia).
So, although sometimes things seem hopeless and dead end; remember – you never stop learning 
What is even stranger is how things don’t really ever stop. When open, I sold fair-trade coffee for next to nothing, to try and encourage people to come in and relax, browse etc…6 months after closing, with the shop sign strangely still up, people seemed to be still looking for the Hidden Records cappucino:
February 12th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
.. and the best is yet to come .. onwards and upwards.
I loved Hidden Records, it reminded me of all those independent record shops, that were run by strange characters selling real gems; those coloured vinyls, signed copies and rare foreign releases on display.. those patrons we met there, who made buying records a social experience.. Long gone are those days for me..
February 13th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
March 20th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
[...] back in 2003 I opened a record shop in Sheffield called Hidden Records. I shut it down a year later, and started my life in the web [...]