Coffee, cake and camp: Everything you need to know about Nottingham’s new Pride shop

During my time in Nottingham, it has often been discussed how it would be nice to have more queer spaces, outside of the bars that are on offer. This has been answered by The Pride Shop, on Maid Marian Way, filled with all the pride merch your heart desires.

Jake Hook, the founder, said: “A lot of people have said we love the bars, or don’t love the bars, but we’d like somewhere that wasn’t drinking or dating related. Everyone who has come in has been really excited this exists”.

The shop also has lots of good coffee and cake on offer, and it felt like a safe place, where LGBT+ organisations are beginning to plan meeting. Everyone there was incredibly friendly and is a great opportunity to meet other people with shared experiences in a casual setting.

Bath bombs, socks, candles and pride paraphernalia including garlands, headbands, sunglasses and lanyards line the shelves, making this the spot to hit before Nottingham Pride next year.

The Pride Shop started online, and began to do pop-up shops at Pride events across the country, however then wanted a store presence in the city centre.

Upstairs is also a work in progress, as Jake is a trained therapist and plans to run low-cost and free group and individual sessions through the community interest company – Pride Space.

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When talking about the benefits of having a gay therapist for members of the LGBT+ community, he told The Nottingham Post: “Its really important LGBT people have a space where they can talk to other LGBT people. I’m not saying other therapists can’t provide the necessary care and attention but sometimes it’s just more comfortable for people to talk to someone they know has had a shared experience.”

The shop has been open just over a week now and has the potential to make such a difference to the Nottingham community. They also have a notice board of LGBT+ organisations and events, so it is a great place to find out more about what is going on in the city.