Rin-Tin-Tin

You can never get bored in Rin Tin Tin in the North Laine. It’s a bit of a knick knack shop selling all sorts of retro and vintage items including postcards, toys, movie memorabilia and general junk. You can keep on browsing around until your heart is content. But I like the picture framing service they offer most of all most of all. I needed some posters framed and they gave me a great and cheapish service. Recommended.

Tinplate robots
Reproduction toys
Vintage games
Vintage magazines
Old signs
Unusual posters
Weird badges
Wonderful prints
& Interesting homeware
You guessed it, Rin-​Tin-​Tin is one of those unusual shops that’s run as a labour of love by eccentric owners. They call themselves a shop specialising in 20^th Century Collectibles and have a range of original and secondhand gifts and advertising paraphenilia you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. Think the 1920s to the present!

I like this shop as it allowed me to pick up some small vintage gifts and trinkets that may come in handy some day. But what I know will come in handy is the mug I purchased. When my flatmate was doing the washing up, the mug I use slipped out of his hand. Since the fall wasn’t too far, it would have been fine if he just left it. But he didn’t. He tried to «save» the mug by grabbing it in mid-​air. All this resulted in was pushing the mug at a height higher than it was initially, and when the mug went out of reach, it crashed to the floor, and came away with a big crack on the side. So, I bought a mug here to replace that one. And I will now do my own washing up. I also purchased some playing cards, in case I ever decide to take up magic. There’s a ton of stuff here, and it’s definitely worth it to browse around.

This shop is great for vintage gifts big and small. The best thing I recently saw in there was a 1920’s Boots self enema kit, it comes in a classy tin also-​what a present. Also the walls are adorned with old tins, retro adverts and triangle flags that say things like ‘Cancun’ or ‘Petersburg Zoo’-and only cost £1.50.
It’s a small but visually busy shop and is most definitely worth a look in, even if just to see all of these quirks in the flesh.

This is a great little shop that’s been closed every time I’ve tried to take a peek — until this afternoon My eavesdropping — I mean, detective — skills told me it was because someone had a baby. Possibly the daughter of the shop’s owner.
Rin Tin Tin is a much smaller version of Snooper’s Paradise (about the size of maybe two of the little stalls) crossed with Back in Time on Queen’s Road. Shelves display an array of antiqued goodness –little trinkets, playing cards, books, mugs and cigarette tins — but the largest selection is the range of printed images.
Topics include sports, advertisements, pin-​ups, food and drink, travel and pop icons of previous decades. The prints come in a variety of sizes, none of them framed but they do come on a backing. It’s quite interesting, though time consuming, to look through everything, and the prices are quite cheap. Recommended for fun browsing and to pick up vintage items with which to decorate your flat.