Independent Shops in Exeter: 19 Makers, Records and Vintage

Exeter's Indie Quarter Is One of the Best in the South West

Every city has a high street. Most of them look the same. The same chains, the same signage, the same feeling that you could be absolutely anywhere. But Exeter has something that a lot of cities have lost: a genuinely thriving independent scene, clustered along a few streets and arcades that feel like they belong to a different era entirely.

Walk down Gandy Street — a narrow, cobbled lane strung with bunting and lanterns — and you're surrounded by one-off shops that exist nowhere else. Duck into McCoys Arcade on Fore Street and you'll find vintage clothing, secondhand guitars, indie bookshops, and craft beer, all under one beautifully restored roof. Head further along Fore Street and there are record shops, surf shops, galleries, and gift boutiques operating from spaces barely bigger than a cupboard.

These aren't vanity projects. They're businesses run by people who care about what they sell, who know their customers by name, and who are deeply woven into the fabric of this city. Supporting them isn't just shopping — it's investing in the kind of neighbourhood that actually matters.

Here's our guide to the ones worth knowing about.

Gandy Street: The Heart of Independent Exeter

Gandy Street is the street that Harry Potter fans compare to Diagon Alley, and honestly, the comparison isn't far off. It's a narrow, colourful lane just off the High Street in the Castle Quarter, lined with independent shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants that have absolutely no interest in being anything other than themselves.

Maker Mart

Opened in December 2019 and supported by Exeter Phoenix, Maker Mart is an independent art and gift shop at 11a Gandy Street that showcases around 130 makers from across the South West. You'll find prints, jewellery, craft kits, cards, books, ceramics, and gifts — all designed and made by independent artists and craftspeople. They also run regular workshops where you can try your hand at embroidery, needle felting, lino printing, macrame, and collage. It's the kind of shop where you walk in looking for a birthday card and leave with three things you didn't know you needed.

JM Records

Tucked into New Buildings just off Gandy Street, JM Records is a small independent vinyl shop specialising in imports from around the world, including American exclusives, pre-loved records, cassettes, CDs, and music merchandise. It was founded in September 2021 by owner James, it takes part in Record Store Day, and it is intimate, carefully curated, and run by someone who genuinely loves music. If you've been meaning to start a vinyl collection or want to discover something new, this is the place.

Silver Lion, Crystals, Moko and Mantis

The rest of Gandy Street is a run of long-standing independents rather than a rotating cast. Silver Lion Jewellers has been at number 12 for two decades. At number 14 is Crystals — often referred to locally as the crystal shop, though Crystals is the name over the door — stocking minerals, tumbled stones and jewellery.

Moko at number 17 has traded since 2000 and is one of the most vibrant creative spaces in the city: an eclectic collection of jewellery, fashion, and handcrafted furniture sourced from Devon and beyond. Mantis at number 28, run by Nigel and Philippa Rutherford and also trading since 2000, offers handmade silver jewellery, gemstones, and handmade soaps. Neither is new, and both are better for it.

Number 29 is Red Panda — not a shop but a Vietnamese and South East Asian street-food kitchen, and a very good reason to break up a morning's browsing with bao buns.

McCoys Arcade: Exeter's Best-Kept Secret

McCoys Arcade sits at the entrance of Fore Street in the West Quarter, and it's one of those places that rewards the curious. Step through the archway and you'll find a beautifully restored arcade housing some of Exeter's most interesting independent businesses.

Bookbag

If Exeter has a community bookshop, it's Bookbag. Opened in December 2020 by Charlie and Malcolm Richards — between lockdowns, no less — this independent bookshop in McCoys Arcade has quickly become a beloved part of the city. They stock fiction, non-fiction, children's books, nature writing, art titles, poetry, and zines, with a deliberate focus on diverse voices, writers of colour, women's writing, and LGBTQ+ literature.

But Bookbag is about more than selling books. They host author events, book launches, and poetry nights, and they co-produce the Echoes festival. Past events have featured writers like Paterson Joseph, Sheena Patel, and Travis Alabanza, alongside local talent like Sophie Pavelle and Poppy Okotcha. It's a genuine community space — the kind of bookshop that makes you want to read more, talk more, and come back next week.

The Real McCoy

At 21 McCoys Arcade, The Real McCoy has been trading since 1985 and describes itself as Exeter's vintage store. It stocks a huge range of vintage and American retro clothing dating from the 1920s through to the 1990s. It's a treasure trove if you love fashion with a history, and the kind of shop where you can lose an hour easily.

Life Guitars Co.

McCoys Arcade was, for thirty-one years, home to Manson's Guitar Shop — a genuine Exeter institution. Manson's closed in 2023 when Hugh Manson and Adrian Ashton retired and the lease ran out, and Life Guitars Co. moved into the premises in May 2023. It carries on the tradition: sales and repairs, electric and acoustic. Even if you don't play, it's worth a look for the craftsmanship on display. (Manson Guitar Works continues as a maker in Ashburton, but no longer has a shop you can walk into.)

Hops & Crafts

At 18-19 McCoys Arcade, Hops & Crafts is the arcade's craft beer shop and bar, with over 200 different beers on the shelves alongside a rotating tap list. It is a destination in its own right for anyone who takes their hops seriously, and it pairs naturally with our guide to the city's craft beer and taproom scene.

Sacred Grounds

At number 22, Sacred Grounds is a plant-based brunch cafe and the arcade's obvious pit stop — bright, welcoming, dog-friendly, and with a menu that changes regularly.

Fore Street: The Independent Mile

Fore Street runs through Exeter's West Quarter and is, by some distance, the city's most interesting street for independent shopping. The architecture alone — medieval buildings leaning at angles, narrow alleys leading to hidden courtyards — makes it worth the walk. But it's the shops that keep people coming back.

Helen of Troy

Helen of Troy is now at 141 Fore Street, having moved out of the Cathedral Quarter, and it offers a carefully curated selection of locally made goods — homeware, clothing, cards, and gifts. It's small, beautifully presented, and perfect for finding something you won't see anywhere else.

Rooster Records

A Fore Street institution at number 98, Rooster Records has been selling quality new and used vinyl for years. They cover all genres and stock an extensive array of CDs and music DVDs, and reckon on over 75,000 items in their collection. It's the kind of record shop where the staff will have a recommendation for you, whatever your taste.

12 Bar Music and Social

Not strictly a shop, and not on Fore Street — but too good to leave out. 12 Bar is at 6 Paris Street, EX1 1GA, on the other side of the city centre near the bus station, and it combines a record shop, coffee bar, and grassroots music venue in one room. It's the sort of place Exeter needed: somewhere to buy records, drink good coffee, and catch live music in an intimate setting. Worth a separate trip rather than an add-on to a Fore Street wander.

Elsewhere in Exeter

Toot Garook, 19 Queen Street

A lifestyle shop trading since 1995, stocking a fabulous collection of throws, cushions, curtains, candles, dressing gowns, lighting, mirrors, bags, and soaps. It's the kind of place you go when you want to find a gift that feels genuinely special.

Hyde and Seek, 1 Paul Street

A contemporary gift shop in Unit 1 of the Harlequins centre, full of vibrant, whimsical items — from locally crafted cards to bath bombs and quirky homeware — with a cafe added in 2024. It's colourful, fun, and proof that independent doesn't have to mean serious.

Crafty Locals, Cellar 17, The Quay

Full of colourful gifts with felt goods and hand-crafted items, including locally made cards and pictures, fair trade bags, and cot mobiles. It's the kind of shop that supports a network of local makers, giving them a high-street presence they wouldn't otherwise have — and its position on the Quay makes it an easy add-on to a riverside walk.

Busby and Fox, 21 Cathedral Yard

Originally founded in Totnes, Busby and Fox has expanded across the South West and offers a unique blend of independent fashion brands, homeware, jewellery, and flowers. Their Exeter shop on Cathedral Yard is a lovely example of a homegrown Devon brand that's scaled up without losing its soul.

The RAMM Shop

Don't overlook the shop at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum. It sells unique gifts and souvenirs inspired by RAMM's collections and exhibitions — prints, books, jewellery, and homeware that you genuinely won't find anywhere else. And since the museum itself is free to visit, you can combine a browse through the collections with a browse through the shop. It's a proper afternoon out, and one that doesn't need to cost much at all.

A Walking Route Through Indie Exeter

If you want to see the best of Exeter's independent scene in one go, here's a route that works. It runs downhill from the Castle Quarter to the Quay, so you finish by the water rather than trudging back up.

1. Start on Gandy Street. Maker Mart at 11a and JM Records in New Buildings will take up a good half hour on their own. Work down the lane past Silver Lion at 12, Crystals at 14, Moko at 17 and Mantis at 28.
2. Cut through to Cathedral Yard for Busby and Fox at number 21, then carry on past the Cathedral.
3. Head up to Queen Street for Toot Garook at 19 and the RAMM shop — the museum is free, so you can browse the collections on the way through.
4. Drop down Fore Street to McCoys Arcade. This is the densest stretch of the route: Bookbag, The Real McCoy for vintage, Life Guitars Co., Hops & Crafts, and Sacred Grounds when you need coffee.
5. Continue along Fore Street for Rooster Records at 98, The Glorious Art House at 120, Salt City Surf Shop at 134 and Helen of Troy at 141.
6. Finish on the Quay at Crafty Locals in Cellar 17, with the river in front of you and plenty of places to eat.

The whole route takes about two hours at a gentle pace, and you'll pass at least half a dozen good places to stop for coffee or lunch. If you want to add 12 Bar, save it for a separate evening — it is at 6 Paris Street, on the far side of the city centre, and it is better visited when there is music on. It's one of the best ways to spend a Saturday in Exeter, especially if you're new to the city and looking for ways to get to know it.

Why Shopping Local Matters More Than You Think

There's a practical argument for supporting independent shops: money spent locally circulates locally. Research consistently shows that for every pound spent in an independent shop, significantly more stays in the local economy compared to spending at a chain. That money pays local wages, supports local suppliers, and keeps the character of a place alive.

But there's a social argument too, and it might be even more important. Independent shops are third places — they're neither home nor work, but somewhere in between where community naturally forms. The shop owner who remembers your name. The regular you keep bumping into. The maker who runs a workshop you sign up to on a whim. These small interactions add up. They're the fabric of a neighbourhood, and they're vanishing from places where chains have taken over.

When you walk into Bookbag and chat with Charlie about what to read next, or ask the staff at Maker Mart which of their makers produced a particular print, you're not just buying something. You're participating in the kind of local life that builds real connections.

What's Changed, and What Hasn't

Any guide to independent shops goes out of date faster than its author would like, and Exeter's has turned over more than most in the past few years. Manson's Guitar Shop closed in 2023 after thirty-one years in McCoys Arcade, with Life Guitars Co. taking the unit. Sancho's, the ethical fashion shop that was a Fore Street landmark, has been on sabbatical since April 2023. Its own site announced a reopening that has not yet happened, and as of July 2026 there is neither a shopfront to visit nor anything to buy online — so treat it as paused rather than gone. Camper Coffee Co. left McCoys Arcade back in May 2019; the business itself is very much alive, trading from the University of Exeter's Amory and Queens buildings, sites in Crediton, and a mobile van. Helen of Troy moved to 141 Fore Street. Rivka Jacobs gave up her shop for a studio. We have taken all of them off the walking route above.

What has not changed is the spine of the thing. Moko and Mantis have both been on Gandy Street since 2000. The Real McCoy has been selling vintage since 1985. Rooster Records, Silver Lion, Toot Garook and The Glorious Art House are all still where they were. Bookbag, the newest of the group at five years old, co-produces the Echoes literary festival, which ran in Exeter in June 2026 — the sort of thing that only happens when a shop has properly rooted itself.

The broader trend is encouraging too. Visit Exeter continues to champion independent retail as one of the city's defining characteristics, and the West Quarter around Fore Street has solidified its reputation as Exeter's alternative pulse — eclectic, energetic, and full of surprises around every arcade and alley. For anyone new to the city, a wander through these streets is one of the fastest ways to understand what makes Exeter different from the identikit high streets you find elsewhere.

Make It Social

One of the best things about Exeter's indie scene is how well it works as a social activity. Grab a friend — or someone you'd like to become a friend — and spend a Saturday afternoon wandering Gandy Street, McCoys Arcade, and Fore Street. Stop for coffee. Browse without an agenda. Buy something small that catches your eye. It's the kind of low-pressure, side-by-side time together that actually builds friendships, without the intensity of sitting across a table and trying to fill the silence.

And if you're ready to meet new people over food in Exeter, our dinners bring small groups together at some of the city's best restaurants — many of them on the same streets you've just been reading about.