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BRISTOL UPDATES NEWS FROM LOCAL BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS Apartments are accessible via contactless check-in using digital room keys
BE THEIR GUEST
UPGRADERS UPGRADE South West Upholstery has revamped its Southville shop. The £65,000 project has increased the showroom size by removing loadbearing internal walls and opening up the space to showcase more company services. Specialising in bringing domestic and commercial furniture and soft furnishings back to life, and creating bespoke pieces to order, South West Upholstery can now display a wider variety of fabrics, sample projects and handcrafted Nkuku homewares. “We took advantage of the enforced time out this year to forge ahead with this refurbishment,” says MD Ryan Ball, whose grandad John started the business in his garden shed in Bishopsworth, repairing bus and coach seats. “Customers are so much more in tune with interiors trends now. There’s a huge appetite for reupholstering vintage or favourite pieces to bring them up to date alongside a trend for one-off bespoke pieces of furniture.”
Independent Bristol-based serviced apartment provider Your Apartment is launching a new tech-driven aparthotel concept at Merchants House in Clifton Village in December. Bristol-born brothers and co-founders Charlie and Toby Guest have acquired the lease of the former student accommodation, currently undergoing a £1.6 million redevelopment which will be comprise of 34 home-fromhome studio apartments and a fresh and vibrant new co-working space. “Merchants House is in an incredible location situated in the heart of Bristol’s’ most iconic neighbourhood,” said Charlie Guest. “This will be our biggest project to date and we are really excited to be launching it in our hometown of Bristol.” The new aparthotel will boast timeless and eclectic style curated by up-and-coming British designers. Each apartment will be accessible via contactless check-in using the latest smartphone-based digital room keys, and have its own kitchenette, relaxation area, king-bed and bathroom with a wet-room shower. Other on-site amenities include a 24/7 co-working space for residents with complimentary coffee and tea, free highspeed wi-fi and a secure bike store as well as ample parking spaces. “Since we launched Your Apartment in April 2017, our customers have demanded vibrant, comfortable and efficient living spaces in central locations in the city,” Toby Guest commented. “Our smaller aparthotels, Frederick Place and Rowan Tree, have been a huge success and Merchants House is a great opportunity for us to further deliver this to our guests.” It’s imagined that the 20-30 sq ft studio apartments will be predominantly used by professionals working away Monday to Friday on business assignments. On the weekends, the apartments will provide an affordable yet stylish place for leisure guests to rest up in between exploring the ever-evolving city. For more information or to follow updates on the project, visit the blog on the Your Apartment website. • yourapartment.com
The North Street shop
• swupholstery.co.uk
YUUP, COUNT US IN! Creating ceramics in Southville, learning to cook Thai food in Totterdown: it’s all easily possible thanks to a new online marketplace where you can book and gift local, original, inspiring, rewarding activities and experiences adhering to government Covid measures and ranging from £5 to £250. Limited ‘special edition’ experiences include a vegan baking class with Bristol Bake Off star Briony May Williams, a modelling workshop with Aardman’s senior animator Jim Parkyn, an exploration of the city’s most colourful spots while perfecting the art of smartphone photography with Jess Siggers
56 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
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NOVEMBER 2020
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No 194
(@PorthJess), and an exclusive tour of Bristol’s world-famous street art with UpFest founder Stephen Hayles. “There’s always so much going on in Bristol but before Yuup you couldn’t find it all in one place,” says Bristol resident, serial entrepreneur and Yuup founder Dominic Mills. “We launch with over 75 experiences but our aim is to have 500 live in the next 12 months and have an experience within a 10-minute walk of every address in the city. We’re passionate about supporting the Bristol circular economy.” • yuup.co
Perfect the art of smartphone photography with Jess Siggers
