New hot spot off the beaten track

Words Miriam Methuen-Jones

The vintage stores, independent retailers and quirky businesses that are breathing life into the Merchants’ Quarter of Kirkcaldy High Street have a new neighbour: Phil+Sophy. Stocking unusual, hand-picked homewares and gifts, it offers residents a welcome dose of retail therapy.

Owner Simone Robertson-Wright has gone out of her way to source unusual prints, cushions, furniture, ceramics and more, with the thriving local community of makers responsible for many of the shop’s most desirable products. Small suppliers like April Studio (soy candles made in West Lothian), The Natural Stylist (beautiful bouquets of dried flowers) and The Unraveling (handmade hanging wall planters) ensure this is a colourful and varied place to find a present for a friend or your home. You can also procure more practical things like natural, refillable cleaning products from Made Kind.

And it’s not just for lucky locals – you’ll find plenty of these goodies on the Phil+Sophy website. It’s worth a trip to the Fife coastal town, though: you never know what you might discover in this store, and it’s a chance to see that cool dalmatian print exterior in person.