Rise Music

The Bristol branch of this mini-chain (the others are in Cheltenham and Worcester) is what every independent record shop aspires to be. Staff are knowledgeable (verging on geeky), curating a huge range of rock, pop, dance, jazz, classical, soul, metal and more, on CD and vinyl, plus cult books, movies and vintage clothes. This retail mix, and the in-store cafe-bar, encourages just hanging out. Rise Music hosts live events too – DJ Shadow and Mumford & Sons are just two of the big names to have played here; next on the calender is Record Store Day (19 April), a celebration of independent stores, with live performances and exclusive vinyl releases.

• 70 Queens Road, rise-music.co.uk. Open Mon-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun midday-6pm

Rag Trade Boutique

Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Most women in the UK wear just 10% of their wardrobes, reckons Rag Trade, whose mission is to help hoarders recycle their redundant clothes piles. Book an appointment, bring in your unwanted designer threads, shoes, bags and trinkets and if they're up to scratch, Rag Trade will resell them for you. The shop takes a cut, and you get either cash or credit to spend in store. The result is a quality-controlled, constantly changing treasure trove of re-loveable pieces, from Monsoon to Mulberry. Of course, you can just shop rather than swap – it's a great way to get a high-end look at high-street prices.

• 2 Upper Maudlin Street, ragtradeboutique.co.uk. Open Mon midday-6pm, Tues-Sat 10am-6pm

Cox and Baloney

Amy Cox and Joney McNamara know how to nose out a fine frock or knick-knack – both worked in TV, sourcing props and costumes for programmes such as Skins and Lark Rise to Candleford. They've applied these skills to Cox and Baloney, an emporium of vintage, limited-edition and reworked clothing and homewares. Bespoke lines include 1940's dress patterns made in contemporary fabrics and bone china designed using original lithographs from defunct Staffordshire factories and printed by the Peoples Republic of Stokes Croft, a charity down the road. They also stock loose-leaf teas – to buy in-store or sample at its Tea Room next door.

• 182 and 184 Cheltenham Road, coxandbaloney.com. Open Tues-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun midday-4pm

Grape & Grind

Grape and Grind, Bristol

When Darren Willis opened Grape & Grind in 2010 he wanted to avoid the "posh wine shop" tag that gets attached to many independents. Here, the vibe is welcoming and unintimidating. There are high-end wines but also great everyday drinkers – and, between them, the staff have tried everything. It is planning to install An Enomatic wine dispenser too, so customers will be able to try a few. Willis uses a mix of small suppliers, and loves unusual varieties. He also stocks specialist teas and coffees, craft beers and whiskies made by Signatory, an independent bottler that matures casks at Scotland's smallest distillery.

• 101 Gloucester Road, 0117-924 8718, grapeandgrind.co.uk. Open Mon-Fri 11am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm

Dreadnought

Small but chock-full, Dreadnought is a secondhand bookstore run by a communist bibliophile with a strong sense of community. Owner John Sidwell specialises in military and social history (of which there's a healthy selection), but he's keen that any casual browser might find something to suit. He shapes his stock – currently including Isaiah Berlin's Russian Thinkers, Cormac McCarthy's The Road and A Discographical History of Bristol Folk Music – to the interests of local customers. Big profits are not the aim, and books are always affordably priced, with discounts for students, pensioners and the unwaged.

• 125 St Georges Road, 0117 329 3176, dreadnoughtbooks.blogspot.co.uk. Open Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat 10am-6pm, Thurs 1pm-8pm

Bristol Cider Shop

Peter Snowman is a cider snob. His Bristol store stocks only "real" 100%-juice cider and perry, all made within 80km of Bristol by small independent producers, and sourced direct from the farms. But while the ciders are high-end award-winners, there's nothing snooty about the shop: Peter's aim is to demystify the drink. So there are always flagons of draft cider on tap for tasting, alongside 100-odd bottled varieties. His current favourite is Tyndale Gold, from a tiny producer in Gloucestershire: "Really light and fruity with a medium-dry finish – just my kind of cider."

• 7 Christmas Steps, 0117-3821679, bristolcidershop.co.uk. Open Tues-Sat 10am-6pm

Shop

Despite its name, Shop is not that simple. This magpie's nest of secondhand vinyl, homewares, furniture and fashion is a non-profit social enterprise "vintage lounge and arts venue". It's part bright boutique, full of interesting finds ("We love everything in Shop," says director Jayne Marshall. "Our rule is: if we don't love it, we don't have it.") and part communal space: the top-floor living room serves coffee (free) and cake from a local micro-bakery, as well as hosting gigs, workshops and exhibitions. There's also a "Take It and Leave It Gallery": you take an artwork you like and donate another in its place.

• 18/19 Christmas Steps, shoptheshop.co.uk. Open Mon-Sat 11am-6pm

Opus 13

Photograph: Michael Lloyd

Part of the Christmas Steps Arts Quarter – its neighbours include violin shops, a bowmaker and a brass and woodwind specialist – Opus 13 specialises in all things classical music, except instruments. A haven from the city bustle, it stocks a wide range of CDs and sheet music, plus items from musical crossword compendiums to Mozart cookie cutters. Aficionados are well-served, but owner Ruth is more than happy to advise those with no musical knowledge. Her current pick is a new Naxos book called My First Orchestra, in which Tormod the Norwegian troll guides children through the instruments.

• 14 St Michael's Hill, opus13.co.uk. Open Mon-Sat 9am-5.30pm

Fig

Photograph: Picasa/Clare Swayne

One purple shopfront, six creative ladies; this little independent gift boutique is run by a small co-operative of artists who sell their lovely, complementary but very different wares. Items range from Jemima Lumley's silver charms (inspired by Victorian mourning jewellery, but far sunnier than that implies), screen prints from Jane Ormes and Chitra Merchant, Sinead Finnegan's found-fabric embroideries and Robyn Coetzee's decorative kiln-formed glass. Textile artist Kate Tarling has just started taking commissions for small, hand-stitched portraits of people and pets. Smaller items, such as handmade cards and locally published books, are for sale at the front; the back opens into an airy gallery.

• 206 Gloucester Road, figshop.co.uk. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm

Reclaimers Reclamation

With its jumble of bygone signs, sewing machines, mangles, medicine bottles, garden statuary and rusty bikes, Reclaimers Reclamation feels more messy museum than homewares shop. Entered via a narrow alley off Gloucester Road, it's a den of delights for the Ikea-averse house-doer-upper. The store focuses on recycling and regenerating furniture and fittings; specialities include kitchen worktops fashioned from snooker-table slate, restored fireplaces and pine doors glazed to order with original stained glass. It seems like it has everything (if you're willing to sort and sift); if not, it can be sourced for you.

• 347A Gloucester Road, reclaimersinbristol.co.uk. Open Mon-Sat 9am-5pm

Sarah Baxter is associate editor of Wanderlust travel magazine

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