About Us

How it all began

You could say it all started a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, in the constellation of Kasterborous at “galactic coordinates ten-zero-eleven-zero-zero by zero-two from galactic zero centre” some 250 million light years away from Earth on the plant Gallifrey!!! Neil Middlemass, the founder of the business, was born in 1973 and has for the last 40 years been a huge Dr Who fan, with the programme playing a massive part in his childhood, teenage and adult years. The love of Doctor Who was followed very closely by all things science fiction and moving in his late teens and early 20’s to the horror genre as well. Add to this a genuine passion for toys, electronics, television, theatre, film, art and collecting, combined with the belief that the world of make believe and play is infinitely more enjoyable than that of reality and work, then after 25 years in the hospitality industry Neil decided it was time to take a step into the unknown and share his lifelong loves with others through The Retro Curiosity Shop.

The journey so far

On the 4th of May 2018 ( that wasn’t planned by the way ) The Retro Curiosity Shop moved into premises at Unit 8, Stella Gill Industrial Estate, Chester le Street in the beautiful County Durham set in the North East of England. Years of collecting meant there was plenty that required moving from his home, a task that is still in progress at this time, along with the ongoing joy for Neil that is sourcing, researching and restoring items to their former glory. Setting up the business initially via Ebay, Neil quickly realised that he wanted to have his own platform for The Retro Curiosity Shop, as well as offer other collectors and lovers of all things retro and vintage the opportunity to buy and sell in a specialised market and so The Retro Curiosity Shop website and marketplace have been created.

At The Retro Curiosity Shop the aim is a simple one, to give everyone the chance to remember, reminisce and relive the memories that we all have, of time spent playing with, listening too, watching, reading or simply wishing we had that toy, game, action figure, annual, music system, video recorder, film or tv that in most cases money ( or the lack of it ) couldn’t buy. Here you can browse to your hearts content both on the website, Instagram and Facebook, set yourself up as a seller through the marketplace, get topical updates through our blogs, hire items as props and say “ohh we used to have one of those” as many times as you like. If we can help in anyway or you do have any questions then please get in touch or refer to the FAQ section and we will do our very best to help you sell, source, buy or hire whatever you are looking for.

The Retro Curiosity Shop is very early in its journey “to infinity and beyond” but we hope you will join us along the way and find whatever it is you are looking for…

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