West End by Annie Good

Annie Good has worked and played in Glasgow’s West End all her life and now divides her time travelling to Paris and London buying the latest designs in fashion and accessories for her Ruthven Lane based boutique, Moon, and enjoying the best of the West End.

 

Born and raised in Glasgow I have only left to study Archaeology at University in Edinburgh. Upon my return I got a job at Glasgow University Library before taking over designer clothing shop Moon, my own boutique in Ruthven Lane, stocking everything from new labels like Sai So, Ashish N. Soni, Goat and Jas-M. B.

 

The area where I live and work has changed so hugely since I was a child that it is now totally unrecognisable. Byres Road used to be really quiet and on a Sunday was almost deserted. One went to Church and took a walk in the local park or looked in the windows of the antique stores.

Now it is a bustling, cosmopolitan environment with markets, festivals and an ever increasing selection of shops, delis, restaurants, hotels and bars. Just behind Byres Road, cobbled Ashton and Cresswell Lanes house De Courcey’s Arcade with its independent retailers and coffee houses alongside a profusion of bars and restaurants.

 

I bought my home near the Botanic Gardens in the heart of the West End when I returned from University. It is still my favourite place in Glasgow and I have never moved out of the area since. Every morning on the way to work (my shop Moon is literally yards from the flat) I cross over Great Western Road and feel such a sense of graceful space with a wonderful vista towards Anniesland. The beautiful tree-lined avenues and exquisite residential architecture in this area combine with families and the student population to give a real energy and buzz. BBC Scotland are just around the corner from me on Queen Margaret Drive, which also adds a real vibe.

 

We overlook the Botanic Garden’s Kibble Palace, a unique glass house dating back to 1873, which when lit at night looks like a flying saucer has landed!  My absolute favourite shop is Fancy Dan’s on Great Western Road, where I can potter among beauty products, home wares and select presents for friends and family – and even get special things for myself! Great Western Road is very aptly named as along it lie the very best in Scottish interior design, including Timorous Beasties who are famous for re-discovering, re-designing and making wallpaper fashionable once more, and also Galletly & Tubbs.

There are also some stunning florists: Mood Flowers (near Delizique, an excellent delicatessen and the twice-monthly Farmers’ Market at Partick); the established Ruby Flowers in Hyndland and also Native Flowers, who do really modern arrangements of traditional flowers. The West End also has a whole range of organic grocers including Roots and Fruits and the original and authentic Grass Roots.

We are lucky enough to be a community of folk fond of top quality food so have beautiful food destination stops like cheesemonger I J Mellis and Heart Buchanan, who pride themselves on their home-made produce created by chefs in their basement kitchen.

 

Near to Moon are some of Glasgow’s best restaurants including Italian La Parmigiana, the petite but excellent No.16, the delightful Stravaigin 2, fashionable noodle bar Ichiban and the award-winning Ubiquitous Chip. The tiny bar next door - The Wee Chip - is its popular little sister.

I also like elegant and refined bar The Lismore for a really good wee dram and Oran Mor, a spectacular conversion of an old church into an exciting venue for Scottish art, music and theatre. With its superb murals by Alasdair Gray and lunchtime theatre productions ‘A Play, a Pie and a Pint’, it’s a hugely popular spot.

 

Despite working abroad, loving to travel to my favourite destination of Venice and visiting Berlin and Bordeaux regularly, I just adore the open spaces and buzz of Glasgow’s West End, and that’s why I have spent my whole life working and living within its ever changing environment – the very reason I’m here.