Now & Then

Now and Then is a great shop just off Nicholson Street which sells a massive selection of stuff ranging from antique toys to vintage posters. It’s deceptively large inside, yet feels really enclosed and atmopsheric with loads of valuable (and some less valuable) things all around you. The owner is friendly and was having a chat with two customers who he was clearly friends with when I was in so, I’d guess, it attracts a steady group of regular customers with a common interest.
A toy which particularly caught my eye was a ventriloquist’s doll called Archie Andrews which creeped me out of my wits. It also sells a wide range of doll’s houses, model cars and planes and just about every Action Man ever made.
It’s an interesting shop which is worth a visit, even if just for a look around.

Totally agreeing with Stuart’s review, this place is literally just a shop full of jumble, but that’s kind of what I like about it.
This shop specialises in old toys like automobiles, sci-​fi related memorabilia and figurines, all of which would be of utmost interest to collectors but only provide a few minutes of observation from me. That’s a personal thing though!
Kind of reminds me of someone’s attic, but an interesting find all the same.

Now and Then is a great antique shop, everything you never thought you wanted just waiting to be snatched up, looked at once and put up the loft forever.
Infact, calling it an antique shop isn’t really accurate, it’s more like a jumble sale. It’s so refreshing to a see a shop with there stock just chucked everywhere. Humble and honest!

Now and Then’s a bit of a labrynth, but I utterly adore shops where you have to climb over stock to get to the good stuff. It reminds me of exploring when I was a kid — you’d be taking massive steps to get yourself over small hurdles and tip toeing in case you disturbed anyone or anything.
Aside from being delightfully befuddled, Now and Then also appeals to the child in me for its stock of old toys. From action figures all bundled up in a box to old tin cars in cabinets, the owner has collected a fine range of old toys from all sorts of eras. From dolls and race cars to army soldier figurines, there is an abundance of childhood memories contained within these walls waiting to be unearthed by the right person.
Blink and you’d miss the second room — I had to get the owner to navigate me through here — but when I finally reached my destination I was rewarded with old fold up record players and radios. One in particular caught me eye — it looked like it dated from the 50s and had all sorts of long wave frequency listings, including from as far off as Prague and Spain!
The shop owner was very helpful in both showing me around his shop and giving me pointers on Edinburgh’s Antiques Trail. He gave me a leaflet full of addresses so I could steer my way around the best picks. If I were to recommend such places to someone, I would suggest that Now and Then was a must see outlet. Full of unique oddities that are decades old, it’s appealing and enjoyable to have a browse around this little treat!

My dad used get stuff here. Now I do. He’s been here for 35 years. Awesome.