A new automotive bookshop, Flâneur, has opened on Avenue Road in Freshwater featuring a range of new and collectable motoring books, together with magazines, leaflets and memorabilia.
The shop is a treasure trove of nostalgia; focussing on cars and motoring from the 1960 to 1990s era, with models and posters adding to the atmosphere.
Proprietor Warren Whyte has a background in cars, from working as a teenager in his grandfather’s Ford garage in Ireland to more recently as an architect for Mercedes-Benz.
The shop is also the base for his architectural practice, bringing his experience of heritage, automotive and housing projects to the island.
He has opened his shop in Freshwater to give his passion for cars and motoring a permanent base, and it also houses the Car Marketing Archive which is a popular online resource for car advertising through the ages which Warren has run for a number of years.
The shop also buys car books, motoring libraries and magazines to try and save motoring ephemera from the recycle bin.
Warren says:
“I named my shop Flâneur to not only to be distinctive, but to reflect a life-long passion of mine – enjoying the streetscape and the vehicles within it. It derives from the nineteenth century French term meaning ‘stroller’ or ‘loafer’, and evolved to include those who enjoyed surveying the street scene and shopping arcades of Paris. Today, I like to think of a Flâneur as a connoisseur of the street and its automotive delights and now, a purveyor of fascinating literature and automobilia.
“I am pleased to join a range of unique independent shops and cafes in Freshwater and offer visitors and islanders a relaxed and fascinating destination in West Wight.”
The shop is open Tuesdays and Fridays and on other days as advertised on social media.
Any motorcycling content?
Poor man. His shop will probably close permanently next month. The way this islands going it will be like ghost town.