Laurence Mathews Art Shop on Queens Road, Southend, has been a cornerstone of independent business in the city for 80 years.
It originally opened in 1945 as an art supply shop.
Much of the shop’s success over the decades is attributed to a strong clientele of loyal, returning customers, alongside the expert knowledge of staff and huge range of products.
Michael Donno, current owner, has been with the business for 18 years, and said: “We’ve seen shops die all around us, but having customers who are loyal has made us last this long. Some are nearly 100 years old and used to come in when they were students.
“The product knowledge we have can’t be found anywhere else, and we have a huge variety of products – if you want a particular item, the chances are we probably have it.
“We’re the biggest model shop around for miles, with floor to ceiling of models, there’s nothing else like this around.”
The shop was born in the former Talza arcade, moving to Victoria Circus in 1969, and again to the Queens Road venue 30 years ago.
Started by Laurence Mathews himself “in the days before computers”, the shop became known for stocking a variety of arts and crafts essentials, from canvases to craft kits, watercolour and more.
Recent years have seen the shop expand into models, with the ever-popular Airfix kits and paint, alongside Games Workshop models and Warhammer, that can be assembled and used in role play games.
The shop has attracted a lot of famous artists in its time, including regular customer John Wonnacott, a painter who once did the Queen’s portrait.
The venue has also become a space for community art classes, using an upstairs space to host children’s and adult classes, including Bob Ross workshops.
Michael added: “I absolutely love the classes, everyone really enjoys it and I love looking at people’s artwork. Our regular guests have helped keep us alive all these years.”
To ensure the prosperity of the art shop for many more years to come, Michael wishes to increase the scale of the art classes in the future, alongside the model section “getting bigger and bigger.”
