Our Story

I adore hunting for treasures, in fact, I always have.

As a teenager, I worked in a tiny kitchenware and china shop on Saturdays. It was completely crammed full of stock; selling everything from egg slicers to ornate champagne flutes to Christmas-scented candles. Each week I saved my £40 until I had enough to hit the vintage shops or car boot sale in nearby Frome. My mum and I would go together, getting lost in rails of puffy 1980s ballgowns, strutting around in original western cowboy boots or steaming up glass display units searching for the most interesting silver charm to add to my bracelet. 

Much of my passion for vintage comes from my mum. Impossibly stylish, in a sort of grungey bohemian way, I was caught redhanded on more than one occasion sneaking out to meet friends in her embroidered boots or some other similarly quirky item I'd found rifling through her wardrobe.

I lost access to this veritable treasure trove when I moved to London aged 18 to pursue a career in fashion buying. But, instead, I found whole streets dedicated to vintage shops, Sunday markets full of pre-loved, glimmering gold jewellery, and countless passionate shop owners who looked like they had stepped straight out of 1967.  In one of the world's most expensive cities, charity shops became my hunting ground.

Now based out of Bristol, AHLQ was born out of a love of the unusual, and the belief that shopping for quality, second-hand pieces is the most sustainable way we can consume. We offer beautiful recycled pieces in responsible recycled packaging, all of which is plastic free - boxes, filling, envelopes and even the tape we use. Every item is handpicked, and I hope you love them as much as I do.

With love and happy shopping,

Im x