A social media star sibling duo have opened a new shop in York – in memory of their dear mum.
Siblings Xander, 42, and Claire, 46, have opened Sherlock Holmes Imaginarium on Low Petergate, a souvenir and gift shop that specialises in York and Yorkshire products.
After their mum sadly passed away five years ago, it had been the siblings’ dream to open a shop of their own – and now they’ve made that dream a reality.
It was previously the Pandora gift and souvenir shop, with the siblings taking over the shop as a going concern.
For Xander and Claire, who are originally from Leeds and now live in York, this is their very first venture in running a business, as they both previously had 20 year careers in secondary school teaching.
The siblings came out as gay to each other while at university, and it’s a proud part of their identity.
After their beloved mum passed away suddenly at Xander’s son’s 10th birthday party, their entire outlook on life changed.
“It was like a now or never moment,” Xander told YorkMix. “Because it was Mum’s dream as well, it feels like we’re doing it with Mum.
“She used to tell us about her grandma who had a couple of shops in London. She used to talk really fondly about the shops – so we’ve always had it in our mind to start a shop, because we know Mum would want us to.”
Their mum’s passing was also the catalyst for the siblings to start their own social media channels, with both Xander and Claire going viral and gaining hundreds of thousands of followers. Xander currently has 1.4million followers on TikTok, and Claire has 875k followers on the app.
“I think we got into TikTok quite early on, and that sort of blew up. Then on Instagram, that blew up – it just was crazy.”
However, Xander has taken a break from social media.
“We were getting people who wanted to give us lots of money to do nothing, but the other side of it was, it’s really constant and crazy, and people are literally like we’re gonna kill you if you do that.
“I’ve heard lots of people talking about death threats so now I know it’s just standard but I think because of the queer element being significant for us both, we got a load in the background all the time. So it was too much for me to handle.
“I don’t have it on my phone and I don’t have anything to do with it.”
Claire is the one who now posts on Xander’s social media, and Xander will still occasionally make videos but it’s Claire who does all the posting.
The gift shop opened at the end of June, and since then has received a very positive response.
“It’s been awesome how amazingly nice the customers are and how nice it is to work in the centre of York,” said Xander. “It seems like a really friendly place.
“The customers and all the other people who work around us in the different businesses have been really lovely and supportive.”
The shop offers a variety of souvenirs, toys, and gifts, with the siblings aiming to stock more York and Yorkshire products, as well as more antiques.
The Sherlock Holmes shop name comes from the siblings’ love of the fictional detective, as well as a connection to Arthur Conan Doyle who may have travelled through Low Petergate on his way to visit his mother who lived in Ingleton.
There is also stories of a butler being found dead in the building’s cellar, which eerily reflects a similar character’s fate in one of the Sherlock books, and the building also has ties to the family of Guy Fawkes.
With all the history attached to the building, perhaps it’s no surprise that Xander and Claire have experienced a few spooky encounters – including objects moving seemingly on their own.
“We know there must be an explanation for it – but we just don’t know what it is!”
Sherlock Holmes Imaginarium is open every day from 10am to 6pm. Keep up to date with the shop on Instagram and TikTok.
Take a look inside!
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