HEN y
ou
liveand w
ork t
ogether
24/7
it
canbeh
andy
toh
ave s
even s
toreys
top
ick
and
choosef
rom
at
home.
And w
ith s
tunning s
ea v
iews
from
every
room,P
ip
Gregg
and
Eddie
Holden w
ouldn8217
t
havei
t
any
other
way.The
pair
havebeen t
ogether
for
10
years
and
livei
nac
on
vert
ed
lighthouseo
nTyne
Street,N
ort
h
Shields
behind
Union
Quay.It
is
one
of t
wol
ighthouses
in
the v
icinity
,which s
ailors
w
ould8217vel
ined u
p t
oavoid t
he
rocks
in
days
gone
by.Nol
onger
needed
for
its
maritime
functio
n,it
was
con
vert
ed
in t
he
late9
0s
before t
he
couple
bought
it
five y
ears
ago
.
Now
it8217s
filled w
ithamixtureo
f v
intage
junk s
hop
finds,modernclassics,c
ollectables
and
quirky
items
from
Pip
and
Eddie8217
s
shop
Gafi
nJesmond
and
Tynemouth.
Sa
ys
Pip
,34,who
is
orig
inally
from
Gosfort
h:"Ihad
come
backf
rom
ahen w
eekend
by
the
coast
and
I s
aid t
o
Eddie
-"
I w
ant
tol
iveby
the w
ater".
Afew
days
later
the
lighthousecame
on t
he
market
and w
ep
ut
in
ano
ffer
soon
after.
"Weh
adp
reviously
done u
p t
wof
lats
in
Jesmond
and
sold w
hen
prices
were s
taring t
og
ocrazy
.So w
e r
eally
sold
at
the r
ight
time."
Pip
and
Eddie8217
s
eclectic s
tyle r
eally
brings
alive t
he
character
of t
he
Grade
II
listed
building
and
it8217s
clear
to
see t
hey8217ve s
tamped t
heir
pers
onalities
on
every
r
oom.
Old
and
new
sit
happily
together.In t
he
kitchen
a 7
0s
glass
table
picked u
pf
rom
TynemouthMarket
is
teamed
withamodernk
itchen w
hile
in t
he
basement
living/dining
room,retro s
tyle
lamps
from
IKEA s
it
alongside
aU
nion
Ja
ckcoffee t
able
from
Gaf,wall-mounted
Andrew
Mart
in
plates
and
ano
ld
folding s
creen
made
by
Eddie8217
s
grandfather.
There8217
s
even
ahuge
Bollyw
ood
mo
vie
poster
in t
he
only
placei
t
will
fit
-d
owni
n t
he
lo
wer
basement.
As
Eddie
collects
orig
inalm
ovie
props,the
piano
in t
he
stunning
formall
ounge
is
decorated w
ithp
umpkins
from
the
film
Sleep
y
Hollo
w
and
if y
ou
want
to v
enture u
pstairs
you8217ll
have t
op
ass
anAlien
headf
rom t
he
famous
tr
ilogy.
Another
impressivef
eaturei
s
the r
oll t
op
ba
th w
ith
glitter
ball
abovei
n t
he
master
bedroom
ba
y
windo
w
8211but
lucki
ly the
orig
inal s
hutters
provide s
ome
modesty
from
passing s
hips.
"Wep
ainted
it
all w
hite t
o s
tart
w
ith,"e
xplains
Eddie,
34,who
comes
from
Liverpool.
"You
need t
ime t
ol
ive
withi
t
before y
ou
launchi
ntoanything.
We8217vealsop
ut
backo
ld
fireplaces,restored t
he s
ash w
indo
ws
and
created
tw
od
ecking
areas
in t
he
garden.
But
there8217
s
still
more
work t
od
o,especially
on t
he t
op
floor
and
lo
wer
basement.
Adds
Pip:"The
maintenance r
eally
has
tobebudgeted
for.Repairing t
he
leaky
roof
means
bring
ing
in
a
steeplejackf
rom
Leeds."
The
only
other
do
wnside
is
the s
tairs
,a
lthough t
hey
rarely
use t
he t
op t
hree s
toreys
.
It8217s
clear
the
couple
areboth v
ery
creative8211
s
omething
whichi
s
evident
in
both t
heir
home
and t
heir
work.
Before
setting u
pGaf,P
ip t
rained
in 3
Ddesign
and
has
adeg
ree
in
fine
art
and s
culpture.
Eddie w
orked
in
IT
at
the
Ministr
y
and
is
alsoane
xpert
poker
player,having
played
again
st the w
orld
champion
on
Sky
TV
.
Their
firs
t
store w
as
launched
in
Jesmond s
even y
ears
ago s
oTynemouth s
eemed t
he
idealp
lacef
or
their
second
when t
hey
mo
ved t
o t
he
lighthouse.
Although
initially
selling
quirky
vintage
homewares
and
fur
niture,they
haven
ow
divers
ified t
oi
nclude
fashion,
jewellery
,c
ards,gi
fts
and s
tocking
fillers
"Wel
ike t
o s
ource t
hings
from
localart
ists
and
craftspeople," s
ays
Eddie.
"It8217s
all
about
offering s
omething
different
from t
he
nationalcompanies,c
reating
aniche.
"We8217
realsod
eveloping t
he
online s
ide
of t
he
business
-
www
.yourgaf.com."
Ha
ving s
pent
all
hour
s
building u
p t
he
business
over
the
last
seven y
ears
,P
ip
and
Eddie
arek
een t
od
om
ore
travelling.
As
they
no
w
have1
4 s
taff,including
amanager
in
each s
hop
and
afull-time
buy
er,they
were r
ecently
able
to t
our
Francei
nac
amper
van.
"Sometime y
ou
get
bogged
do
wn w
ith t
he s
hop
and
lose s
ight
of t
he
big
picture," s
ays
Eddie.
"And t
ravelling
always
gi
ves
us
lots
of
inspiration."
With s
ucha u
niqueh
ome,E
ddie
and
Pip
and
con
vinced t
hey8217ll
never
leave.
They8217vee
ven
inspired
severalf
riends
tom
ove t
o t
he
area,
follo
wing t
heir
Ta
ll
Ships
and
New
Year8217s
Evep
art
ies.
"There8217
s
suchalot
going
on
outside s
o y
ou
don8217
t
feel
enclosed," s
ays
Eddie.
"You
never
get
tired
of t
he v
iews
."
Adds
Pip:"Ic
an8217
t
imagi
ne
not
leaving
near
water
no
w.
Nothing
could
live u
p t
o t
he
lighthouse."
9679
Gafi
s
at
High
Street,G
osfort
h,tel:(0191) 2
85-4442
and 7
0
Front
Street,T
ynemouth,tel:(0191) 2
58-560.
Visit
www
.yourgaf.com.WThe
bathi
n
the
master
bedroom8217s
bay
window
has
stunning v
iews
over
the
mouth
of t
he
TyneCITYLIVING59
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