As the foot of Leith Walk begins to re-emerge from layers of tram-induced scaffolding and dust, independent shops like family-run record store Good Vibes are waiting with open arms to welcome in customers. Created by Fiona Bryant and her husband Mike, with support from shop dog Woody and four month-old Scout, this charming space houses a tightly curated selection of new-release and reissue vinyl, as well as books and lifestyle trinkets. ‘We always talked about how cool it would be to have a record shop in our neighbourhood,’ Fiona recalls. ‘Then I couldn’t sleep one night and in the morning I thought, “why don’t we do it? Let’s open the shop that we’d want to go to”.’

^{Mike Bryant / Pictures: Jack Allen}

Already in the midst of restoring an old Victorian building to create six creative studios, they decided to build their dream store on the ground-floor level. ‘The building was a ships’ chandlery back in the day and the family who ran it lived above,’ notes Fiona. ‘It had been rented to all sorts of people. When we bought it from the original owners it was a bit sad and a lot of work needed done. So we opened the studios a year before we then moved on to this section.’

The result is a small but bright shop with a ‘70s American west coast meets Disneyland’s Small World’ aesthetic, in the words of freelance designer Mike (who created all of Good Vibes’ visual branding). Records, displayed in plywood boxes and wall-mounted shelves, range from folk and psychedelia to jazz and pop. A few sentimental wild cards, including A Charlie Brown Christmas and ‘Rainbow Connection’ from The Muppet Movie make recurring appearances. ‘We’re not snobby at all; you can like whatever you like,’ insists Fiona. ‘I’d hate to be one of those shops where you’re embarrassed to ask for something. My favourite thing was when we got the Ratatouille soundtrack in and someone bought it!’

From a wide selection of Japanese music to books about physics and social politics, everything in Good Vibes (currently open only at the weekend) is an extension of Mike and Fiona’s personal interests. ‘Sometimes a more curated selection is so much easier on someone’s brain,’ says Mike, ‘especially if they understand the ethos of the space. They know that if they like certain things in here, they’ll probably enjoy a book or record that’s on display. We slowly realised that’s what people have enjoyed about the shop. That it’s just us and what we like.’ Fiona nods, adding, ‘we are open to learning and I think that goes alongside being interested in music. It’s stuff that feeds your brain.’

Good Vibes, 153 Constitution St, Edinburgh, good-vibes.space