Worn & Raised in Bristol: Mon Pote

Anna, Mon Pote

Worn and Raised in Bristol takes us beyond the doors of Maze to meet the independent business owners and creatives who make up our city - talking personal style, the clothes they live in and the places and ideas that shape what they do.

For our second instalment, we head south of the river to North Street to meet Anna, founder of Mon Pote - the independent lifestyle store she has grown from a small online shop into a two-storey space filled with homeware, furniture and carefully chosen finds.

Before Mon Pote, Anna trained and worked as a solicitor, but always felt she wanted to do something more creative. When the opportunity came to try running her own business, she went for it - starting online with a tiny amount of stock and fulfilling orders from home.

Local markets followed, where she discovered how much she enjoyed selling in person. When a tiny shop became available on North Street in 2016, she took the leap.

Mon Pote soon outgrew its first home. In 2020, Anna moved into a larger space further along North Street, before expanding upstairs in 2024. Today, it unfolds across two floors and a series of rooms - something Anna says makes it feel like wandering through a house full of lovely things.

We caught up with her there to talk personal style, buying by instinct, life in BS3 and the pieces and places she keeps coming back to.

Tell us about the Maze pieces you’re wearing today. What drew you to them?

I am pink-trouser obsessed, so I had to get the YMC Deadbeat trousers in pink. I love the style of them and the loose, masculine structure.

I also have a soft spot for gingham and interesting details, so the sweet detail on the blouse by Indi & Cold is perfect. I like how both pieces will separately go with so many different outfits.

You spend your days surrounded by beautiful things. Has running Mon Pote changed the way you buy for yourself?

We stock a lot of European homeware brands at Mon Pote - I love Danish design especially - and through my interiors research for the shop I’ve discovered a few European fashion brands too. I have a gorgeous Bellerose sweater from Maze, as well as pieces from Indi & Cold.

I’ve always favoured more feminine influences in both fashion and homeware: simplicity, but with a touch of floral or detail and softer colours. That hasn’t changed.

Running the shop has changed the way I buy, though. As I’m there most of the time, I buy things that I love but that I can also work in.

As for my home, after running a shop for ten years I think I pretty much have everything I need at this point! I do love to update things with a few new cushions or a new print every now and then.

When you’re choosing pieces for Mon Pote, what makes something stand out?

Definitely instinct. There isn’t always a reason why something appeals to you - I guess we all just have our own taste.

I don’t have a retail or buying background. I like something because I like it, and then I look at construction, materials, price, production and so on. When something ticks all of those boxes, there is still that element of, “Are people going to like this as much as I do?”

Fortunately, in most cases, yes. My customers just get it. No explanation needed. I love them so much for that!

Is there an object in your own home that you’d never part with?

I was gifted a commission for an original painting by Nay Bellamy last Christmas. Nay is my favourite artist and came to the shop to host a painting workshop in our studio in June.

That was a bit of a pinch-me moment. She had attendees travelling from all over the UK, Spain and Ireland to learn to paint with her. I was able to speak to her about my commission and she painted hollyhocks for me, which are my favourite flower. They just remind me of French holidays.

Mon Pote has become such a familiar part of North Street. What do you love most about being based there?

I’ve lived within a few minutes’ walk of the shop for almost 20 years and North Street has changed so much in that time, particularly over the last ten years as lots of new businesses have opened.

People come out and use us, and they’re proud to do so. I read that people are using hundreds fewer words a day as our daily interactions decrease, so it’s great that people choose community over their screen.

We work really hard to give them something special, and they really appreciate that and show up for us.

Where in Bristol do you feel most at home?

I joke that I never leave BS3, which feels true when you live and work in a place, but it’s also because we have such close proximity to nature here.

I love being able to run along the towpath down the river, or out to Long Ashton and Ashton Court. Also, North Street is the coolest, in my opinion.

If a friend had one day in Bristol, where would you send them?

I had a gorgeous day out on Sunday, starting on North Street at the Tobacco Factory Market for a coffee and a little mooch around the stalls, then walking through Greville Smyth Park and across to Ashton Court through the beautiful autumn colours.

The deer were out looking all majestic, and we walked up to the top of Ashton Court, took in the views of the city and then headed across the Suspension Bridge into Clifton Village.

We had lunch at Mercy Mercy Mercy, then went to Something Elsie in Clifton Arcade, where I bought a very beautiful, very reasonable coat. We had a little peek in Maze, of course, stopped for a beer at the Avon Gorge Hotel and headed back through Ashton Court.

It was about eight miles door to door, with lovely sunshine and all the trees turning along the gorge. No car required!

What’s something you’ve been enjoying recently?

I am addicted to Gambas in the harbour. I booked a meal there with my two best friends this week and cannot wait. We go for a little trip away each year, so we’ll be planning our next one - probably to Spain - over Gambas’ tapas.

Other than that, I’m re-reading my favourite book ever at the moment, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy.

What are you looking forward to at the moment?

It’s the time of year when work takes over for me, and we have a very full calendar of events about to kick off at Mon Pote through November and December.

The best thing is that we get to collaborate with other businesses. We have a clothing pop-up at our annual winter party and we’re hosting 24 local makers and artists across three separate makers’ markets.

We did this last year and it was amazing - so much fun to work with all the makers.

Do you think living and working in Bristol has influenced your taste or the way Mon Pote has evolved?

Being in Bristol is inspiring. Bristol homes, just like its residents, have a unique look. They’re eclectic and creative, and they don’t have that same-y look that many houses on social media seem to have, where people are copying trends rather than buying for their own taste.

People in Bristol are confident in their own taste and creativity.

Ten years on, Mon Pote feels very much a reflection of Anna herself - instinctive, considered and full of personality. A fitting second stop for Worn and Raised, and a reminder of just how much Bristol’s independent businesses add to the city.