Brothers open record store in County Wexford

Music lovers and vinyl collectors have a new destination to explore with the opening of Hobby Horse Records, a newly-opened used record shop…

Brothers Joe and Jim Busher have turned a lifelong passion for music into a business, bringing a dedicated second-hand record shop back to County Wexford at a time when interest in vinyl continues to grow.

For Joe and Jim, the shop is the culmination of decades spent collecting records and searching through crates in record stores across Ireland and beyond.

“We have always been passionate about music and have been collecting ourselves for decades. Many of the records in the shop are from our own collections. Over the years there have been many record shops we visited that have long since closed, and there hasn’t been a used record shop in Wexford since before COVID,” Joe told Wexford Weekly.

People can show up to their store within the Eclectic Avenue premises in Wexford town, browse, and seek out exactly what they’re after. For Joe, he believes nothing compares to the experience of browsing records in person.

“You just can’t beat going into a shop and finding stuff, picking it up and checking it out. What you see is what you get. Plus, you don’t have to wait for postage.”

Since opening, the response from customers has exceeded expectations. What began as a weekend-only venture has quickly expanded, with Hobby Horse Records now welcoming customers from Thursday to Sunday.

“Customer feedback has been incredibly positive, and we already have many regular customers,” Joe said. “Some even travel from outside of Wexford to visit us.”

The brothers say building relationships with customers is one of the most rewarding aspects of the business. By getting to know individual tastes, they are often able to source records customers have been searching for or recommend similar artists and albums when a particular release isn’t available.

“We keep a look out for the kind of music people are interested in and often have some surprises for them when they next come in,” Joe explained. “When we haven’t got a particular artist or release in stock, we’re able to recommend similar artists or albums.”

For the brothers, both quality and diversification are two major priorities:

“We pride ourselves on the quality of the records we sell and clean them before they go into the shop. Being collectors ourselves, we know how important it is to get good quality stock.”

“People are often surprised at what we have. Customers have found releases they’ve been after for years, while our funk, soul and disco singles have proved especially popular with DJs,” Joe told Wexford Weekly.

Like many new independent businesses, one of the biggest challenges has simply been making people aware that the shop exists. However, the brothers say sharing space with other businesses in Eclectic Avenue has helped introduce Hobby Horse Records to customers who might not otherwise have discovered it.

“The biggest challenge is just getting it out there that we are here. Being in a shared space with other businesses is definitely a positive because people find us unexpectedly, and some of those businesses attract people who are also interested in records.”

With vinyl continuing to enjoy a resurgence and an ever-growing base of loyal customers, Hobby Horse Records is quickly establishing itself as a welcome addition to Wexford’s independent retail scene, offering collectors and casual music fans alike the simple pleasure of discovering their next favourite record the old-fashioned way.

Eclectic Avenue is an independent shopping and community space located on North Main Street, Wexford Town, in the former Creative Hub/Bullring Mall building.