From a lockdown hobby to Newport's latest shop - husband and wife open tabletop gaming store

The pair have grafted for more than three months on evenings and weekends - in time away from their full-time jobs - to get their shop in Newport town centre ready - painting walls, installing shelving units, securing deals and partnerships with manufacturers, and more. 

Quest Keepers is a tabletop miniature gaming store - selling miniature figurines for games including Warhammer along with painting supplies.

It all began when a 'bored' Sebastian decided to try his hand at building and painting Warhammer miniatures during lockdown.

And, now, he and his wife have opened their doors to keen customers, and were pleasantly surprised at the interest in their new business.

"Like a lot of people I was stuck inside during the Covid pandemic and I decided to pick up a box of Warhammer miniatures, and build them and put them together and then paint them to see if I enjoyed it," said Sebastian.

"Before lockdown I didn’t know it existed really.

"Then I became very involved in the hobby and it is one of those things you always talk about ‘wouldn’t it be cool to have a shop’.

"We were walking down the arcade chatting to another business owner and she mentioned what the price of rent was like, and it was within our reach so we just went for it and here we are today opening up.

"We were open for just 30 minutes and had people in and out the entire time, so it is really great.

"When you open a shop you are a little bit worried, but before we opened we already had people standing outside and peering inside the window, and I haven’t had a chance to sit down since we opened. It is really exciting."

He added that there has been a lot of money spent, and a lot of time put in by he and his wife to reach this point.

The store, which is located in Unit 6 in Salters Court, is open on weekdays and Saturdays between 1pm and 5pm.

With their nearest business competition based in Telford, the pair are hoping to welcome customers from Shropshire and beyond. 

"We are very pleased with the shop, we have had some fantastic coverage and people reaching out," Sebastian added. "We thought we might get like five or six likes on our Facebook posts but they have gone crazy so that is really good. We are quite proud and very happy.

"One of the main things we have that people are interested in is the Warhammer products.

"We have got some bundle deals that we do, it is pretty unique for us, so we have some Warhammer bundles where you can get 25 per cent off.

"We have also got a load of resin and 3D printed bits and bobs that we have either designed ourselves or worked with local artists to create."