Owner Alison Whalley ran Shoreditch’s Hoxton Boutique before upping sticks in 2014 to set up shop in Deal. Browse an eclectic edit of home decor – Moorish throws, leopard lampstands, stoneware vases – and lifestyle accessories that include One Hundred Stars kimonos, utilitarian jackets, St Eval candles, ceramics and one-off finds from Whalley’s trips across the Channel.

Weave in and out of locals who flock to this weekly market (held each Saturday from 8am–3pm) for bric-a-brac, books, secondhand furniture and, most importantly, a bounty of Kentish produce. Pick up a locally roasted coffee from Moveable Feast Café to sup as you inhale that freshly baked waft from Kingsdown Breads, pick up cinnamon buns from Scandi-leaning Bygga Bo and nibble tasters from The Kentish Provender, purveyors of great cheese. In our books, it’s never too early to stop at Authentique Wines’ pop-up bar. Epicureans, this is one you don’t want to miss.

Mileage bills itself as “Deal’s most interesting shop”, and in truth, that’s pretty hard to argue with. Navigate the labyrinthine emporium to encounter a hodge-podge of old cinema seats, upcycled furniture and printed lampshades. Overwhelmed with choice? Make a beeline for the back of the shop, where the Tea Station supplies all the caffeine and cake needed to work out how you’ll get home that vintage Ercol you’ve been eyeing.

You don’t have to be a music buff to appreciate the well-curated and effortlessly cool collection of old and new vinyl at Smugglers Records – its coffee machine and fridge stocked with craft beer make lingering here very easy. Smugglers’ first incarnation was as the humble “Smugglers Sessions” held at the back of a local pub, before its owners went busking across Europe. Today, the business doubles up as an indie record label. Look out for up-and-coming acts (chiefly folk, psychedelic and world-music) at its Smugglers Festival, typically held towards the start of September.

Part art gallery, part lifestyle store, the peaceful Will & Yates is a go-to for locally made ceramics, raw-hemp textiles, upcycled furniture, seaweed-based skincare from Margate’s Haeckels and original paintings by co-owner and artist Caroline Yates. (The other owner, Jane Will, is an interiors stylist.) Check online for exhibition launches and sales. Like this? Check out Dunlin & Diver a few doors along.