The Squash Court on the Deans Court Estate in Wimborne is home to Deans Court Homestore. Deans Court is a historic house and estate set in ancient gardens. In 2012 Ali Hanham converted the 1930’s squash court building a home store.

The shop offers an interesting mix of old and new goods from around the world, including products sourced from the Deans Court Estate. Best sellers include coloured glasses from the South of France, wooden post cards, vintage Indian hand towels from Jaipur, and vintage-style linen clothes from Lithuania.

There is a café shop that serves homemade, organic fare produced with ingredients grown in the estate’s walled kitchen gardens. Honey from the estate’s apiary and eggs from 50 free-range chickens, as well as boxes of vegetables in the summer. Dining tables, baskets, and egg boxes are fashioned from the estate's oak trees, and are also available for purchase.

I love having a reason to buy the things I love. Finding unusual things and taking them out of their environment and then putting them in my shop and seeing them look a million times better.

Ali Hanham, shopkeeper at Deans Court Homestore

Ali Hanham’s love of vintage, finding unusual things at flea markets and brocantes, inspired her to become a shopkeeper. Ali’s first career was in advertising.  She took a break from working to stay at home with her two daughters, and became interested in interiors, decorating her home and those of her friends. When her children went off to school she turned her hobby into a job, opening a small shop with her best friend. A job that became a successful business for twelve years until she moved to Dorset with her husband, William. Deans Court has been in William's Hanham's family for 500 years. Together they took over the running of Deans Court from his parents. Ali first redecorated the house and holiday properties, and then turned her attention to the squash court at the end of the driveway, transforming it into a home store.

I love the shopkeepers’ community. Especially in the antique world. There’s a real comradery and lots of banter between all the dealers – we all know what it’s like to get up at 5am in the pouring rain to get to a flea market before it opens. We all support each other and genuinely get on really well. I’m always bumping into dealers I haven’t seen for years at antique markets all over the world

Favorite shops

• The Hambledon in Winchester

• Tinsmiths in Ledbury

• Liberty in London.