Page 39 - homes & gardens

H&G EDIT | NEWs

The store is housed in a
Grade II-listed building (left);
Heron platter by Michaela Gall,
£295 (below); Birds Nest Fern
print by Samantha Allan, £175,
and The Monkey print by Ellie
Curtis, £155 (both right).

shop TALK

the shop floor project

Founded in 2006 by mother-and-daughter team Denise and Samantha Allan,
The Shop Floor Project in Ulverston, Cumbria, sources pieces of the highest
craftsmanship from makers and traditional manufacturers worldwide

How did the shop begin? I had moved from the business when he passed away. She still
London to Manchester to study for an MA in stamps the back of each sconce with his mark.
museum curation, while my mother, Denise, And your favourite piece? My mobile by Midnight Picnic cushion (above), 16in sq, £59;
was director of an arts charity in Cumbria, and Japanese metalsmith Kanehen, which sits shop displays (below) are carefully thought
out; handmade soaps, £6.95 each (bottom).
we were ready for a change at the same time. above our dining table. The heat from the
With backgrounds in fne art and a network of kitchen makes it move and turn, and it’s
craftspeople in place, we imagined a shop that beautiful to watch. We also sell her metal
would celebrate the stories behind making. buttons, which look like medieval treasure.
Why is telling a story important? Knowing Tell us about your new HQ. The business was
the background of a piece can change how you online until 2011, before we opened a shop in
feel about it, as it gives you a connection to it. the conservation area of Ulverston. It was great,
We also realised that some customers would but it wasn’t big enough for what we wanted to
be giving items as gifts and wouldn’t always be do. All the while, we had our eyes on a derelict,
there to talk about them, so we created little Grade II-listed warehouse in the centre of town.
cards to explain the story of each piece. It was bought, restored and became available in
How do you choose what to sell? We like to early 2015, when we jumped on it. With more
hunt out secrets. When we started, we had no space to play with now, our plan is to introduce
real retail experience, so it was pure instinct. artists in residence and regular events.
Barely anything we sell is off-the-peg, as the What has the reaction been? The word that
vast majority comes from conversations and comes up quite a lot is museum. We’re happy
development with makers. We think the pieces to hear that, not in the sense that the shop feels
are beautiful, but they’re also playful and have stuffy, but rather that the objects have space
soul. We run a mile from anything too serious. to breathe and that they feel special.
Do you have a favourite maker story? Malin What’s next? We’re working with museum
Appelgren Paulsson’s grandfather started shops all over to world to create pieces that
making the metal wall sconces we sell. The frst have a better connection with the objects they
The Shop Floor
pair was bought as a wedding present for the display. We’re also building relationships with Project, The
WORDS MORAG BRUCe him she wanted to learn the craft, he said it pieces into production. Lastly, because we love Place, Ulverston,
ethical manufacturers overseas to help put
king of Sweden in the 1930s. When Malin told
Warehouse, Buxton
wasn’t for girls as it was too hard (every sconce
seeing how people curate what they buy from
Cumbria LA12 7EF,
01229 584537,
us, we’re launching a blog and Instagram feed
needs about 4,000 hammer hits). Eventually,
theshopfloor
he relented and taught her, and she took over
where they can share their displays.
project.com.
SEPTEMBER 2015 | H&G | 39