the story of wn store

After many years running a design service, it was bugging me that we were asking our clients to place all their hope and trust in us when we were unable to show them the value of our work until the very end of the process. This was a big ask.

For a long while I had dreamt of a studio that was blended with a shop.

not an overpowering fancy interior showroom, but a simple welcoming homeware store, that displayed the values and aesthetics that we believe in and weave into our design work each day.

A space to showcase the talent and beauty of many of the makers and designers we have worked with and become friends with over many years.

And so when a studio attached to a beautiful old shop became available within walking distance from my home, and with its own sun filled courtyard I knew what I had to do!

Throughout last summer we had a wonderful time renovating the building, adding a simple kitchen and wc, retaining the essence of this lovely space whilst bringing the function we needed to work and creating a space that we can feel inspired in.

Curating the store was both challenging and exciting, our intention was quite simple, to show that honest materials treated respectfully and not overworked just feel right, and that when you layer them together in one space it is actually very hard to go wrong.

Years of designing and shopping it turns out however are not the same as becoming a retailer, but we stuck to our logic of simplicity and where possible natural, and with the addition of old pieces as well as new it fell into a really nice place.  

I wanted to show how we can all spend our money better, through buying pieces that have more natural fibres in them, that are not over processed, that perhaps haven’t travelled as far, that are even ready to be loved for a second time.  

There is a huge environmental benefit in developing a style and home that you enjoy so much you are not constantly seeking to change or ‘update’ it, surrounding yourself with objects that do their job so well and age so beautifully that you love them more, not less, ultimately results in less consumption.

Perhaps the reason this feels so right just now is that this simplicity is at such a contrast to the pace at which we are so often expected to operate, a visual pause if you like.

“i believe our homes can help us to feel slow and calm, and if we can show you how to achieve that then we have created something of true value”