Every little helps...

Hello All!

My isn't it amazing how so much can change in such a short space of time!

We have been working our socks off to get our new place up and running as soon as possible, and things have been going well so far! We have even officially been labelled a 'Community Interest Company' which we LOVE because after all, we love our community!

However we can't help but get a bit flustered sometimes, seen as this is such a new venture to all of us! And as well as becoming our very own full time labourers, we have also had to teach ourselves EVERYTHING that comes with setting up a business! 

This is why we are asking for a bit of help :)

We know that our villages are super fantastic in every way, and this wouldn't be so if it wasn't for the super fantastic and talented people who live here!

We would just like a bit of advice on a few things, and we would really love any support you can give!

We have come to the realisation that, even though we often think it, we don't know everything! And sometimes it is best to ask the professionals :) 

So if anyone knows of any good tips or any good contacts even, with regards to planning permission (for change of use) Or perhaps you know where is the best place to go for grants and funding to help us get off the ground, that would be soooooo fantastic!

We also have a lot of things to plan for, including our opening event (YEY!) So we would also LOVE any ideas you have to help us raise a bit of funds, including any up and coming fairs you know of! 

Perhaps you may even like to donate some things to help support us, be it your time to help us paint and get ready, your creativity and knowledge, or even some of your unwanted items for us to kit out our shop or sell at these fairs!

We cannot wait to be a part of our amazing village, and we know it is going to be such a great place for us all to enjoy! We hope you feel the same, and we appreciate all of your support and well wishes so far!

Lots of love from 

Steph, Amy, Di and the two Pats!

x

Totally Locally!

What a fabulous weekend we have had! 

The first ever Totally Locally Slaithwaite fair went down a storm , the whole of the village was completely rammed and even the sunshine was on our side!

Here are some pictures of our magical day....

Our first ever stall we managed to piece together in under an hour!

Some of Stephanie's bags and Amy and Sheila enjoy some of Sheila's lovely tea sets

The whole village was full!

Amy, Steph Sheila and Di working hard (ish)

Hand picked wild flowers

Meals on Wheels with still going strong with the help Steph's 'Granny Splash' illustrations

Our lovely local green grocers!

Literally everyone and his dog was there!

Amy's lovely felt bags, and Amy after our first pint of local beer!

 

The fabulous food circle!

There was nothing left by the end of the day!

All of us finally got together to celebrate our new venture :)

Bring on the next one!!!

It's all go!

We finally got our first set of keys yesterday! And we were all ready and raring to celebrate before we realised we had actually a lot of work ahead of us before the opening day!

This meant that we had to rope everyone in to help scrub and 'de-grime' the walls- not pleasant I have to say!

Here is Pat and Di getting stuck in, and Gaz and Dom doing their best to rescue the walls!

The mess seemed to be endless! But it was already starting to look better...

We can finally see the fabulous character features of the mill, and you can almost get an idea of how great it will look with all of the steel posts and rustic wooden floor. 

(We think Di would make a great builder!)

This is a picture of what it looked like when we first went to see it- so you can already see the progress, and how much lighter it is! Not far to go now (we hope!) Next stage is the painting.... wish us luck!

Life is just a circus...

You may have noticed we have a new logo design, and isn't it just grand!

We all sat together at our recent meeting and went through some choices for our business, and it must have taken us about 4 minutes from start to finish to decide out theme! 

Everything just seems to be flowing very easily for us now, I mean the designs themselves were done by our fellow crafter/ invester Stephanie B/ Felt Mountain Studios And you can't get more handy then that I guess!

We just cannot wait to show them off now and what better place to start then at the Totally Locally Food Festival on Sunday in Slaithwaite Village! 

We hope to see you there it is going to be a really great day!

Calling all Creatives!

We love crafting ( I bet you didn't know!) And we especially love local crafters!

So as our shop is only a short time away from being an actual running shop! We are on the lookout for some creatives to help our place become the talk of the (crafty) town!

 If you are local to the Slaithwaite or Colne Valley area and you are a budding or professional artist/ designer/ crafter/ dress maker/ ceramicist/ photographer/ print maker/ soap maker/ vintage or antique dealer/ jam maker.. or well you this could go on for ever! If you are a creative and would like to be a part of our new shop then please step forward! 

It may be that you rent a space for yourself or your business, or you would like to put your stuff in  on a trial basis and we take a 25% commission from your sales. You may even want to be a part of a gallery or exhibition show or perhaps you just want a stall at one of our fairs in the future. Either way we would love to hear from you :)

We ask only that you are passionate about your products and don't just want to display your 'hobbies,' as we would like this to be a pillar for people to get their businesses seen and known and hopefully The Emporium will do the same!

We are also aware that our current space may not be able to hold every local designer for the time being- but as we mentioned it may be we have your details to call up on for a specific exhibition or gallery show! We are also hoping to grow into an even bigger space behind our current one in time and it may be you join us then!

So if you are interested then please email us at slaithwaite_emporium@hotmail.com

Along with your name, business info and some pictures for us to see of your work :)

We will look forward to hearing from you!

xxx

It's all about first impressions...

We may not have been going long but already we are ready and raring to move into our new space in Slaithwaite Centre! 

The date itself is still to be confirmed but we shall be moving out of our current premises by the end of this month- so you never know it could be in the next few weeks! Yey!

With all this in mind we have been getting a bit excited about designing our new shop space- the front in particular! And our soon to be neighbours 'Made-Good' have done such a nice job at converting their frontage, we have to make sure ours is just as lovely! (As you can see it needs a bit of work!)

 So in my super giddiness, I have been looking up pretty shop fronts as inspiration for colours- especially ones that will coincide with surrounding shops and the village in general!

Pictures by foundandsewn.blogspot.co.uk

I love the colour of this one, it's just so easy going and fresh! But think perhaps it may be doesn't contrast enough with Made-Good's front door? 

Picture by freshlyfound.blogspot.co.uk

Perhaps something a bit more down the 'teal' colour route would look nice?

There is something rather suave looking about this colour I do believe, or is that just me?

Picture by prettyinpink-lindsey.blogspot.co.uk

Picture by sallyelford.co.uk

Both these colours are lovely, and stand out well-  which is always a good thing ( How cute is the name of that top shop by Mary Portas!) But maybe they are a bit TOO 'standy outy' and something along these lines might be a bit more sophisticated...

Picture by stitchtales.blogspot.co.uk

I have to admit I do love a good muted colour, they are just so soft and welcoming!

Then again you can always have this...

Picture by mediastorehouse.com

How cool is that- it would be like walking into a forest everyday! ( Though I am not sure how the landlord would feel about it...)

Anyhoo any opinions would be greatly received! What would you like to see everyday when you are going to pick up your groceries?  What exteriors make you go 'oooh I'd like to go and have a peek in there!' Or 'What a lovely shop that looks indeed!' 

You never know it could popping up right on your doorstep!