Have you visited The Kirkwood Shop in Slaithwaite?
Charity shops are an important part of any community, providing a place to donate and purchase pre-loved fashions and goods at affordable prices. Shining a spotlight on the incredible work of our retail teams, this month, we visited our Slaithwaite shop, which has been thriving since its relocation to the main street.
After opening its doors on November 17th, 2022, the shop launched with the theme of 'Reduce, Re-use, Recycle', a move that saw a much-anticipated and welcome return to the high street. The shop and its customers help to fund the vital services The Kirkwood offers to patients, families, and carers in the village and throughout Kirklees.
As the shop celebrated its first birthday a couple of months ago,? we caught up with shop manager Emily Lumb to find out how things were going. Feeling positive about the relocation, Emily says: “It was a great decision to move the shop to the main street. We are more accessible for our customers to visit us while out and about, walking along the canals or visiting other shops in the village. It’s also boosted our visibility and increased donations as customers can stop right outside the door.
“I was involved in the set-up, design and layout process of our new unit and really enjoyed being included in the re-fit. Although our shop is quite compact in size in comparison to some of our other shops, It’s nice to have an open plan space where we can change the layout of the shop floor, giving it a fresh look and feel for our customers, with something new and different to see on their visits”.
Celebrating the shop's first birthday since the move, the team invited customers to join the birthday celebrations. Sustainable fashion influencer Lucy Jane also joined us on the day taking over the shop's social media, and rotating the window displays every few hours to give a different look. Lucy Jane's passion for sustainable fashion was evident in the pieces she selected from the shop's stock for her window displays, as Emily explains: “The first birthday was a great celebration for our shop with lots of customers visiting and wishing us a happy birthday. We had a 5% discount for the whole weekend and Lucy Jane's creativity on the day.”
Earlier that month, Influencer, Lucy Jane – infinity of Fashion, joined our retail managers at their monthly meeting at our retail hub in Sands Mill, Mirfield. Invited by our retail area manager, Sarah Douglas, Lucy hosted her social media masterclass, inspiring and equipping our teams with the confidence and insight to utilise their social media pages, engaging with their audience base and showcasing the best of their stock.
Lucy Jane has always had a love of fashion, with her?blog?growning from strength to strength, hosting her 'Charity Shop Bops', encouraging others to shop more consciously, inviting her social media followers to join her charity shop challenges, supporting causes close to her heart.
Following on from the success of her social media master class with our shop managers, Emily, was delighted to welcome Lucy Jane on the day to work her magic at our Slaithwaite Shop. Selecting her favourite items from our variety of pre-loved stock, piecing them together to create a stylised ensemble for our mannequins to be placed in the shop windows, rotating styles and display dressings throughout the day in her live window displays.
“It was great having Lucy Jane join us on the day. She has a real flare for what works with what and is not afraid to be bold. Her colour choices and styling brightened our window displays, helping to encourage customers through the door. I hope to work with her again on future projects and encourage you to like and follow her socials and blog for sustainable fashion inspirations.”? - Emily, Slaithwaite Shop Manager.
Emily says the best thing about her role is meeting new people daily, like Lucy Jane.
"We have some amazing customers who visit us - Tim from the Waterside Barbers, who brings in Dolly and Coco (French bulldogs), and Janet from Lilly of the Valley, who we see daily, usually wearing the items she has thrifted in our shop. Nathan who visits with his Grandma, who comes and purchases most of our toy section. No day is ever the same."
The shop's success would not be possible without our amazing team of volunteers, like Trevor, who never misses a day, works hard on the jobs he has to complete, and always has a smile on his face. The shop is a vital part of the community, providing affordable items while supporting the vital work of The Kirkwood.
You can read Trevor’s interview?HERE?or, to learn more about all of our volunteers at The Kirkwood Slaithwaite Shop, visit our Facebook page HERE?to view our ‘meet the team’ posts.
Coming up next month, we visit The Kirkwood Shop – Honley to catch up with shop manager Samantha and the team about their recent shop transformation and what our customers think of our recent expansion.