Member Article

Retail unit’s growth at inventive Ridings Centre

The Created in Yorkshire craft store, at the Ridings Shopping Centre, Wakefield, has announced impressive recent growth and a successful profile-building events schedule.

In its first year, the co-operative shop trebled its floor space, increased the number of in-house crafters from 25 to 30 and held popular poetry readings and knitting sessions that have drawn in big crowds. A purpose made room for craft lessons has also been added and will be used for community based workshops, enhancing the store’s appeal and encouraging even more interest in the business, as well as generating greater footfall for the Centre.

Created in Yorkshire sells handcrafted products ranging from jewellery to clothing, woodwork, art and up-cycled vintage pieces, all made in the region.

Manned by a number of different crafters, the co-operative enterprise tasks each independent retailer with playing a role in manning the store and selling the goods of fellow artists and craftspeople.

It recently won Home and Garden Retailer of the Year award in the Wakefield Retail Awards and came second in the national SCEPTRE shopping centre industry awards - and was highly commended. After appearing in a ‘Songs of Praise’ feature on Wakefield, the store pulled in shoppers from as far afield as Cheshire to buy some of the distinctive handmade products.

Lynne Thompson, who came up with the concept and manages Created in Yorkshire, said: “It really has been a fantastic first year for us; we never imagined we’d treble our floor space and win recognised retail awards in our first year. We have a very loyal core following, which we have taken with us as we attracted new shoppers.”

Barbara Winston, centre manager, added: “Created in Yorkshire was our first co-operative run store and after seeing how successful it was, we have introduced others to the Centre. The unit is part of our ongoing strategy to use space imaginatively, to support local independent retailers and, ultimately, to breathe new life into the high street.”

The Ridings’ inventive retail models have spawned a number of success stories recently. Among them are the monthly Yorkshire Market - which has grown from two to 40 stalls - and the Pop-Up Boutique that acts as a launch pad for retailers who want to trial their products before committing to a permanent unit.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Gatehouse .