FOLLOWING a busy period of free drop ins and live demonstrations a bespoke gift shop has finally had time to look back on a year of Romsey retail.
Forest & Cove marked its one-year anniversary with a birthday party, with cake, nibbles and bubbly at its home in Bell Street. On September 23, the creative hub of handcrafted items, celebrated with a ‘meet the makers’ party for customers to come and see the creators behind their favourite pieces and kickstart their Christmas shopping with exclusive deals.
The shop opened on August 27 2021 and is owned by bespoke jewellery maker Rebecca Barley. The Romsey retailer delayed its celebrations while it offered free drop-in classes and live demonstrations as part of Hampshire Open Studios during its official birthday.
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Founder and in-house goldsmith Rebecca said: “It’s been a challenging time to open a new business but the support we have received from the local area has been wonderful and we are truly grateful for each and every customer. We really hope to see that support continue over the festive period.
“We started with a small retail area stocking 25 artists and over the course of this year we have expanded the shop floor so we could take on even more talented local artists. We now have nearly 40 artists and makers, most of whom are from Wiltshire, Hampshire or Dorset.
“In April we started opening our art room space as a co-working space when it’s not being used for art classes midweek. So many of us have started working from home since the start of the pandemic and we wanted to offer a space in the centre of town for people to work alongside each other in a relaxed and friendly environment.
“In June after months of hard work, we launched our online shop. Now people can shop absolutely everything from our lovely little shop from the comfort of their own home.”
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Before setting up shop in Romsey, Rebecca ran a jewellery store for six years in Salisbury. The handmade goods shop, based in Bell Street, also offers creative classes such as jewellery making, fused glass and floristry classes from both resident and guest artists.
For more go to forestandcove.co.uk/.
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