Change is good. And we are ready for it, arms wide and here for the challenge! It's been our dream to have a forever store since we launched last year and it's fast becoming a reality. We'll be opening our doors to you all soon but first we had to take things back to the start, strip everything out and get creating exactly what we wanted out of our new home. A space to welcome, engage and feel at home in - giving the spotlight to our brands. Cat shares more of how we started from scratch to design our new store.
Having the chance to design your own store is not a bad job to have. We love all things design here at treen, with constant sharing of new furniture we’ve come across, an inspiring mood board on an interiors site, a dream light fitting, the list goes on. Our design mind stretches out from the same one that considers our fashion and personal style, choosing pieces we hope you’ll all love to wear and wear for years to come. If the style at treen is inspired by nature, organic colour palettes, contrasts in textures and plenty of neutrals, then it only feels natural (how many times do you think we use that word in a day!) that whatever space we create to house our positive impact brands is an extension of this taste, and is built to last.
Getting the opportunity to start from scratch and move into a new space is my dream come true. And I want you to be part of that too. To create a space that is approachable, accepting, engaging, welcoming, comfortable, calm, functional, exciting, kind, and true to itself. A blank canvas to best show off our brands that do good, whilst staying interesting and ever changing. And that’s how we started when thinking about a new store design. Enter frantically pinning incredible imagery on Pinterest (see our mood boards here to get an idea), researching paints, figuring out how the space could work best for what we wanted to say.
When we met design team GRAS during our time (the best time) in Custom Lane, we knew - without actually knowing it then, as the store was yet to be a reality - that it had to be them who would help us create a space. They eat, speak and breath cool, effortless and minimal style, that is most importantly functional. The idea of working with this team had us all chills and goose-bumps, the fact that we are writing this down is even better. Meeting the GRAS team in Custom Lane itself and seeing how functional this space was, how the many different people who used it did and how much a few simple actions can turn a blank canvas space into your own sealed the deal for us to want to work with them. Check out their website, heaven to land on…
We had our first meeting about the new store in Custom Lane with a hot cup of William and Johnsons. This is where we told GRAS it had to be them. It was cold and dark outside and we were discussing how good the light is in the new space with it being south facing, dreaming and talking about making a reality of areas to take pictures in the new space, how we could emphasise the light and make this a feature somehow. We shared anything and everything that was in our minds. We talked about texture, how we wanted a shelf to feel when a client picked something up from it and laid it back down, the sound the rails make when a hanger moves along them, the journey a person would take through the store, keeping it simple, comfortable and easy to navigate. We needed GRAS to help us create a space that was a bit of us, and a bit of everyone who would walk inside it.
On top of this we needed the space to be kind. Kind in the way that it hasn't travelled a long way to be with us, was built using things grown close by, parts passed through makers hands that lived locally and accessorised using the odd thing found second hand. And we needed the store to have the utmost respect for the space we were planning to fit it into. Whilst working with GRAS (possibly more times than they would have liked, as in once again a week ago, sorry guys!) we have updated our ‘final’ plans many times. Wood came in late on, the finish of the rails has changed multiple times and the words, ‘but is it Instagrammable enough?’, had been said a whole lot, we’re looking out for you guys! But above all it had to work with what it already was, be respectful of the structure and history of the building - something we became even more away as we stripped back decades of paint and paper to the bare bones of the building. Notes made on the wall from decorators’ past, enormous masonry stones that build up the seemingly metre-thick walls, an original lettering ‘D’ from an old shop sign. It’s been a beautiful experience and has truly set us up to follow in the footsteps of the many small business owners that have gone before us in this special space.
And now the build is full steam ahead! With workmen in and out, each day the space is evolving. Expect a bright open space, smooth finishes that cleverly have dimension, natural finishes, big open fitting rooms and mirrors (ready for the wish list selfies and IG stories), lots of lovely original curves brought back to life and a whole lot more.
We can’t wait to share it with you. 
Want to know more about what we do, the positive impact brand we stock, or what else we've got planned for the coming months? Drop us an email or message us on Instagram, we love to chat to you all. Not long now till we can open our new doors!
