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      • The town centre is dead, long live the town centre

        Nov 2022
        City, Eco-Friendly, Retail, Shopping, Sustainability, Thrift, Town Centres
        The future of retail needs a radical rethink, and fast. High streets need to be multi-purpose, multi-use, reflective of local context and relevant to the way people are now consuming. We believe the future is bright for our town centres, for they are the beating heart of the community. We believe that recent store closures […]
      • End of the world as we know it?

        Jun 2020
        Britain, Covid-19, Economy, Globalisation, Government, Politics, Retail, Shopping, Society
        The lockdown got us thinking about some big stuff like globalisation. Prior to Covid-19 rearing its ugly head, there had already been much discussion about issues with globalisation. The seemingly unstoppable march of national economies, coming together as one global economy, for the ultimate benefit of the world. Globalisation appeared to tick boxes on all […]
      • What will happen to our town centres?

        Apr 2020
        Being Thrifty, Britain, Economy, Independent Retailing, Purpose, Red or Dead, Retail, Shopping, Society, Town Centres, Urban Design
        Musings on the first lockdown, creativity and the future of public space.  It’s now almost 40 years since we started our design business and perceptions of the creative industries have changed hugely over that time. I grew up in a household where my mum and my nan were always making clothes and my pop was […]
      • Is quarantine the perfect time to give up fast fashion for good?

        Apr 2020
        Being Thrifty, Eco-Friendly, Fashion, Independent Retailing, Purpose, Retail, Shopping, Sustainability, Thrift, Vintage
        Disposable fashion is an awful concept. By the time you read this the UK will have been under lockdown for roughly one week, and our lives as we know them have been drastically changed. We don’t know how long it will last before these restrictions start to ease off, but it has me wondering whether […]
      • Blackburn is Open

        Mar 2019
        Blackburn, Britain, Charity, City, Culture, Design, Economy, Events, Festival, Independent Retailing, Placemaking, Purpose, Regeneration, Retail, Shopping, Society, Town Centres
        The definitive history of Blackburn is Open and the build up to The National Festival of Making. In 2012, we had the idea to take what Blackburn had – empty shops in prime town centre locations, an open minded Council, unused evocative buildings, strong industrial heritage, successful diaspora – and embrace these assets to start […]
      • Are all these store closures something to celebrate?

        Jun 2018
        Britain, City, Economy, Fashion, Independent Retailing, Retail, Shopping, Society, Sustainability, Town Centres
        Our town centre thinking continues… This week it’s the turn of another so called “retail institution” the House of Fraser to announce a significant store closure following a shrinking of Mothercare and the demise of the likes of Maplin’s, Toys R Us and a whole raft of retail “brands” (that often actually has done the […]
      • We Were Able To Create A Fashion Label Available To All – Things Aren’t So Easy These Days

        Feb 2017
        Being Thrifty, Blackburn, Design, Events, Fashion, Festival, Independent Retailing, Placemaking, Purpose, Retail, Shopping, Society, Thrift, Vintage, Vintage Festival
        A blog about how affordable rents helped us get started and how through the markets we curate we are, in a small way, helping start-ups “have a go” by providing low cost opportunities.  I grew up in modest background to the sound of whirring sewing machines and with a mum and a nan who always […]
      • Vintage Is About More Than Fashion

        Mar 2016
        Being Thrifty, Design, Eco-Friendly, Fashion, Retail, Shopping, Sustainability, Vintage
        Returning to an old chestnut – secondhand clothing and the circular economy. I love fashion (well I would with my background). I love looking at each new seasons mens and womenswear collections. But I stick with looking and very very rarely buy any new clothes (except undies and socks). I have a wardrobe (or 6) full […]
      • What’s All This Obsession With Retail?

        Feb 2016
        Developers, Housing, Retail, Shopping, Urban Design
        Questioning planning orthodoxy is what we do and have always done.  Most housing developments we work on at HemingwayDesign have a “mixed use” element. “Mixed use”, in simple terms, means “a development that blends a combination of residential and commercial, cultural, leisure services, institutional, or industrial uses”. In terms of good urban design practice, in […]
      • Town Centres Are Starting To Do What They Were Designed To Do

        Oct 2015
        Britain, City, Culture, Economy, Independent Retailing, Regeneration, Retail, Shopping, Society, Town Centres
        In 2015 we continued to discuss and document our positivity about the evolution of town centres, as a more indie and experiential spirit started to replace the dinosaurs that continued to fail and cease trading.  I have “mouthed off” pretty regularly these last few years about the future of our high streets – one recurrent […]