2023 was a big one for us Piglets, and we finished the year on an enormous high: we opened our first-ever brick-and-mortar shop! Located in the utterly charming spa town of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, it couldn’t be a more perfect spot for our first physical store.
We officially opened our doors in December (those of you who follow us on Instagram or TikTok might have spotted the news already), but now that we’ve had time to settle into our new home, we thought we’d share a little more about what you can expect from Piglet in Bed in the ‘real world’.
First up, if you’re local to Harrogate or visiting the area, please pop in and say hello! You’ll find us at 36a James Street. We feel incredibly lucky to have so many wonderful customers who we get to engage with daily, and our team in Harrogate can’t wait to meet you in person.
Our first physical shop embodies everything our customers know and love about Piglet in Bed – our bold colours, patterns and prints; sustainably sourced natural materials; carefully curated homewares; and, of course, our sense of community.
If you’re walking down James Street, you won’t miss our beautiful blue shop front reflecting our playful Piglet character. For a bit of insider info: the building is part of a conservation area, so while our initial proposal of pink was rejected, we opted for the blue to be more in keeping with the look and feel of the area. As the saying goes, everything happens for a reason, and we think the blue looks even better. Planning was approved the day before we opened – talk about cutting it fine!
Our vision was to carry this boldness inside the store while still allowing the products to stand out. We added interest to the space with features like a fireplace, vintage cabinets, tiling and lime-wash effect walls at the rear of the building. During the shop-fit, we stripped back the previous wall panelling, revealing beautiful, textured wallpaper and a cute little alcove. We even restored some of the walls back to the original stonework, adding unique charm and texture.
We sourced most of the furniture and interior items from vintage websites, reclamation yards and antique stores, giving the store its own identity. You’ll also find a giant swatch board full of all our fabrics for you to use in-store and take away.
One of our favourite features of our Harrogate shop is the central dining table, where we can sit and spend time with our customers, with a coffee in hand, helping to choose colour combinations of bed linen and generally offering the best service we can (even if that means just having a good old natter!). We hope our store feels like a warm hug whenever you walk in.
Opening our first store was a real landmark moment for us, and we couldn’t be prouder of how it all came together. We have lots more exciting retail plans for 2024 - keep your eyes peeled for store number two coming soon!
