We take a look in Eclectica in Ludlow, where if you want something a bit different, clothes, shoes, a bit of bling they have plenty. They even have a mens section too.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00We are here in Ludlow at Independent Trader Eclectica. Hello Jodie. Hello. So tell us
00:10about Eclectica. What do you sell, what do you do, what's the shop's ethos? Well as the
00:16name suggests we stock an eclectic mix of women's wear, so clothing, accessories,
00:24anything you might need to make a gorgeous outfit and we've been trading
00:28now for about nine, actually it'll be nine years November, and over the time we've
00:32started to expand a little bit on our menswear, so there's some really
00:37beautiful pieces from Dezegual and Orientique, we've also added a couple of
00:42new brands this year, BU and Access, which are just fabulous, so if you haven't come
00:46and had a look please do. That's great, I'm just making a mental note that I've
00:50been pronouncing Dezegual wrong here for years. They've done a really big promotion recently,
00:56my Spanish accent is Dezegual. Right, cool, it's not Dezegual.
01:03We have one lovely customer who can't pronounce it, she calls it Dezegual. But yes, it literally translates to
01:08not equal, Dezegual. Ah, okay, great stuff, I like that. So what's kind of your customer base?
01:15Have you got a solid kind of local base or is it a lot of tourists? How's it work?
01:20We're really fortunate here in Ledlow, the local residents, myself included, are really
01:25passionate about our independent high street, we've got a really nice mix of
01:29independents and chains, it really works, and of course we have the fabulous market,
01:32so we have our regulars, but we are supported by and do need the tourist
01:39trade, and we get local bus companies that come in, you know, day trippers to
01:44those that are coming for weekends and longer stays, so it's a really nice balance.
01:48And with what's going on in the town, kind of, because it's, to those in the know, it's
01:55on the national radar, but I'm sure as a trader you'd always welcome more and more
02:01people coming, do you feel it's kind of getting, you know, with the concerts and
02:05that, the castle, that can only be a good thing for traders, can it?
02:07Oh my gosh, you know, there is something going on every month, if not every week,
02:10here in Ledlow, so I generally think there is something for everyone, from the
02:14amazing headline acts that the castle are bringing here, they're also doing the
02:18outdoor cinema over the summer, but of course we've got the food festival, which
02:21everybody knows and loves, we have a winter festival at the end of November
02:26to sort of spark the Christmas season, we have the assembly rooms, so there's cinema,
02:31there's theatre, there's live music down at the brewery, I mean there is always
02:34something going on. It's great isn't it? So yes, I think, you know, we historically have
02:39been a sort of stopping point to those going to Wales, but we are a destination in
02:42ourselves now. So what, a little bit about yourself, so before you were doing this nine years ago,
02:47what were you up to? So I'm like an awful lot of people in Ludlow, because it's a market town,
02:53I'm in Lewis, so I went to university in London and I didn't leave, so I bought my career in publishing down there,
03:02and a pin in a map moved me to this part of the world, and I haven't regretted that move,
03:10I think the skills that I learned in publishing, so design, commissioning photo shoots, all of that,
03:16really do translate to this role.
03:19It's great, well it's a beautiful looking shop. So there's a couple of interesting bits of
03:25jewellery here, just talk us through what they're made of.
03:27Yeah, so one of the things we like to do is support local makers, so this is a lady called Lynn,
03:32her business is called Unearthed, and she finds bits of pottery here in Ludlow,
03:37and turns them into amazing gorgeous pieces of jewellery. So we've got earrings, necklaces, rings.
03:45And what about this glass that's from the river team?
03:48Yeah, so she, you know like you do with the sea glass, you find bits of bottle and things
03:54that have ended up in the river, so she works with it in the same way, so you just get really
03:59remarkable colours. So if I was going to say right, pick two items that you yourself would
04:06be taking home, if you were shopping today. What would you be picking, go on, show us.
04:11There's already a couple of pieces, so this suit, the cherries, I just adore, because it's
04:16clothes that make you smile, and I think if you want something a little bit more chic, if
04:23you've got a wedding or something coming up, something from our new range, which is
04:28a gel, stands for angel, that is a stunning dress, you can just see the details.
04:33Great stuff. Well thank you Jodie, and good luck
04:36in future business. Thank you. Thank you very much.
04:39Thank you very much.