The Guild (Dumfries) CIC are thrilled to announce that they have secured a pop-up shop in Dumfries Town Centre. For the first 2 weeks in August, The Guild are proposing to take over the former Body Shop premises in The Loreburne Centre and giving customers a taste of how The Guild will look and feel. Customers will be able to buy a wide range of beautifully designed, handmade artisan gifts, local food and beverages, jewellery, pottery and much more.
The Guild will be using this opportunity to engage with the public and gather feedback and opinions for their proposed collective, creative retail space in the heart of Dumfries Town Centre. They will also be hosting a programme of creative workshops, working with other businesses within the Town Centre, with an aim of increasing footfall and creating a buzz of excitement throughout the town.
Director, Leah Halliday says, “We are delighted to have secured a pop-up shop in The Loreburne Centre and we want to thank them for their support. This property occupies a prime location within the town centre and is close to the entrance of the Loreburne Shopping Centre, lots of potential customers will pass the shopfront.”
The Guild’s ambitious plans are to develop a community space that will offer multiple, affordable rentable concessions in their shop, have both studio and workshop space, meeting rooms, a venue for exhibitions and events plus a community kitchen. These will be available to rent to a community of makers, a variety of local groups, businesses and organisations, offering a central place where people can meet, work, create and collaborate, with a strong ethos of encouraging participation & social inclusion.
Fellow Director, Kirsten Scott added, “We can’t wait to throw open the doors of our shop and showcase talented makers, designers, producers and indie biz owners. It will be a one stop shop for all things beautiful, unusual and handmade. A place where customers can purchase covetable products they might not find elsewhere in the town and they’ll also be happy in the knowledge that they are buying directly from local makers.”
The Guild Pop Up is no ordinary shop though. As a social enterprise any profit generated from this project, after covering running costs and overheads, will be reinvested in the business and towards its social aims. The Guild hopes to create a positive social impact and develop the types of facilities, projects, events, activities and opportunities the local community and town needs.
“We are really looking forward to working with our community of makers, to create an experiential shop for just two weeks. We want to nurture and grow the partnerships we have already made at our previous events and share the idea of our community space to the people of Dumfries. We can’t wait to use this as a platform to share our vision of our permanent indoor community space and talk to the community about our ideas. Customers can also get involved; we’ll be encouraging them to engage with their creative sides.”
A programme of events, live installations, talks, tastings and workshops are planned during the two-week period also.
So, if you’re a maker, designer. artist, producer or indie business owner and are keen to find new ways to get your products in front of new customers in a prime location then apply today. The deadline for applications is the 12th May at midnight. The Guild are keen to collaborate with makers from across the region & beyond and strive to create an exciting and innovative experiential pop up shop. Further details, application forms and full Terms and Conditions can be found on their website at https://www.theguilddumfries.org/pages/the-guild-pop-up-shop
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