Smithers of Stamford to open their first town centre shop in Broad Street so have a look inside!
Smithers of Stamford is due to open their first town centre store this week.
The six year-old business, which currently sells over the internet, has taken large premises at 6-8 Broad Street, which previously contained the Pear Tree Bar Restaurant.
The Etton-based venture owned by Nick Smith and partner Emma Smith specialises in an eclectic mix of furniture and homeware made out of salavaged materials such as old jeeps and tractors.
The couple also offer items including drum stools, jam jar pedant lights, vintage station clocks, and they report celebrity customers.
Through their website and strong social media presence, Smithers of Stamford reports customers including Hollywood actress Kirsten Stewart, ex-professional footballer Djibril Cisse, Torchwood star John Barrowman and musician Steven Taylor from Aerosmith, plus others they cannot divulge.
Nick, who was born and raised in Stamford, decided to launch the business after struggling to find good quality designer furniture on the High Street.
Inspired by old retro clothing, old lambrettas and the eclectic markets of Carnaby Street and Brick Lane, Smithers of Stamford promises a distinctive presence on Broad Street.
The store was due open today (Wednesday), but a vandal smashing a window at the premises has delayed preparations and may now mean a 'soft' launch tomorrow or Friday. The 'official' launch is Saturday.
Nick explained: "I have had an online business for six years. I travel around the world looking for products. We mainly do upcycling and recycling."
The 49-year-old says business has been doing well and he wanted to open a physical shop.
He continued: "I was just talking to the landlord Nick Pistolas and he offered me the whole building."
"We had a showroom before at the headquarters. That will be staying. That's where we do our bigger items and ship a lot of stuff to the USA. We crate it all up and send it to anywhere in the world.
"Business is good. I think it's because our product is diverse. We do a lot of reclaim. We do a lot of gifts now which keeps the business afloat.
"The main aim of the shop in Stamford is to sell gifts you cannot get anywhere else."
They also include table lamps, wall signage, tin robots and retro ornament figures.
Nick added he plans to open another store in Cambridge in a year or so, assuming everything goes well.
And with Emma recalling some very important customers, she added of their new store: "Given our client base, you don't know who you might bump into shopping in here."
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