We've been collecting ( ok hoarding!) letters for a while now, just waiting for the right eclectic mix of letters for our new sign.
We knew how we wanted it to look, it was in our minds-eye, but getting it up on the front of the shop hasn't happened until yesterday! Here it is, our new sign, we love it and we hope that you do too. Its eclectic, unusual, a bit different, just like the inside of our shop!
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This Saturday it's the 'Dickensian Leek Extravaganza'!
This sounds like the perfect way to spend the last Saturday before Christmas really getting into the Christmas spirit. Who can fail to see the heart warming side to Christmas in the fabulous atmosphere of our beautiful Market Town? If you still have tons of presents to buy (like me) then join me in refusing to get stressed out about it and have a chilled out meander around all the fabulous independant shops that Leek has to offer and you're bound to be inspired. Shun the stress of shopping centres and shop locally this Christmas. See you there? Debs x As per usual there is always something going on in Leek! Over the next few weeks there are lots of shopping evenings taking place and Alcove is excited to be a part of them. Coming up next is: This is a great opportunity to fit some Christmas Shopping into your busy schedule whilst raising money for Charity at the same time.
All of the participating shops are giving 10% of their proceeds on the night and selling raffle tickets for £1 a strip with a chance to win the fantastic prizes above, the money raised will go to the StaffordshireMoorlands First Responders so that's got to be win win?! See you there, we are open to 8pm ( and maybe longer) and I will be taking the kids to see Santa in his grotto! Debs x This October we moved Alcove to its new home at 15 Sheep market, Leek. It has been quite an undertaking transporting a shop jam packed with vintage items, doors, tables, cupboards, lighting and interiors amongst many, many other things from one town to another. Throw into the mix a couple of kids that need looking after, Alcove cupboards that are booked on and need installing, building jobs that Gary is committed to and a million other things and it has been a busy time! Well we can finally breathe a sigh of satisfied relief and say that it's all done ( well, we're not 100% but...never mind we're near as damnit!) and we are super duper happy in our new little shop. Our new shop seems more spacious and airy than our previous one and we've really enjoyed redesigning our displays like our glass frames which we've set up in a vintage wooden suitcase so they can be easily lusted over! We started painting the shop front the same colour as our old shop, 'Downpipe' by Farrow & Ball and then we made a spur of the moment decision and decided to do something a bit different and go for a teal colour ( 'Marine' by Little Greene, from Avenue Interiors just up the road) It's totally different but we love it!
We've had the windows in the shop sign written with the Alcove logo but we are still working on the main shop sign, as we're making the letters ourselves and we're really excited to unveil them, they're going to look really different ( in a good way we hope!) We've always been partial to a mooch around the shops in Leek ourselves. There is a fabulous selection of independent shops selling really unusual and gorgeous items, a great antiques market and a relaxed, chilled out vibe that is surely helped by the numerous coffee shops and artisan delis and bakerys. It also has a pioneering 'Totally Locally' campaign that works amazingly well at getting word out about all the fantastic things that Leek has to offer. It has also been very welcoming to us, thanks guys! The parking is ALOT cheaper than many other areas and it is free in many car parks after 3pm and on Sundays. Hope to see you soon and that you like our new shop as much as we do! Debs x We specialise in designing and fitting bespoke Alcove Cupboards.
As you can see on the alcove cupboard tab of our website, all of our Alcove cupboards are different, as they are designed to your exact specification. We all have different storage needs. Perhaps you have clutter that you need to be able to close a cupboard door on, or beautiful items that you would like to be displayed aesthetically. Perhaps like me you have a huge book collection and need beautiful bookshelves to keep them all? .Every available alcove in our house has an alcove cupboard, I just cannot bear to give books away that I have enjoyed and luckily Gary loves building cupboards!! For me though, the beauty of our alcove cupboards is that they look as if they belong to the house, that they have always been there. But they are not only beautiful, they are functional too. We have an Alcove cupboard in our living room to keep the Children's books and toys. The cupboard is at low level so they can acess it themselves, but when the little darlings are in bed the cupboard doors are closed and the room is tidy once more ( well, pretty much!) Here's the most recent installation that we've completed. This customer's beautiful dining room is really complemented by the double alcove cupboards. They chose to have the bottom shelf deeper than the other shelves in order to fit their beautiful vintage radios. We can't wait to see them filled! We often paint vintage chairs at Alcove, as we love the way they look great combined with pine chairs around a scrub-top table.
We have painted these in 'Mizzle' by Farrow & Ball which is a pale sage colour, but like all their colours it look different tones in different lights, which we love. We always have a stock of vintage chairs in and we can paint them in any colour you wish for you. Painted chairs are £50 each. We always use a dark grey undercoat and at least two coats of paint so that the chairs are hard-wearing. This also means that if they get scuffed/chipped a bit in everyday use it just adds to their charm and you don't need to be too precious with them. Being precious is not something that happens in the Alcove household! At Alcove one of our most popular services is restoring Period Doors. If you have beautiful period doors in your property that have been abused over the years with layers of paint, varnish or even stickers (!) then it makes a huge difference to the look of your home to give them some TLC! Beautifully restored period doors really add to the charm of your home, they can make your home seem more polished, or be the finishing touch to your period home. We dip the doors to remove the layers of paint, then sand and wax them. To make the process as fuss-free as possible we collect the doors, restore them and then deliver and re-hang them for you. We also have a stock of period doors, so if any of the doors in your home are not original and you'd like them all to match then give us a call or pop into our shop. In the photo below we have dipped a customer's existing seven doors and sourced a matching eighth door for them that matches the others. We are just about to sand and wax them all before they are delivered and re-hung. It really is amazing the transformation once they have been restored. Of course we're biased, but we just prefer their period beauty over modern doors any day!
We have just painted this beautiful cupboard for a customer.
It was already a nice pine cupboard but the customer had it in storage as it didn't suit her décor. She deliberated greatly over taking the plunge to paint it as she wanted it to look tasteful and not too 'shabby chic!' As she liked the way that we paint furniture she entrusted her beloved cupboard to us! She chose the shades of Farrow & Ball that she wanted as undercoat and the main colour and we collected, painted and delivered this back to her. She was very please with it, as were we. We just wish it was coming home to our house!! We've just had a delivery of these beautiful Table Lamps from Garden Trading.
Like all of their lighting they are lovely quality, the corded wire and adjustable raw oak bi-fold arm are just gorgeous and the colour of the powder-coated steel is spot on! There are some similar lights available on the high street but this one is leagues apart in looks and quality in my opinion. We've styled these lamps on the bedside tables in our own home. The tables are restored Victorian and the Bermondsey Lamp complements them perfectly, they'd be equally at home in a modern setting though, or a sitting room. I love versatile pieces that you know you will use forever as they'll always fit into your décor throughout the years. When purchasing new stock at Alcove we always stick to our mantra ' Would we have it in our home'? We only have items in the shop that we genuinely think are lovely, a bit different, and unique to what else is out there on the high street. We also try to stock items that fill a household gap! I have been looking for a nice Bath Caddy for our bathroom for years ( yes I am THAT sad!) and I just couldn't find one that I liked the look of and that was nice enough to fit in with the rest of our vintage vibe bathroom. So I was really excited to see this one. They are £39.95 at Alcove, and one is in our bathroom straight away! We have also just had a delivery of these Magazine Racks. They're made from white metal, Fairtrade and £19.95 each. I love the way that they're understated, they don't take up much room and your most recent magazines are there in easy reach for those rare moments of relaxation! They also fold away if need be when not in use .I think they'd go with all types of décor too. Finally, I was chuffed when I spotted these lovely Egg Baskets ( erm, perhaps I DO need to get out more?!)
Eggs should be ideally kept out of the fridge, but I had never found a holder that I liked. As soon as I spotted this one from Garden Trading it was straight into Alcove ( and on our kitchen counter too!) I love the way it is simple and looks great whilst being genuinely useful. Get your own for £15 at Alcove. |
AuthorGary, Owner and the dedication behind alcove Archives
May 2022
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