Two new stores to open soon at shopping centre
TWO local businesses will be opening rent-free shops at Derby’s biggest shopping centre soon after winning an annual competition.
Jewellery designer-maker Eve Coff Creates and family claymodelling workshop Jumping CLAY have won six weeks of free retail space at the Derby Centre, formerly Intu Derby.
The winners of the competition, running for a second year thanks to the centre’s involvement in a national retail initiative called Hatch, were decided after a pitch process last month.
Eve, who left university this summer, founded Eve Coff Creates, which specialises in handcrafted, sustainably sourced resin jewellery. She will join the centre in November, offering visitors the chance to buy a unique, hand-made piece of jewellery this Christmas.
Jumping CLAY provides family workshop experiences, with a focus on learning through play, as well as selling modelling kits. The business already has a workshop elsewhere in the city, trading from Markeat on Park’s Craft Village.
Run by Derbyshire locals Katie Rogers and Sarah Walters, the new store will provide families with a place to make things such as dinosaurs to butterflies in multi-coloured clay.
Two of last year’s winners, gift and homeware store Design 44, and doughnut firm Project D, decided to stay open at the centre beyond the initial six-week period.
Adam Tamsett, general manager at the Derby Centre said: “We had such success with the Hatch initiative last year, we were certain that we wanted to bring it back again and support more local businesses, giving them the opportunity to grow in Derby’s premium shopping destination.
“Eve truly represents what the competition is all about, we wanted to support her aspiring start-up business and offer her a space to operate and sell from in the lead up to Christmas.
“The JumpingCLAY team really impressed us with their experience at their existing location at Markeaton Park and we feel that their store will bring something new and exciting into the centre, where families can join a workshop to learn a crafty new skill as well as buying kits so they can keep on having fun at home.
“The Hatch initiative is a great way for small, growing brands to introduce themselves to visitors to the Derby Centre and we look forward to welcoming them soon.”