Surrey Homes | SH37 | November 2017 | Gift supplement inside

This page: Strategically placed mirrors illuminate the potentially light-starved staircase that leads down to the stockroom in
the basement
regularly refreshing the theme. The window display is
changed once a month and the Christmas window is
becoming an eagerly anticipated treat. David clearly
enjoys this creative aspect of the job. “The Christmas
display has been planned for months,” he says with glee.
“We have all heard that retail is detail, but it is also
about a sense of style and having a clear vision of the
business and its direction. It’s not about commodities,”
he says. I suspect he’s aware of the irony; the house
and shop are packed full of commodities. But it’s not
just stuff; everything in the house has memory and
meaning and David is also careful about what he buys
for the shop. “We sell things we would buy as gifts for
friends or family.” And that never stands still. “I had
particular friends in mind to buy for – and now I have
new friends, so the shop has evolved. New things came
– toys for children, things that last – nothing to do
with fashion or trends,” he says, adding, “some people
really surprise me, some spend a lot of money and you
don’t think they will. People buy from the shelves –
and they form emotional attachment to things,” says
David (I can hear those Moomin plates calling me).
As we sit in the colourful cosy kitchen behind the shop,
painted a cheerful primrose yellow, (“all kitchens should
be yellow,” declares David), I admire the collection of
blue and white china and the way that items originally
from the shop mingle happily with their other
possessions. The atmospheric music comes drifting
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