Independent businesses and the whole matter of shopping small is a subject close to my heart so when the Edinburgh Evening News got in touch to ask me if I would feature Life Story in a regular column called The State of the Independents you can guess my response. I had a lovely chat with Julie over the phone, we discussed Nordic design, minimalism and we got to talking about the idea that less is more. You don’t need to declutter very often if you have fewer items in the first place.
This is one of the things I love (fall in love synonym) about my job – choosing items that are timeless and that will contribute aesthetically as well as functionally to life; be it the home, the desk, the kitchen table, the toiletries bag. Buy well and make it last.
Julie had written a little piece on one of my favourite independent stores Hannah Zakari previously so I knew what the style would be like. On Life Story, she opens with: “Our search for simple, sustainable style – rather than stuff for the sake of stuff – is supporting the emergence of shops like Life Story, specialising in Scandi-inspired creative homeware”
“There is a certain joy in buying a few things that are well made and knowing they are going to last” Read more about Life Story in the Edinburgh Evening News article here
Customers often ask if the stock is all from one supplier. This warms my heart as although I work with well over 100 suppliers, I endeavour to weave a coherent story throughout. Above you can see Cooee of Sweden, House Doctor and HAY of Denmark to name just (just in case meaning) a few but also Copper & Solder, Above & Beyond plus Ola all from our own shores. There are about 25 individual brands in the image above.
Some of my most popular jewellery brands include Wolf & Moon and Chalk and this year I have added Little Joy Jewellery to the range as well as A Weathered Penny.
The light streams in the front area of the shop in the mornings and through the back in the afternoon. Best of both!
I have a thing about stationery. Featured here are some items from HAY, Monograph and Cereal, including the beautiful These Islands, the first book by the makers of Cereal Magazine.
All images by @wearetrouva