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06
Aug
Decades-old Harrogate shop to relaunch under new ownership
A shop that has been a fixture of Harrogate’s town centre for nearly half a century has been bought by a consortium of North Yorkshire entrepreneurs.
The group is currently refurbishing White Rose, the sewing machine retailer on Commercial Street, with a view to relaunching the business next month.
Their plan is to build a national repair and service centre from the White Rose platform, riding the current wave of enthusiasm for making, upcycling and repurposing clothes.
The trend has been boosted by the BBC's hugely popular programme The Great British Sewing Bee, which has just started its 11th series, as well as by online second-hand clothes websites such as Vinted.
Veteran sewing machine technician Mark Wilson, who founded North Yorkshire Sewing Machines, has joined the White Rose team as a director.
Mr Wilson said:
Having spent over four decades in the sewing machine industry, I am very excited to be joining the 'Vinted' movement from a retail perspective.
More and more sustainability-conscious people are looking to alter and repair their clothes rather than discard them prematurely, fighting to reduce a staggering 12 million items a week going into landfill.
It would appear that the recent fad for fast fashion is at last over and that has got to be a good thing from every perspective. I am a Halifax-born textile man and it’s good to see aspects of the clothing industry starting to turn full circle.
White Rose on Commercial Street in Harrogate.
Mr Wilson started his career as an apprentice with Yorkshire garment manufacturing giant SR Gent plc, which was then a major clothing supplier to Marks and Spencer, and has been involved in every aspect of the industry.
He says he is keen to raise standards both regionally and nationally in terms of the quality of machine repairs and servicing.
He said:
There are around one thousand moving parts in a typical sewing machine and, however little or much it is used, it needs servicing every year – not least as no machine is self-oiling and that should be done by a specialist engineer to ensure long life. If you don't top up the oil in your car engine, you know what happens.
White Rose services and repairs industrial and domestic sewing machines and has long-standing contracts with many schools for annual servicing.
The relaunched business will sell a brand new range of machines from market leaders Brother, Juki and Bernina, with prices ranging from £100 to £10,000. The company is also recruiting for new staff.
Home sewing has enjoyed an increase in popularity over the last decade as ever more people try to cut down on waste and enjoy the creative challenge of designing and making their own clothes.
The BBC’s The Great British Sewing Bee attracts an average of 4.8 million viewers a week, making it one of the UK's Top 10 most watched TV programmes. The final itself usually attracts an audience of over 6 million.
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