Spotlight On Blessed

This time the Spotlight is On Blessed, a luxury label ladies clothing boutique that has stores in Newark, Oakham and Rutland. Blessed is owned by the glamorous Carly who has always had a passion for fashion. After securing a Retail Fashion Diploma and whilst working as a store manager for another ladies boutique she quickly discovered that her dream was to open a fashion store of her own. And thus, Blessed was born.   Carly   Carly spoke to us about what she had in mind when she opened her doors two years ago; “When opening my store in Newark, I wanted to create a shop that was different to anything else in the area. I knew I wanted to open a destination shop in a building with character. When we found Warwick Brewery, an old Brewery Building, I knew it would be perfect. It was an empty shell that let me make the most of my creative skills and imagination in order to make Blessed look and feel fantastic. The Newark store has a very modern look with a luxurious twist. Using the exposed brick work and warehouse feel as inspiration, I designed a store that looked worlds apart from anything else in the area. Blessed Newark really does give the WOW factor. Our other two stores in Oakham and Lincoln have a more minimalistic feel. We wanted to create that airy, clean, sharp look with white oak flooring, distressed wood furniture and animal fur accessories which gives the impression of a Scandinavian store. But most of all I wanted to create a space for shoppers to feel relaxed welcomed and appreciated. Giving personal service and advice to everyone that stepped through the door.”       Blessed makes sure it stands out from the crowd by stocking brands that are usually exclusive to big cities or London which helps its customers to feel like they are buying products that are unique and special. And also by treating every single one of their customers like VIPs, even the men that are usually dragged along! “We know it’s important to keep the men happy!” mentions Carly. As well as making sure the customer service is second to none, Carly makes sure Blessed is a one-stop-shop that caters for a wide audience; “I don’t think we need specialist stores as much these days! It’s nice to have a favourite store that you can go to for loungewear, footwear, occasion wear and work wear. It’s great that we have mums, daughters, grandmothers that are all able to shop here! We have loyal customers both in their 20’s and their 70’s.” We asked Carly about her favourite items in the store; “Well firstly I would like to mention the AMAZING Cocorose, which is still one of our best sellers! We honestly have customers on our database that like to know the moment we get new stock in so that they can come and buy their favourites before it's too late. All of our staff, myself and every member of the family love to wear Cocoroses and they are a favourite brand for Blessed. Whether I’m travelling to London to use them on the tube or driving my car or on a girls night out, I always make sure that I Cocorose It!" "Another favourite item at the moment is our new accessory, the Spirithood. Spirithood is an LA company that have designed hooded capes in the style of animal skins. From Jack Rabbit to Red fox to Leopard. They’re great for a really quirky look. There are even hoods with built-in headphones that you can connect to your MP3 player. Those have been popular with the teenagers and customers off on skiing holidays! The company also gives 10% off their profits on each order to an animal welfare charity.”  

As Carly is such a Cocorose fan herself, we asked her which her favourite pair were; “My absolute favourite has to be The Buckingham Champagne. I have two pairs and I wear them all through the summer and they always come with me on my night out as they keep my outfit looking special. I haven’t found anything in my wardrobe they don’t go with!” Finally, we asked Carly about her choice of essentials for next season; 'Anything with bold and bright colours. By Malene Birger has created a stunning collection with pieces such as bright orange pencil skirts that are teamed with cream and fushia pink tops – I love it! I think the Cocorose London ‘Kew’ pumps fit perfectly with this trend and will be a great seller!”. Cocorose London would like to say a huge thank you to Carly for taking the time to answer our questions and for giving us an insight into her lovely store. If you would like to visit Blessed then you can find them at – Blessed Fashions, Northgate, Newark Upon Trent, Nottingham, NG24 1TL   Or contact them – Newark store: 01636 703052 Lincoln store: 01522 589044 Oakham: 01572 757088 E-mail blessedfashions@hotmail.co.uk www.blessed-fashions.com

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