Orkney jewellery designer Sheila Fleet OBE is set to open a stunning new shop within Glasgow’s award-winning retail and leisure destination, Princes Square, this week.
The new store, which opens on Friday (5 April), promises customers a unique retail experience, one reflecting the jewellery designer’s island homeland and the themes that define her work.
Months in planning and development, the shop – situated on the first floor of Princes Square – has been fitted out to an exceptionally high standard, with the textures, shapes and colours of the Orkney sea, sky and land providing inspiration for the interior design.
Work on the new store has been overseen by Sheila Fleet, her son Martin and his wife Mairi, with Orcadian artist and interior designer, Marion Yorston, helping transform the vision for the space into a reality.
Sheila said: ‘Princes Square is a beautiful boutique shopping centre and we’ve long aspired to have a presence there as retail is a critical element of what we do. In 2018, after a very busy few years developing our new Kirk Gallery shop and café in Orkney, we finally got the opportunity to take up a space within the centre that we felt would work well for us and give us scope to do something really special for our Glasgow customers.’
Curved walls, pebble shapes and colours, seaweed sculptures, wave elements and curtains of light are just some of the features visitors to the shop can expect to see.
The shop fit has been undertaken by Watts Design, with Ratho Byres Forge creating the unique sculptural displays.
The new 71 sq. metres boutique will join other high-quality brands in Princes Square, including Kate Spade New York, Vivienne Westwood, Space NK, Reiss, Karen Millen and COS.
Sheila added: ‘“We’ve sought to take a little piece of Orkney to Glasgow and tell the story of the islands through the amazing interior of the shop, the displays and the jewellery itself, which is all inspired by the sea, sky, landscape and history that surrounds us in Orkney. We think the end result is truly remarkable and can’t wait to share it with everyone.’
In addition to showcasing Sheila Fleet’s many collections, the new shop will feature some very special jewellery that’s been created using rare Scottish gold. Sheila Fleet is one of only two jewellers authorised to receive gold from Scotland’s only gold mine, at Cononish near Tyndrum, so this unique range is sure to be an additional draw for Glasgow customers.
Martin Fleet added: ‘This new venture has been exciting and creative for everyone involved. We feel it really raises the bar on everything we’ve done to date and we hope it’ll prove to be an unforgettable retail experience for our customers. And, who knows, perhaps it’ll encourage more people to visit Orkney too.’
Andrew Foulds, portfolio director for Redevco (owners of Princes Square) said: ‘Sheila Fleet has an outstanding reputation for stunning jewellery inspired by the beautiful islands of Orkney and built up over more than 50 years. Princes Square is well known for being home to high-quality design and fashion, so Sheila Fleet will fit perfectly with our retail mix and we know that people will travel to visit her first shop in Glasgow and the west of Scotland.’
Princes Square provides a shopping haven to lovers of high street and designer fashion, beauty, jewellery, homewares and lifestyle brands, while its wide range of bars, restaurants and cafes offers something for every palate.
Princes Square was named as Scotland’s Favourite Building in a public vote held by the Royal Incorporation of Architects, as part of the RIAS’s Festival of Architecture 2016, recognising Scotland’s Top 100 buildings from 1916 to 2015.
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