It all started in January 2021. It was meant to be only a small painting job, but then it became a much larger project. Sofia Barbosa, our Lambeth Director, was trying to find new ways to keep our Companions busy during the lockdown. A number of them did not want to be stuck in their room, they wanted to do something meaningful with their time.
Two of our Companions then started to repaint our Boutique shop. The original plan was to just paint the walls, but then Sofia thought of making some small changes around the shop itself. The lockdown was a good opportunity to make all the changes Sofia had been considering to make for a really long time.
After painting the walls, people asked for more stuff to do, and Sofia realised that giving our Boutique a makeover was definitely a good plan.
Sofia and the Companions kept having new ideas, day after day, on how to make the shop better.
After that, everything started developing.
They painted the shelving unit white to make sure it would match the rest of the decor. They made a second till area within the retail space, and enhanced the original one with a wooden surround.
Our Companions and staff members worked together as a team: they got different ideas together, and they would come up with new ideas every day.
Before January, we did not have enough space in our 9 Knights Hill shop for bringing out more clothes for customers, but we have now transferred our clothing shop to the Boutique, to give people even more variety. We have new stock daily, thanks to the extra retail space we now have.
Here are some before/after photos:
Meanwhile, our 9 Knights Hill shop now has a new theme. It has a good selection of preloved items, small electrical items, household goods, furniture, CDs and DVDs.
Our Emmaus Lambeth Boutique can be accessed from either Knights Hill, or Beadman Street.
We have a wide selection of unique clothes, homeware, beds, linens, books, pictures, and all sorts of interesting and unusual items for sale at bargain prices. Please do come and have a rummage!
📌Emmaus Lambeth – Knights Hill Boutique 9 Beadman Street, West Norwood SE27 0DN