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Wednesday, 15 October 2014

Cowbridge Fashion Week with Goose Island

The Cowbridge Fashion week is certainly an annual date for the diary, and the team at Goose Island is looking forward to participating in this exciting event yet again this year.

The high street fashion scene in Cowbridge is a collection of unique and diverse stores that all offer a little something special; helping to elevate the shopping experience above what you would normally encounter. The independent brands offer a range of women’s and men’s clothing, footwear, accessories, jewellery, and even children’s wear.

To celebrate the wealth of fashion and style available in this South Wales town, Cowbridge hosts three days of exciting fashion events every year. This year, the celebrations are sponsored by WM magazine and start on Wednesday October 22nd, including fashion shows, champagne, late night shopping, and lunch at the Bear Hotel.


On Wednesday October 22nd, the champagne trail will begin. All the fashion shops in Cowbridge will be open until late, including Goose Island. On the night we will be showcasing our new products ready for the autumn season, and we will be offering 10% off everything, along with homemade brownies and a glass of champagne for all our customers. During the evening, we will also be announcing the winner of our monthly prize draw. Have you filled out a feedback form in store? Pop in to Goose Island on October 22nd to find out if you are the lucky winner of one of our fabulous handbags.

On Thursday October 23rd, Goose Island will also be taking part in the Cowbridge fashion show in aid of Velindre cancer centre. The fashion show will begin at 7pm in The Bear Hotel, and tickets are available for £15 from Lynne Beresford at Ushi’s, which is located at 44 High Street in Cowbridge. You can also call 01446 773552 for tickets.


On the last day of the fashion celebrations, October 24th, there will be a grand lunch and another fashion show held at The Bear Hotel at 12pm, which will be aid of Ty Hapus. Goose Island will be part of the celebrations as we showcase our new and most popular styles and products in the fashion show. Tickets are available for £29.95 from Esther Hitchcock at Jon Ian at 16 High Street in Cowbridge, and you can also call 01446 775226.

This fashion celebration grows bigger every year, and Goose Island are proud to be a part of something that recognises the hard work of all the fashion stores in area, dressing South Wales in elegant and classical styles.

Judi Dench visits Goose Island!

Academy award winner Dame Judi Dench, famous for her roles as M in James Bond films, as well as her recent role in Philomena, paid a visit to Cowbridge today.

Goose Island was honoured and delighted to welcome the beloved British actress in to our store. Dame Judi was truly lovely, and spent some time chatting to our staff and trying on a few items. Dame Judi was also extremely complimentary about our store, commenting particularly on our Italian dresses, and telling us how her daughter would have also loved them, as it was very in-keeping with her style!

Dame Judi mentioned that she was filming in the area, and had popped in to Cowbridge town as it was nearby. She also paid a visit to The Bear Hotel afterwards.

All of our staff were over the moon to meet such a icon of British film. One of our staff, Jess, even managed to sneak in a selfie - see below.

Visit our Facebook page to see the original post about the visit!


Monday, 6 October 2014

Karen's Italian Fashion Trip



During her latest fashion buying trip to Italy, Karen managed to take some time out to explore the countryside, which included cycling the cobbled streets of some picturesque local villages (and helping herself to some fresh lemons for her G & T from the hotel grounds).


 It all sounds fabulous fun and more like a holiday than a fashion buying trip. But the reality is far from the glamorous and glitzy image people have of fashion buying.

The challenges are continuous. Not only is Karen constantly searching for the best fashion designs to meet the demands of her customers, but she is committed to visiting suppliers herself to ensure the quality of the fabric and finishing meet her stringent standards.

At the moment, she is travelling to Italy on a regular basis to source top quality Italian designs for the many wholesale customers they supply throughout the UK and Europe, as well as to stock both of her boutiques and online shop. These buying trips are essential to enable Goose Island to be able to offer customers an eclectic range of seasonal clothing which is genuinely ‘Made in Italy’.


 Her day starts early to ensure she is able to oversee the selection of fabrics and ensure patterns and production is set up is correctly. Italy is considered to be the stronghold of the Italian textile industry and, when she’s there, Karen spends her days from 9.00 am to 8.30 pm, viewing designs, negotiating on prices, and placing orders.

To put this task into perspective, Goose Island is working with many manufacturers in Northern Italy where the factories are spread over a vast area which involves a lot of driving time and, of course, this makes Karen’s task to find the right products for her brand a huge challenge. Whether it is knitwear, which will include the very popular shirt/jumper, layered tunics, dresses, or tops, she has to spend hours visiting each different manufacturer to find just the right styles and colours.  She also has to organise the shipping and delivery to the UK within the tightest deadlines.

So bearing all of this in mind, Karen has earned her time out on her recent trip, and her G & T on the hotel veranda. Chin Chin!

Thursday, 18 September 2014

Celebrating over 20 years in business



GOOSE ISLAND CELEBRATE OVER 20 YEARS IN BUSINESS

GooseIsland derives its name from its location in the picturesque Swansea Marina where the company was set up. Karen Hutchings used her own creative talents to transform the rich traditional design heritage of the Far East into fashionable clothing, jewellery and accessories. From modest beginnings, selling through parties and craft fairs, Goose Island has grown into a well-established retail and wholesale company exporting all over the world.


GooseIsland has been trading since 1993 and currently has successful retail outlets in Cowbridge and Mumbles together with a warehouse and offices in Swansea and a retail and trade website. Goose Island supplies retail outlets throughout the UK and Europe on a wholesale basis. The clothing is manufactured in Indonesia, India and the EU and imported into the UK on a regular basis and Goose Island has now become a recognised brand throughout the UK and Europe.


In 2013 Goose Island won the prestigious award for


Best Welsh Fashion Business at the Vale Hotel in Cardiff. 


Here's to the next 20 years! x

Friday, 5 September 2014

Congratulations to Helen!

CONGRATULATIONS TO HELEN AT GOOSE ISLAND HQ

Helen has just been nominated and shortlisted for a prestigious award in the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport. We are very excited that Helen is a finalist for the Apprenticeship Award, Young Achiever of the year!

Yesterday a film crew arrived at our Head Office to film Helen and here are some photos of her being interviewed.

Helen has been working for Goose Island for a year and has put her Textile Degree to good use by assisting our design and buying team both in Swansea and Italy.  She also assists with photo shoots and on top of that she travels 80 miles a day from her home in Blackwood, Gwent to work in Swansea.

We're all looking forward to the Awards Ceremony on October 31st and will keep you posted with the results.  

   

Good luck to Helen! x