From Prada to Chapel Lane, Exciting New Independent Lifestyle and Gifting Shop Opening in Formby Village
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Formby Village is getting an exciting new independent shop this autumn, as Wrap and Joy prepares to open on Chapel Lane, in between the Barbers and Iceland.
The new lifestyle and gifting store is the creation of Liverpool paper artist and illustrator Ellen, who is taking the next big step in a journey that began simply through her love of beautiful gift wrapping, illustration and paper art.
What started as Ellen sharing her gift wrapping creations online has grown far beyond anything she originally imagined.
Her talent for paper artistry eventually caught the attention of luxury fashion house Prada, leading to opportunities to gift wrap in its London stores and work with the brand over a number of years.
At the same time, Ellen’s illustration work was developing. Her original designs began appearing on prints and greetings cards before expanding into a much wider collection including tea towels, scarves, scrunchies, oven gloves and gifts.
Wrap and Joy continued to grow through social media, markets and events, eventually gaining its first physical retail home at Red Brick Market in Liverpool, which will continue alongside the new Formby shop.
Now Ellen is preparing for her biggest chapter yet.
Together with her mum, she is opening her first fully independent lifestyle and gifting store in the heart of Formby Village.
The mother and daughter venture will bring together Ellen’s own Wrap and Joy collections with products from a carefully selected range of independent artists, designers, makers and small businesses from across the UK.
The aim is to create somewhere shoppers can discover gifts and products that are a little different, while also giving talented independent businesses another place to showcase their work.
And there are already some fantastic names confirmed for the shelves.
Ziggy & Simon will bring their colourful British made textile homewares, including table runners, placemats, coasters and cushions.
Edinburgh textile designer Jessica Turnbull will feature a collection of knitwear and homewares, including scarves, beanie hats, fingerless gloves, throws and cushions.
Liverpool favourite LEAF Tea Shop is also joining the line up, with loose leaf teas and glass teapots available in store.
There will be handcrafted ceramics from Calico Collective, founded by Charlotte and created in small batches at her Stockport studio.
Food lovers will also be able to discover products from award winning family business Spice Kitchen, founded by mother and son Shashi and Sanjay, with spices, flavours and foodie gifts forming part of the growing collection.
And this is only the beginning, with more independent brands and makers still to be revealed.
Ellen’s gift wrapping roots will remain an important part of the new business too, with an emphasis on making purchases and gifts feel that little bit more special.
Work on transforming the Chapel Lane premises officially began on 1st September while Ellen was away in Japan, with renovations now getting underway ahead of the opening.
The current target for the official launch is 3rd October, although Ellen hopes the shop could be ready to welcome customers sooner if the renovation and arrival of stock go to plan.
A special launch is also being planned, including an exciting collaboration with Jen from The Cookie Counter, with further details expected to be announced soon.
For Ellen, the opening represents the culmination of years spent designing, creating, wrapping, attending markets and steadily building an independent business from the ground up.
She said her biggest dream is now becoming a reality as she prepares to open the shop alongside her mum.
The arrival of Wrap and Joy is another exciting addition to Chapel Lane and Formby’s independent shopping scene, bringing a completely new collection of gifts, homewares, art, textiles, food and beautifully designed products into the village.
From an idea that started with paper and gift wrapping to working with Prada and now opening her own shop, it has been quite a journey.
Wrap and Joy is coming soon to Chapel Lane, Formby Village, next to Iceland, with the official launch currently planned for 3rd October.
We would like to wish Ellen, her mum and everyone involved with Wrap and Joy the very best of luck with this exciting new chapter. It is wonderful to see another independent business choosing Formby Village, and we look forward to seeing the doors open on Chapel Lane very soon.
Wrap & Joy
Artist - Ellen & Paper Artist & Illustrator
Homeware, accessories & curated goods
26a Chapel Lane,
Formby Village
Follow Ellen’s story on her Instagram page:
All photos used are credit to Wrap & Joy
.jpg)
Comments