Why Shops Matter.

We love to celebrate physical stores (check out some of our recent Good People, Good Places journals), and the people who make shopping in real life more than just a transaction. For us it is real people, real conversations, and a sense of community that make a shop feel like a good place to be.

We asked Co-Founder David, our store teams and a few stockists to share why shopping “in real life” still matters.

Photographed above (bottom left): Jane and Nigel of Frontiers Woman and Frontiers Man

Luke, one of our Store Manager, shares what is important in creating a space people feel welcome to walk into.

“Having a physical space allows you to immerse yourself in a brand. It’s not just the product, it’s how it’s set out, it’s the staff, it’s the music that’s playing, it’s the incense that’s burning. It’s all the senses. You can touch the fabric, you can try things on, you can speak to other customers and speak to us, we can help you and guide you... Not in a pushy way!”

Whether you have come in for a chin wag (we will make you a brew if you ask nicely) or a friendly styling suggestion, we are here to help.

If you put a shirt on, and you ask us for advice, we will always be honest, whether you like it or not! We think you’d rather leave knowing the shirt looks good or leave without it knowing you got honest advice.”—Frankie, UW Store Manager.

Derryl, one of our Assistant Store Managers, adds, “It’s about saying maybe try this size or maybe try this style. So, when they are leaving, they look good. The last thing we want is customers to not feel comfortable in what they’re wearing.”

Image above (bottom) from L'armoire de Marcel

Meshach, an Assistant Store Manager, tells us: “We aren’t trying to rush people in; we aren’t trying to rush people out. We can walk you through everything. You can touch the fabrics, you can see what they look like next to other fabrics. In a photo, you can see what pieces look like, but you aren’t going to know what they feel like. We aren't here to give you a hard pitch; we are here to offer you some clothes that we really love and that we would love you to have in your wardrobe.”

Photographed above: Alfie, Ago and Elena of Universal Works and Trueffelschwein

David sums up why less is more when it comes to what we stock in our stores and what our stockists choose to carry.

“Walking into a good store is a little bit like going to a good restaurant. You want it to be a limited menu because you want someone to have curated those things for you to show you the things that are good. You've got every single choice in the world from all the stores, from all the brands. Sometimes you want someone to help you break that down a little and curate it for you.”

Max, Founder at L'Armoire de Marcel, agrees from a stockist's point of view. “For us, it's not just about buying and selling, it's about sharing, connecting, and finding products that speak to us, and our customers.” 

Image above from Family 3.0

Photographed above (bottom image): Stefano of Paris Oracle

Jean-Marc Salemi, Founder of Hoot in Switzerland, says, “Stores are a place for sharing; they are not only places of sale, they also evolve into meeting places.” He tells us that one customer even travels from France to Switzerland to buy from his store. That’s dedication.
 
We choose our store locations in places that we feel have a strong sense of community, an important part of what it means to be Universal Works.

Universal Works stores sit within real communities in London and Nottingham. So this weekend (28, 29 and 30 November) we will donate all net profits from our store sales to two local charities, split between Emmanuel House in Nottingham and New Horizon Youth Centre in London. Both sit less than two miles from a UW store and support people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.