When Susan set up Mill House Millinery in the Pop-Up Shop on the High Street, she wasn’t sure what to expect. After her three week stay, she was overwhelmed by the response from the town.
“I have been completely amazed by the interest.” Susan says. “So many people have come in simply because they were intrigued by the window display.”
That curiosity has turned into something much bigger than footfall. “I’ve had wonderful conversations, shared hat stories and just generally chatted,” she explains. “I’m loving sharing the tools and materials and seeing people’s faces as I explain how they are used.”
A shop with something for everyone
Being in the shop for three weeks, Susan has given her visitors the chance to:
- Try on hats
- Watch hats being made
- Try making something themselves
- Browse millinery materials
- Buy finished work
- Discover preloved and upcycled hats
- Contribute to a community project
Vintage and preloved pieces have proved particularly popular, plus Susan offered a repair service too. “The vintage and preloved pieces proved to been popular. I also had time to repair and retrim hats that needed a little care and attention.”
“I was also able to turn round some simple fascinators in bespoke colours in under a day, meaning that people who had made last minute changes to their July Festival Outfits could then a complementary headpiece.”
Wonderful workshops
The Pop-Up shop space encouraged Susan to her first workshops in Newmarket. “I put together some small beginner-friendly millinery workshops, which proved to be very popular. We made feathered and Sinamay fascinators. Being able to offer space for small groups to work together made the workshop relaxed, hands-on and great fun.”
Susan also had some ‘one to one’ sessions, where attendees came with their own specific items they wanted to make, these included a hat for Goodwood festival, a ‘mother of the groom’ hat and a mid sized top hat. One fascinator workshop attendee came back the following week and made her very own waterlily inspired hat.
A High Street effort
Susan’s success has been helped along by other local businesses and organisations.
The Sourdough Hub, based next door, provided food for workshop attendees. Susan is now planning a hat inspired by their patisserie. No 55, a nearby women’s wear boutique have their own in house milliner, By Hannah, but instead of being competition, Hannah came along and met with Susan a couple of times, and they each referred people to each other as they knew what each other hat in stock. Local charity, Newmarket Nexus supported the project with the offer of furniture and fittings for the space, and Susan got customers in the shop to make a flower which then became part of a community hat which she has donated to Nexus.
And Sew We Begin was a lifeline when Susan needed to match thread to a bespoke creation. She was also able to retrim a hat for a customer enroute to the July Festival after they had purchased ribbon from And Sew We Begin and then made their way down the High Street to get to the racecourse.
Susan also appreciated the support of the local crafting community – the Wednesday night before Ladies Day she went to the ‘Craft In Company’ meeting at The White Hart in Newmarket to destress and have a creative chat before returning to her sewing. .
The Pop-Up Shop itself is part of Newmarket Charitable Foundation‘s Town Infrastructure pillar, offering the unit at a low-cost rent to help support new interest and growth on the High Street.
Together, it’s a small-scale example of what’s possible when a High Street pulls in the same direction: a shared window display that draws people in, a shared table that keeps them fed, and a shared belief that a town centre works best when its businesses look out for one another.