Amble vape shop transformed into eco-friendly coffee and homeware business
A new eco-friendly business has opened in Amble, combining coffee with locally made homeware and furniture.
Koral officially opened on Queen Street on October 24, transforming a former vape shop into a unique space where customers can enjoy coffee and cake while browsing homeware and bespoke furniture.
The shop is a joint project between photographer Amy Hawker, carpenter Luke Hawker and businessman Scott Moore, who have all combined their interests and strengths.
Amy said: “Scott had this shop already and and my husband had some furniture inside the shop.
“We always dreamed that it would be a lovely idea to open something like a coffee shop or a furniture shop or somewhere where we can have local makers in.
"We've all got these different ideas and we're all passionate about different things, and we've kind of brought it all together."
Down to the furniture customers sit on, the shop will focus on selling locally made products from independent makers with an emphasis on sustainability.
"Everything's for sale,” Amy added. "It's a bit of an experience because you can come in you can have a coffee and the bench that you're sitting on, you can buy it if you want to.
"We're trying to make it as sustainable and eco-friendly as well because we're really passionate about that. All of the wood is from the North East and a lot of it is storm-felled wood. So again, it's a lot more sustainable."
Moving forward, the trio hope for the venue to also become a community space which can host events and workshops.
"We really want to bring people together,” Amy said.