Northumberland vintage shop celebrates 14 years of fashion and sustainability
A Northumberland vintage shop is celebrating 14 years of recycling, reuse and timeless style.
For Gayle Foster, fashion has always been about more than simply following the latest trends.
From playing dress-up in her grandmother’s clothes and jewellery as a child, to becoming a New Romantic in the 1980s and searching charity shops and markets for individual pieces, Gayle has always loved the creativity, character and history that comes with vintage.
Today, that passion is at the heart of Vintage in the Tower, an independent shop tucked away in a small lane beside the historic Pele Tower in the centre of Corbridge.
The business is now celebrating its 14th year, having originally started as a pop-up with two other vintage dealers.
While the shop is filled with beautiful and unusual items from accessories and handbags to cutlery, crystal glassware and clothing, jewellery is one of its biggest attractions.
Gayle has built what she believes is one of the largest collections of pre-loved Butler and Wilson statement jewellery in the country, alongside repaired and restored silver and gemstone jewellery.
She is also passionate about championing iconic British brands, including Liberty scarves and Jaeger.
And behind the sparkle and glamour is a serious message about sustainability: reuse rather than replace.
“We’ve got so much clothing on this planet right now,” she said. “We’ve got enough clothing to clothe many future generations without making one single more piece.
“So, it’s so important to reuse and recycle, and more and more people are understanding that now.”
For Gayle, sustainability is not simply about selling second-hand clothes. It runs through almost every part of the business.
Vintage fabrics which can no longer be used are passed to a local maker who turns them into bags, while broken jewellery, old buttons and other craft materials are donated to a local children’s nursery for art projects.
Even packaging is given another life, with Gayle encouraging people to bring unwanted bubble wrap to the shop so it can be reused rather than sent to landfill.
She also creates new pieces from old materials, including denim jackets decorated with vintage Liberty fabrics.
“It’s about keeping as much stuff out of landfill and the rubbish dumps as possible and giving it another life,” she said.