You may have seen that we’ve just launched Gladstone’s Luxury Dry Goods.

You may have seen that we’ve just launched Gladstone’s Luxury Dry Goods. This has its physical manifestation at Glen Dye with an Open Studio (more below), and a simple, elegant website.

Today I want to explain what this brand is.

Its emergence marks the beginning of something. There’s a long way to go, but what we have already is really good and so it will get better.

It’s the best retail thing we’ve done, by miles, and we have done lots in the last 30 years; a pure distillation of the way that we see the world of retail, true to our vision and completely uncompromising. It is unique, and that uniqueness -that embracing of our particular niche- is the only way that independent retail can thrive.

Do you remember our biz Pedlars?

This is not the new Pedlars.

But it is the new Pedlars.

What?

Well.

This is something that we’ve been dreaming about since we waved goodbye to Pedlars during lockdown, and in some ways since we sold a majority of that business in 2012.

Gladstone’s Luxury Dry Goods is a space where we can showcase many of the things that we make and sell at Glen Dye and at Hawarden. We have several little brands, or ranges, that we want to pull together in one place, both physical and digital. So, within Gladstone’s we have selected elements the following (i.e. by no means the full range).

1. Gladstone’s of Glen Dye. Clothing, bags, accessories. This is an emerging line. It will grow this year, though remain very small and focused on the life we all live at Glen Dye.

2. Gladstone / Hellen. British made clothing and homewares. This range is shape-shifting a little, as you may know.

3. OURS. The popular and burgeoning range of our provenance-centred food and gifts that we sell at Hawarden.

4. Glen Dye Cabins & Cottages Food, Homewares and Gifts. The own-label things that we sell at Glen Dye.

5. Some Good Ideas. British made homewares with fully transparent pricing. This is a small range, but it needs a ‘place’.

6. Vintage stuff and R CALF Books as well our books that have been published by other houses. Etc.

We have a lot of work to do, but it’s fun and exciting, so that work should come easily. We are both dedicated to Glen Dye and Hawarden, massively, insanely so, and this is a way to showcase them at their best, and if we are clever enough, to attract new people to them too.

Gladstone’s is a place of exploration and fun. Its aim is to entertain, delight and educate. It is a place of clothing, homewares and dreams. Yes, DREAMS! Magic, laughter, enquiry.

The selling of goods is secondary, but it will happen easily if we can truly delight visitors. I love retail, but the more I learn the more boring I find 99.9% of shops. This is our attempt to occupy that 0.1%.

At Glen Dye, Gladstone’s Luxury Dry Goods is an Open Studio, and not a shop. There are things that you can buy, but mainly it’s just somewhere to explore and have fun. It’s our ‘creative studio’; that sounds pretentious, but I describe it as such to distinguish it from our office.

You can visit by appointment. We may be there or we may not. There definitely isn’t anything shop-like about it, no till, staff, security. There are books, there’s music, products, pictures, vintage bits.

The website is beautiful but isn’t an e-commerce site at the moment. It will be, probably by Christmas.

Guests of Glen Dye can visit Gladstone’s at any time via a key fob.

Non-residents can make an appointment by calling 01330850689 or writing to Gladstone’s Luxury Dry Goods, Glen Dye Cabins & Cottages, Bridge of Dye, Strachan, AB31 6LT.

I hope to see you soon.

Big love,

Charlie. x