To put you in the picture- At present, my furnishing business occupies a large, three-storey premises on Tenterden High Street. It’s a lovely building and location, but the reality is that the overheads involved are considerable and, looking towards the future, I've had to question whether continuing to carry that level of expense makes sense.
I already own warehouse premises nearby, and have made the decision to relocate the ‘Tenterden House Interiors’ business there. But rather than simply moving the furnishing business from one building to another, the plan is to completely rethink how the space works.
The warehouse will be refurbished so that almost all of the furnishing side of the business can be presented on one floor. Integrated within that space will be a modular, movable bar area where customers can stop, have a coffee, or indeed a G&T, and take a breather.
And then there will be Dodimead Horology.
Again, this will be a modular and movable space, but importantly it will be clearly defined as its own little area and its own business. I don’t want Dodimead Horology to simply become a watch cabinet sitting in the corner of a furniture showroom. It needs to be clear what’s going on and retain its own identity.
What I particularly like about bringing the two businesses together is the opportunity for a little crossover between them without either one interfering with the other. Someone visiting to look at a sofa, chair or piece of furniture might discover Dodimead Horology while they’re there. Equally, someone coming specifically to look at a watch will inevitably experience Tenterden House Interiors.
I’d also like the flexibility to use the space for the occasional event. That might be an evening showcasing our furnishings, or perhaps a watch event or informal meet-up where collectors can get together, look at some watches and simply natter. Nothing too formal, necessarily, just another way of making use of the space and hopefully creating somewhere people actually enjoy coming to and spending a little time.
The intention isn’t really to merge the two businesses. It’s to create an environment in which they can exist alongside one another, each retaining its own identity but hopefully complementing the other.
From my point of view, it also offers something I’ve been looking for since setting up Dodimead Horology: a way of giving the watch business a physical presence without the considerable additional overhead of running another dedicated retail premises.
There’s clearly a lot to do before it becomes what I have in my head, but the decision has been made.
Now I have to make it work.
Roll on 2028!