RURAL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Clothing shop in Cromarty has ethos of 'making women feel good'
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Nestled in the town of Cromarty, lies a treasure trove of unique clothing pieces, gifts, and accessories.
Based on Church Street, Calluna – coming from the Latin term for Heather – is a boutique that was established by Phoebe Fox in 2018 and its motto is ‘making women feel good’.
With regular customers flying over from Stornoway, driving up the A96 from Aberdeen and coming from as far as Liverpool, its reputation is built on a passion for quality and sustainability.
Speaking more about her shop, Mrs Fox said: “One of our really good customers lives in Liverpool and her family are up here and she says she doesn’t go shopping in Liverpool anymore as she knows she will get what she needs when she comes here!
“Lots of our clothing is made of recycled fibres and organic cottons as we want to be sustainable in every sense, and give people what they need and want.”
Having had no experience in the fashion industry before, Calluna was a new venture for Mrs Fox after she trialled out selling a few pieces of clothing in her café to see if there was a demand for it in the area.
She said: “I went to a trade show to buy gifts for the café, and I decided to just buy 10 items of clothing for the café to see how well they would sell.
“They sold within a week, and I thought if they sold in that environment then there would be a demand for it in a bespoke clothing premises.
“There was an empty shop sitting across from our home that was previously a tearoom, so we bought it and retrofitted it for the shop.
“I wanted to create something with the focus on attracting locals but at the same time with a draw for visitors in the tourist season who want to treat themselves to something special.
“We are busy throughout the winter with locals, which was our true goal.”
Mrs Fox now has three women who work in the shop part-time, as well as herself, and they are open all year round, seven days a week. Between them all they work together to select the quality products that they stock.
“The shop is like a little oasis for us”, explained Mrs Fox.
“We all work really well together, and have our own strengths and encourage that.”
Curating a place where women feel comfortable to shop, and leave feeling great about themselves is the main ethos of Calluna. One of the other facets of the shop is having unique pieces, that are suitable for women in the Highlands.
Mrs Fox commented: “I feel that women don’t feel good about themselves generally. It doesn’t matter the size; it feels as though people don’t have confidence.
“So, when they come into Calluna, we love to work with them to help them feel good. It’s ignoring the label, and what they think suits them and instead finding something that when they come out of the changing room, they feel amazing in. That’s the best part of the job.
“We want our customers to feel welcomed, warm and to feel relaxed and good about themselves.
“We are not fast-fashion, and we want people to get something they want to wear. Our focus is on quality, nice designs and classic pieces that last a long time.
“We only get one package of each item, so when a size is gone it’s gone!
“It would be my worst nightmare to see six people around Cromarty wearing the same thing, so we keep to unique pieces that also suit the Highland weather.”
Mrs Fox and her team want to ensure that people have access to the shop, when they need it, and that rural communities also get the opportunity to have a memorable shopping experience. That is why Calluna offers private shopping sessions, and it goes on road trips to other communities.
“We do private shopping, so if people's working hours don’t allow shopping, we can open up at night so they can have a one-to-one shopping session and can try on as much as they like,” said Mrs Fox.
“We also have people with sensory issues come in for a private session as they feel overwhelmed when it’s busy. We want to create an environment where people can feel safe.”
“I do pop-ups too and visit different parts of the Highlands and Islands with a range of styles and fits. We are remote and rural so I love that we can take it to other areas. We can also do private shopping events at people’s homes if they have groups over eight people!”
Calluna will be doing a pop-up in Dingwall on March 31 in aid of Highland Hospice, and it will also be visiting Tain Community Development Shop in April and May. Customers can also find a range of items on the Calluna website for purchase.
