STAMFORD’S UNIQUE BOUTIQUE

The unique boutique

Many of you will remember, over five years ago, a tiny little boutique and alterations shop opened in Stamford’s Cheyne Lane. How times have changed

FIVE YEARS AGO Anna-Maria D’Amato, talented dress designer and seamstress, opened her tiny little boutique in Stamford’s Cheyne Lane. She specialised in bridal dresses and alterations and was very quickly, very successful. Anna is professionally trained in costume design and had worked as a dresser for many well known names in the entertainment industry and is well known for her corsetry skills. She could alter anything and also made wedding dresses from scratch.

The business quickly grew with a bespoke bridal shop opening opposite The George and then, earlier this year, the tiny boutique became a much larger one as Anna was able to take over the shop next door and join the two together creating a mini department store where you can buy occasion wear, hats and accessories, evening wear and stylish day wear.

But the core of the business is fundamentally the same. Great dressmaking skills, styling advice and tailor made couture. Anna and her team alter wedding dresses, even if you haven't bought them from her – there’s been a lot of that in the last two years – as well as prom dresses, and her seamstress skills can be turned to anything including cushions, curtains and soft furnishings. And obviously anything you buy in the shop can be altered as well. What’s best about Anna is that just by having a chat with her you can get some really good advice about pulling a look together; she’s full of ideas. She’s a great stylist and e ause of her design and se ing s ills she really no s her stu which you will quickly realise once you start chatting to her.

If you pop down to the bridal shop where you can buy a wedding dress ha e a espo e one designed or one altered you ill also find a huge range of wedding shoes to choose from. And after the wedding there is a shoe dyeing service available, costing less than £20, and you don’t even have to have bought the shoes from Anna. Colour charts are available so you can dye your wedding shoes to make them so mu h more ersatile nd if a mother of the ride outfit is made shoes and handbag can be dyed to match the fabric exactly. This bespoke service is very popular. nna and her team o er a uni ue ser i e in the to n and definitely live up to the name ‘the unique boutique.’

The two year plan

Kevin Yates and his family lived on the south coast and had no intention of moving, but fate always lends a hand when it is least expected, or wanted, in Kev’s case

KEV HAD TRAINED as a graphic designer and whilst at univerity entered a local radio station competition to redesign their logo and randing hi h he on his spurred him on to work in advertising agencies before moving into the more corporate world as the studio art director running the studio for llian e and ei ester his as a ig o managing sta running large budget campaigns and coming up with creative input and ideas for ad ertising and mar eting strategies udgets ere high and times ere ex iting so e as en oying life. And then, 27 years ago, the Alliance and Leicester relocated to Leicester and Kev was asked to move with them. ‘I had young twins and our lives were on the south coast so none of us were that keen. But we came up and had a look, loved the area around Rutland Water so de ided to gi e it t o years nd that as they say as it ut it asn t really he family had settled happily li ing at or ott and corporate life was going well. So well that Kev was headhunted to head up another studio with a large corporate company as art director so took the chance and moved. Five months later he was made redundant. ur e alls ome out of no here in life and it s ho you rea t to them often that is the making of you. Kev picked it up and chucked it straight back. By now the children were older so he realised the dream that he d al ays had in the a of his mind ut had ne er een a le to do e ause of finan ial se urity and family life he set up his o n design company. d al ays anted my o n studio ut the timing had ne er een right. A young family, mortgage and life in general meant I needed finan ial se urity o as my han e to realise the dream and or for myself ne didn t ant any sta so made the de ision to eep the usiness small enough for me to manage on my o n t s mani at times ut it or s

It obviously does as Scion Design is now in its 17th year. Kev initially worked from his attic and then a purpose built studio attached to the house in Morcott and now, following a move to Uppingham, from his studio there. He is very busy designing ro hures posters lea ets helping ith orporate identity in luding branding and logos, rebranding etc. Basically, anything to do with graphics and advertising, Scion Design and Kev is who you need.

He has many local clients including Uppingham School, Welland Vale garden centre, Wingates Gallery, the Lake Isle and Smithers urslo to name a fe as ell as lients further afield all o er the country.

His gam le paid o to go on his o n and he s een ery su essful He is well known for his graphic design work so if you need any brochures, rebranding or logos doing – as well as other design work pay e a isit he s got lots of experien e and ideas hat t o year plan has certainly been stretched a bit and long may it stretch further.