Eclectic vintage emporium in Northampton town centre receives prestigious accolade for community impact

An eclectic vintage emporium in Northampton town centre has received a prestigious accolade for the East Midlands, for its positive impact and contribution to the community.

Vintage Guru, in St Giles’ Street, is full to the brim with vintage and new gifts, homeware, clothes, accessories, a huge collection of vinyl records, and houses tens of independent businesses.

It was founded in August 2018 when there was a gap in the town following the closure of the popular vintage emporium Most Marvellous.

As the university was in the process of moving closer to the town centre, there was a great opportunity to open somewhere new and interesting for young people to shop.

After more than half a decade open and a number of awards under its belt, Vintage Guru received the ‘Community Business Award’ for the East Midlands at the Celebrating Small Business Awards – organised by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

They will now go forward to compete in the national FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards final, taking place in Blackpool in May.

Julie Teckman, the owner and founder of Vintage Guru, said: “I feel really honoured. It reflects the fact we are working with others in the community – business owners, creatives and students.”

She described the “amazing businesses” that won the same award in the other five regions, which added to her pride to have taken the top spot in the East Midlands.

The submission required Julie to explain what Vintage Guru does and its role in the community, which includes giving small businesses a place to start out on the high street.

They also provide work experience opportunities to students and have a close working relationship with BID, to contribute to community events and continue their commitment to the town centre.

Julie said she is “mind blown” that they will now progress to the UK final in May and spoke of how it would feel to win there too.

“It’s something for Northampton,” she said. “To bring something like that back to Northampton. We’re drumming through the criticism of the town centre and awards are good for the town.

“People are still finding us and can’t believe we’ve been here for five-and-a-half years. It’s always a surprise when people know about us in other parts of the country.”

The owner also shared that being able to say you are an award-winning business is beneficial.

Someone recently visited from New Zealand and praised Vintage Guru as being one of the best shops they have been to on their travels around the world.

The hope moving forward is to continue taking part in town centre events, and providing a space for small businesses to grow and sell on the high street. Julie would also like to open up the courtyard in the summer to sell garden items to customers.

Hundreds of entries were received from businesses across the six counties in the Celebrating Small Business Awards, which highlighted the diversity and quality of what is on offer.

Jennifer Thomas, FSB Development Manager, described the winners as a “reflection of the vibrancy, innovation and tenacity that makes up our small business community”.

For more information on Vintage Guru, visit the business’ Facebook page here.