Shops / st george
Friends join forces for unique shop collaboration
A mannequin, several sewing machines and dozens of different coloured threads are clues as to the nature of the business currently based at 264 Church Road.
Carla Diogo uses the former shop in St George to design and make clothes as well as hosting sewing and shirt-making workshops around a large central table.
But it will be getting a new lease of life in November as Carla and her friend Catriona Dickie join forces to create a fashion house and bookshop rolled into one carefully curated space.
is needed now More than ever
“It’s going to be the two of us mixed together like a really stylish living room vibe,” says Catriona on a recent afternoon, as the pair work out where the till should fit into their new shop.
The space will be called Two-Six-Four and contain Carla’s womenswear collection, Carla Diogo, and Catriona’s bookshop, The Good Book Shop.
Catriona and Carla met on one of Carla’s introduction to sewing workshops, with the pair soon deciding to go into business together in the Bristol neighbourhood that they both call home.
“I have had a dream of opening a bookshop in St George for a long time,” Catriona says. “But it’s really hard to go it alone. Our ideas and values are the same so we thought, why don’t we team up?”
Carla’s vintage mannequin is made by Kennett & Lindsell – photo: Martin Booth
Carla, 36, grew up in Brixton in south London and studied at the London College of Fashion before becoming a pattern cutter for Orla Kiely and then going freelance.
As well as running evening workshops here, she also teaches mend, repair and alter classes at Easton Community Centre.
She describes her made-to-order shirts as “everyday clothing but made beautifully on the inside and outside”.
As well as her own creations for sale at Two-Six-Four, there will also be prints, illustrations and candles all from independent designers and makers.
“We are overwhelmed by big business,” says Carla, who is married to Dorian and has two children, two-year-old Marnie and five-year-old Max.
“It’s just nice to keep things small and support small businesses.”
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Catriona will be stocking around 500 books in The Good Book Shop, with books arranged into themes as well as a particular emphasis on children’s books.
The 31-year-old grew up in Glasgow and moved to the South West from China where she met her partner Ben while they were both living in Guangzhou – coincidentally one of Bristol’s twin cities.
The copywriter, who has also worked in publishing and charity marketing, says that she wants her bookshop to be part of a growing community.
“Hopefully it will be an inviting place to visit and come and chat to us. There’s a thirst for community in St George and it would be nice to create some sort of hub.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read next:
- East Bristol enters phase of second Liveable Neighbourhood trial
- Vision to transform neglected dumping ground into community space
- Heron Books opens to become Bristol’s smallest bookshop
- The Bristol fashion brand raising money for Black mental health
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