Showbiz royalty descended on Tyneside on Friday, as Joanna Lumley did the honours at the official opening of a huge new store in Gateshead.
The iconic actress, famous for her many roles, including star turns in The Avengers, Absolutely Fabulous and, more recently, The Wolf of Wall Street, was the A-list ribbon cutter at the flagship branch of Barker and Stonehouse near the MetroCentre. Joanna also talked about her long and illustrious career, during an in-store chat with former Tyne Tees news anchor Pam Royle, in front of a captive audience.
The huge new £5million Barker and Stonehouse development on Gibside Way in Gateshead, has been two years in the making and has a number of innovative features. In line with the retailer’s eco-friendly approach, the new store has been designed with sustainability ingrained in its blueprint and a number of unique features.
READ MORE: Vera star Kenny Doughty's famous girlfriend lands role in another Ann Cleeves drama
As well as the latest furnishings in Barker and Stonehouse’s extensive range, the new Gateshead store features an events and co-working space called The Nook. It has free Wi-Fi access, and is a space that encourages visitors to stay a while, relax, meet friends or work from the specially designed oak and glass hot-desk bar and lounge area.
The top floor has a stunning indoor/outdoor café bistro, run by leading North East restaurateur, Daryl Chadwick, who has designed a lunch menu which focuses on Mediterranean specialities served in a family and sharing-plate style.The space seamlessly blends a large outdoor terrace with richly planted raised borders, with an interior of terrazzo flooring, marble tables and dark wood cladding.
Discussing the opening, ames Barker, Managing Director at Barker and Stonehouse, said: “Whilst Barker and Stonehouse is a national brand with stores across the country, the North East is very much still our home so we are thrilled to be investing in the region and to be bringing our latest ideas and products to its people.
“The Gateshead store opens a new chapter in the company's 77-year history and has some fantastic unique design features that I’m hoping our customers will really enjoy and make use of, such as our co-working lounge and our bistro."
He added: “The store has been designed to be a really restful, organic space, and showcases some truly exceptional furniture. It will be great seeing how customers respond to what we’ve done with the store and the mix of furniture, lighting and accessories we’ve sourced.”
Sign up to get the latest TV and showbiz news straight to your inbox with the Chronicle TV and celebs newsletter. If you can't see the form below, click HERE
READ NEXT:
