Lulu & Hitch: Home comforts
With an emphasis on naturally beautiful gifts and homeware, Lulu & Hitch is perfect for that unique lifestyle purchase
Lulu & Hitch: a curious name for a shop, and a question frequently asked by their customers is where it comes from. The credit goes to one of the owner’s daughters who, during a ‘boring’ French class, brainstormed with her friends until she arrived at the name Lulu & Hitch; Lulu, as the owner is sometimes called, and Hitch, which is one of the owner’s favourite films.
Lulu & Hitch has hit the ground running and would like to thank all the customers who have already come to shop and then return with their friends! The shop has been open for just four months, but already they are welcoming and recognising regular faces that return again and again.
Their ethos is for recycled and natural goods with an emphasis on items that are British – or even better, locally made. Their furniture is mostly old, sympathetically painted; all of it beautiful and, very importantly, sensibly priced. The furniture prices start from as little as £12 for a footstool up to £300 for a statement piece.
Stock changes rapidly – often from one day to the next – so it is definitely a case of buy it when you see it, as each piece is unique. ‘If it speaks to you, it is meant for you’ has become Lulu & Hitch’s motto, and as they never like to see their customers disappointed, they offer the facility of paying a 50 per cent deposit to secure that must-have purchase.
Essential oils, candles, bath bombs (many of which you may mistake for fairy cakes!) and wonderful British made jams and chutneys adorn the old wooden shelves, reminiscent of local shops before the big supermarkets came to town. Sticky fig chutney and onion marmalade are popular along with jars of goose fat for yummy roast potatoes. If you choose a couple of items you can take advantage of Lulu & Hitch’s free gift-wrapping service.
If you desire beautiful jewellery from the collection of one of their award-winning suppliers; well-priced seed pearls (starting at just £4.95 for rings); or costume jewellery, then Lulu & Hitch is definitely the place to visit. All the jewellery comes with gift pouches and there is so much to choose from in both colour and style that you are bound to find a piece to suit you.
You can browse through an interesting selection of hand-made cards by local artists as well as a large range of cards which use recyclable or sustainable forest materials, again mostly British made – naturally!
Lulu & Hitch are delighted to be the only retail outlet in Sussex for signed, limited edition, photographic prints and canvases of the local area by Hove photographer Tony Bowall FRPS. His work is a definite conversation point for customers and many prints have been sold. This year Tony was awarded the highest distinction by the Royal Photographic Society and was also presented with a (rare and prestigious) medal by the London Salon of Photography for one of his photographs – ‘Hove in the snow‘! Extensively featured in both the national and local press, new work is on display weekly at Lulu & Hitch.
If you’d like a trip down memory lane then take a look at their old and collectable china. You are bound to recognise a plate from your childhood or a teacup from visits to your great aunt.
Their little plates start from under £5 and make fabulous soap or crudite dishes. As with the furniture, stock changes all the time and you will never see the same pieces twice.
Most of the staff at Lulu & Hitch enjoy a chat and like nothing better than helping you buy that perfect item for yourself (you can never have too many), or that illusive gift that you need a second opinion on. With Christmas around the corner (yes, already!) Lulu & Hitch is a must visit shop.
Lulu & Hitch, 96 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex.
Photography: Tony Bowall FRPS www.happyartists.co.uk. Styling: Carol Ives
