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Monday February 5 2018 THE NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM, BIRMINGHAM


ROD ABELFormer owner of The Cookware Company at Carlisle in Cumbria Off the floor


Cookshop owner Rod Abelretired in late January aſter 46 years of retailing. He reflects on the highs and lows of almost half a century in housewares


How did you get to where you were? I left school in West Cumbria at 15 and moved to Edinburgh to work in Jenners department store [now part House of Fraser]. They found me digs and sent me on three two-year City & Guild day release courses, covering retailing and management principles. I was assistant buyer with the legendary


Douglas Ross when Jenners launched its first cookshop. That was my first taste of the housewares industry and I never left. Douglas was the buyer for the silverware


department, gifts, house and garden and cookshop. He had returned to Jenners after his national service and remained there until he retired. Sadly, he died of cancer months after he retired. After 12 years with Jenners, I joined Studio One as manager of its cookshop, which became the blueprint for our shop, The Cookware Company in Carlisle. Studio One is a family owned business based in Edinburgh that now has a number of shops in the city selling gifts and furniture, and two shops branded as Paper Tiger selling cards and gifts. The cookshop was situated on Morningside Road but it closed a number of years ago.


How did you spend an average day? My wife Carol opened the shop while I walked our dog, Jinks. He's a saluki/lurcher, rescued from Oak Tree Animal Refuge. We've had him nearly six years. Jinks was very popular with customers but was not very good at assisting us with selling, cleaning and reordering. Otherwise we all pitched in doing the day- to-day jobs. We also drank a lot of tea.


And how will you spend it now? We're going to be grandparents in the summer for the first time, so a lot of childminding duties hopefully. This year we've got a few holidays planned too: somewhere warm in March to recharge the batteries and then Canada in June.


What was the best decision you made? Marrying the girl who lived down the street from my digs. Next year is our 40th wedding anniversary.


What will you miss most? Being self-employed never felt like a 'real' job. I will miss working with Carol (and our daughters Katie and Sarah at various times). We had the best staff, customers, representatives and agents. Housewares is the best trade to be part of.


And least? Shopkeepers are like farmers and do like to moan about business. It's never good enough!


What’s the most amusing thing that happened in your shop? No one seemed to know my name. I've been Rob, Roy, Ron and even Rodger.


What advice would you give to someone starting up a cookshop today? Don't talk about the customers until you're sure they've left the shop. They can easily be behind a fixture or crouching down behind a shelving unit.


What’s been the biggest change since you became involved in the housewares industry? The internet. We should have started selling online much sooner. And social media is such a great tool.


During your time in the housewares industry, what products impressed you most? There have been some great products over the years. But the AnySharp knife sharpener distributed by KitchenCraft has to be one of the best lines we ever sold.


Name one change you would make to the housewares industry. Suppliers being a bit more independent- friendly with their pack quantities and carriage-paid.


Is it goodbye to the housewares industry or merely au revoir? After 46 years, it's going to be goodbye. But that won't stop me dragging Carol into every cookshop we find on our travels.


P


• Celebrity cook, author and TV presenter Delia Smith parted company with Waitrose after a three-year association with the supermarket chain.


• Independent retailer Dinghams, which operates cookshops in Salisbury and Winchester , was announced as the national winner of the International Housewares Association’s 2012-2013 Global Innovation Awards (gia) for the UK.


• Premier Housewares linked up with YouTube cooking channel and food website Sorted Food to launch a range of cookware and kitchenware.


• KitchenCraft MasterClass bakeware, spare glass for Bodum’s 3-cup cafetieres, KitchenAid Artisan mixers and CellarDine’s VinOair wine aerator were cited as best sellers by retailers Butler’s Pantry (Holt),


.S.We love Housewares Magazine and have used it as a reference throughout our 26 years of trading.


Unfortunately, like so many other independents, we found our overheads increasing and sales dropping, so we made the decision to cease trading at the end of January. Many of our suppliers feature in Housewares Magazine, so we’d like convey our appreciation to them for their support over the years.


Five years ago this month in Housewares Magazine…


Houseproud of Morningside (Edinburgh), the four-strong southern Kitchenmonger chain and Protec (Wells) respectively.


• Emerging and hot trends predicted for 2013 by housewares buyers included cake and bread baking, a pasta revival, a surge in slow cooking and the popularity of Brazilian cuisine.


• Pictured on the front cover was the Colourworks range of tools and gadgets from KitchenCraft. ‘Colour pop is back,’ the company said, ‘streaming through fashion and into the home with vibrant shades to mix and match’.


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Source: Housewares Magazine January/February 2013


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