The first ever shop to be opened by the famous Welsh fashion and homewares designer Laura Ashley has been put on the market for offers in the region of £230,000.
The pair of properties at 35-37 Heol Maengwyn, Machynlleth were opened in 1961, and was the start of the development and expansion Laura's company's retail empire that grew to 500 shops worldwide, supplied by 14 factories at its peak. The importance of the address is celebrated via an external wall plaque on the front facade.
The property is located on one of the main and characterful streets in the Powys town displays original features throughout and is said to date back to the 1600s. The two buildings were awarded a Grade II listing in 1990 as included for group value with numbers 27-31 and 30-36 on the same street.
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Inside, on the ground floor, there are flagstone floors and painted beams but it is the top floors where the history of the buildings are the most impressive, with a network of exposed ceiling and wall beams the property's crowning glory.
The Cadw lisiting states, 'internally the original roof structure is visible in the attic and close studded gable divides numbers 35 and 37, and some timber panelled partitions survive'.
Laura Ashley, formerly Mountney, was born on September 7, 1925 at her grandmother's home in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil. She married Bernard Ashley in 1948 and settled into life as a mother and wife.
But it was in 1953, at the couple's small basement flat in London's Pimlico, that Laura and Bernard started printing small runs of headscarves, napkins, table mats and tea towels on their singular silk screen after Laura was inspired by a handicrafts exhibition at the V&A museum. These items were sold mainly via mail order.
The couple's first factory was an old coaching house in Kent where they produced fabrics as the Ashley Mountney Company before moving to The Old Railway House, Carno, in Powys, which was to become the centre of a multi-national business.
Laura died in 1985, aged 60, after falling down the stairs at at her daughter's home. At the time of her death, the company employed 4,000 staff and was on the brink of further expansion. It was floated on the stock market in 1986 with a valuation of £200m.
But with falling trade through the 1990s and 00s, the company's retail stores were hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and closed in 2020 when the company went into administration in March of that year.
Gordon Brothers, the global advisory, restructuring and investment firm acquired Laura Ashley out of administration in a deal that included its global brand, archives and related intellectual property. A spring collection was launched in 2021, available within the Next brand, in-store and online. Find out more about the story of Laura Ashley's life here.
The property where it all started in retail shops for Laura is currently run as The Original Deco Shop, which opened in 2007, and is well-known in the area as well as within the larger artist community as an 'art, utility, and decorating shop, stocking a range of products such as brushes, paint, art materials, as well as practical homewares such as door mats and post boxes'.
The shop is currently the local Farrow & Ball dealer as well as famous brands such as Sanderson, William Morris, Romo, Scion, Harlequin and Art of the Loom.
The company have expanded to the corner of the high street in No 1 Heol Maengwyn, where the bulk of their homeware collection can now be found, specialising in relaxed, natural interiors from trusted, ethical suppliers and includes an ever increasing amount of recycled and sustainably sourced products.
Laura Ashley's first shop can offer three floors of mixed use space in a good trading position according to the estate agents who are selling the premises for offers in the region of £230,000. Call Morris Marshall & Poole at their Machynlleth branch on 01654 702472 on to find out more. And don't miss the best dream homes in Wales, auction properties, renovation stories, and interiors - join the Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter , sent to your inbox twice a week.
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