Camber Landing - Part One
Power of Two. We meet Alexa Shaw from Rae + Camber Landing.
What were you doing before setting up Rae?
Alexa. My background is in textiles; I studied knitwear at Nottingham. I’ve always loved textiles. I worked as a designer and then as a design manager for some high-street brands. I got to do what I studied, travel the world and have a great time.
While travelling around, I could see the environmental impact of the fashion business. It was before the sustainability push, but one of my big clients was Marks & Spencer. We were already working on their Plan A Initiative to make their factories eco and all the fabrics sustainable, which was great but was only one aspect of the problem in the industry.
During this time, I became very disillusioned with the industry as a whole, with the wastage, and a lot of it is greenwashing now. Also, as a designer, you work long hours. My head was in three seasons the whole time. I never knew what year I was actually in. I needed to get off the fashion treadmill.
Eduardo and I met in East London, where he had lived for around 20. He is Brazilian, has a fine art background, and worked in the field. Although he loved working in sculpture at the time, he told me when we met that he wanted to move out of London and get a dog. I knew I could get on board with that.
I’m from the Cambridgeshire area, so I know Suffolk, Norfolk coastline well from childhood, so we started looking there. But then we found this area by getting our dog Ruby (the ‘R’ in Rae). We looked for the nearest beach by drawing a line from London down to Camber Sands and came to visit one Easter weekend. We fell in love with this area, and it felt great that we had found it together. We started coming more and more and then for extended periods.
Back in London, I was disillusioned with my job and started doing vintage sourcing and selling in my spare time at flea markets over the weekends. I built it up online and was selling things through Instagram, and this was just for my enjoyment to counteract how I felt about my job. My mum and stepdad are antique dealers, so I grew up visiting auction houses and travelling around the country while they were sourcing antiques. So, that element is in my DNA.
“I don’t feel like Eduardo, and I discussed or planned it too much, but we have a similar vision.”
So, with a location, a dog, and a new focus, is that when you moved to Rye?
Alexa. We hatched the plan of opening a shop in Rye. We saw an opportunity down here. There were already some lovely shops. There looked like a lot of potential. We started looking and thought we might need to juggle our London jobs before making the whole leap.
Finding commercial premises was tricky; there weren’t many changing hands. It was pre-pandemic; we’d been looking for a year and a half already and binding our time. The pandemic helped us in a way. It hit earlier in my industry because I worked with China a lot. So, I was aware something was happening pre-Christmas. Then, when Boris announced working from home in Spring, that was it. I left my desk one day with just my notebooks and never returned. I was working from home, and Eduardo got furloughed.
Then, a property came up in Rye, and because of the lockdown, we had to take it without being able to view it physically. We got to drive past it and look through the windows; it was perfect. It’s not big, but it’s a lovely space in a great position.
The lockdowns and furlough gave us the time to set up the business. I hadn’t handed in my notice yet; I was working for a small brand then, but I knew I would probably be made redundant. Then, we took a risk, signed the shop contracts, and set the ball rolling. We worked hard to open by July 2020.
“Somehow, we’ve now ended up having a hospitality business, which we didn’t envisage when we were thinking of opening the shop, and we love it. I sometimes wonder how I have become a barista with a coffee shop.”
The Rae store in Rye is a few ideas together in one space.
Alexa. Coffee was an essential part of the shop. Coffee and coffee shops were everywhere in East London, and we struggled to find a coffee we liked when we visited the area. The addition of coffee in the shop relaxes people. Some people come in for coffee; they are not here for the shop, and then they start looking around. Sometimes, they will be interested in an item and end up purchasing it, or we chat about it and where it’s come from. Having a few different offers in one space brings another dimension to both daily experiences. Then, through the pandemic and post-pandemic, people naturally wanted to stay outside, allowing us to open up this window and serve through it.
In my previous job in the fashion industry, I worked alongside buyers, spending time in meetings about sales. They would be purchasing much larger quantities, so I’m trained in that retail aspect of buying for seasons, and now I’m working for myself, I’m bucking against all of that traditional retailing. It’s a lot more work, but I’m hoping it comes across in the shop that it’s a lot more personal and is thought about and edited. Not mass-produced and fast-paced. We are all about the slow life here.
I just always wanted the one-off aspect. I love antiques and vintage. I enjoy sourcing, and I always wanted to compliment it with contemporary homewares as well, as this is how I live with a mix of both. So we have ceramics, candles and skincare. It’s not about offering something for everyone; it’s more about building a collection of interesting elements. Everything has a natural aesthetic, which is my taste. I don’t stock anything I don’t like or believe in.
Rae has been open for three years; the products do well and are a big part of the enjoyment of having a store for me is the relationships I’ve built. Everyone has been so supportive, which is lovely; I didn’t get that in my old background of high street retail.
When Eduardo and I met, he was already making the jewellery on a bench at home; he was entirely self-taught. Now, he has a studio at the back of the shop; it is his happy place. Having the shop has enabled him to grow Fine Jewellery Rae Atelier, our in-house fine jewellery collection. Building up his customer profile while developing his process of working with upcycled diamonds and recycled gold.
A funny aspect of having such a broad offering in one space, from coffee to jewellery, is that customers have come in to buy coffee, get distracted with Eduardo’s jewellery and purchase a diamond ring with the coffee; that’s happened a handful of times. Having the studio right there, they love meeting Eduardo and discussing the details face-to-face with the maker.
I deal with the day-to-day of Rae; I’m the face and love to chat with everyone who visits us. Eduardo is pushing from the background and always has the next ideas, for example, the idea of Rae opening in Camber and being open to taking another risk.
How did you meet Andrew and start a conversation about Camber Landing?
Alexa. When we planned to move to the area and set up shop, we were scoping out this area and saw the kiosk opposite The Gallivant in Camber was up for rent. We wanted it; we imagined it as a cool little coffee and beachy shop. An estate agent said the council would reject our idea, and they’d previously turned down chefs who’d been looking at the place. Then we found our perfect location in Rye. But we’d always had Camber in the back of our minds.
We met Andrew and Lizzie at the shop; they were customers who became friends. We have similar stories from moving down here. We discussed a business in Camber, and our vision and ideas aligned. Andrew is a genuine, can-do person. He lives in Camber, so he had his ear to the ground, and the opportunity arose with the building we’ve made into Camber Landing. Andrew asked us if we were on board. We were like, OK, it’s happening, and that was towards the end of 2022.
It could have been tricky as two completely separate businesses came together under one roof. Organically and aesthetically, it came together really easily. Then suddenly, it was all sorted, and this year became super busy.
Together with Andrew and Lizzie, we’ve got a lot of shared values but very different businesses. We’ve been able to bring completely different stuff to the table, which helped each other. It’s our first summer, the test summer. We can see how this year works to plan for next year. We all have so many ideas for things we’d like to try. We’ll see what the Autumn and the new year brings.
Camber Landing is an all-day space. We, as Rae, have a shop, coffee and pastries, and then from Andrew and Camber Beer, we have cold beers, wines and the best margaritas. It is a dynamic and exciting space with lots to offer. We want Camber Landing to be a destination space; people visit Camber Sands to walk their dog first thing in the morning and pop in for a coffee; others might spend the day on the beach and pop in the afternoon for a beer before heading home. Some people do both in one day!
We love this coastline, Camber’s long sweeping sandy beach and dunes. Rye Harbour, Winchelsea Beach, Pett Level and Fairlight Cliffs. It’s all amazing, and each area is unique; I feel so lucky to live here.
Read Camber Landing Part Two with Andrew from Camber Beer
ALEXA SHAW
Rae Store, 77a The Mint, Rye TN31 7EW
Open daily: 10 am - 5 pm
raelifestyle.com
Instagram. rae_lifestyle_
Camber Landing
67 Lydd Road, Camber TN31 7RS
Open daily: from 8.30 am
camberlanding.com
Instagram. camber.landing