Neishaa Gharat designs a fashionable Knotty Ewe! A sheep sculpture that knots memories & stories of the fabled Jarrold department store that was founded in Suffolk 250 years ago. The Sheep Art Trail in Eye will support the Blossom Charity.
Spot the fashionable tiffany blue sheep on the art trail in the beautiful market town of Eye at Dream On Suffolk
This fashionably naughty sheep celebrates the lead up to 250 years of Jarrold in 2020. Jarrold was founded in Woodbridge, Suffolk in 1770. Today Jarrold is based in Norwich and is regarded as the region’s favourite independent department store and is one of the most renowned landmarks in Norfolk. This sculpture will inspire the people of Suffolk & Norfolk to share & knot their memories of Jarrold on to the sheep, through an interactive scarf styling & memory sharing workshop and through online engagement.
Collaborating with The Blossom Charity
We are excited to share an artful collaboration with the Blossom Charity in creating Knotty Ewe! Keeping with House of Gharats love of creating fashion and lifestyle designs for an artful life through beautiful stories. The premise of the creative inspiration is to knot treasured memories that span many generations linked with Jarrold. This sculpture will inspire the people of Suffolk, Norfolk and people from all over the world linked to the history of Jarrold through their own experiences or their families past and present to engage and add to the design through an interactive workshop at Jarrold and Dream On Suffolk and through online engagement.
The story began when Neishaa Gharat, Founder-Designer of House of Gharats and Bridget McIntyre, Founder of The Blossom Charity, met and shared the stage at the Global Thinkers Forum, Athena40 event in London. The event was hosted by the Evening Standard, on International Women’s Day 2019. Neishaa Gharat describes her first interaction with Bridget McIntyre as “inspiration at first sight”. The Blossom Charity is based in Suffolk and aims to inspire and increase confidence in women and young people in East Anglia through coaching, mentoring, makeovers and style consultancy.
Neishaa Gharat was invited to create 2 sheep sculptures, one of which she designed being inspired by the 250 year history and stories of Jarrold an independent family run department store. Neishaa’s wonderful team at House Of Gharats shared her enthusiasm and chipped in helping her bring her vision to life enjoying wonderful team spirit. Curious about the second sheep? Explore Prosper Ewe! Wishing prosperity for Suffolk.
Under the wool
The Knotty ewe! design is focused on the premise of memory making. Neishaa Gharat wanted to design a sheep that collects and knots the memories of generations of families who have visited and worked at the fabled Jarrold department store founded in Woodbridge, Suffolk in 1770. This brings us to the name of the sheep sculpture, Knotty Ewe. ‘Knotty’ describes both the fun and the interactive aspect of the sheep sculpture, Neishaa Gharat seeks weird and wonderful stories that are linked with Jarrold over the last 250 years, for example, many people have special memories of Jarrold – from dropping pennies into the fountain that used to be in the third floor restaurant, to meeting celebrities such as Stephen Fry and Tanya Burr at a book signing.
These stories are shared through a workshop and online engagement. Each piece of story will be knotted to the sheep, hence the ‘Knotty Ewe’. Importantly, ‘Knotty’ is a signature pun that we use at House of Gharats, to describe our 50 knotty ways to tie a scarf.
Stories are ingrained into the DNA of House of Gharats and our Founder-Designer, Neishaa Gharat. She has set herself on a mission to change the world one scarf at a time. Her hunger to hear rich and underrepresented stories and share them with the world, has set her on a journey to design her scarves as story-tellers that can be passed down through generations.
Neishaa believes memories are as important as our existence
We at House of Gharats believe that reminiscing on memories is as effective in bringing you backwards in time as it brings you forward. When we spend time remembering our past experiences, observations, emotions, we then revoke our identity which ultimately shapes our future thoughts and actions.
Put it this way, have you ever done a big cleaning around your house and then stumbled upon an old storage box and in the spirit of procrastination, you spend a few hours going through that box? I’m sure a lot of you can relate to this as it’s hard to resist glancing at memories through photographs, videos, letters and birthday cards. We believe reminiscing can be one of life’s true, unpredictable and thrilling delights. It can show you how far you have come in life and how much you have or haven’t changed. Therefore, to understand the future and present, you need to go back in time.
History of Jarrold
It all began 250 years ago, in the year 1770, in Woolbridge, Suffolk, by John Jarrold. The company then moved to Norwich in 1823 under the leadership of John Jarrold II and has developed to be, probably, the largest and longest standing privately owned business in the city.
The involvement of the founding family continues with three members of the seventh generation of the Jarrold family working within the company. From its roots as a grocer and draper, for many years its core businesses were printing, retailing and publishing, with a growing interest in the development of its property assets from the 1990s onwards. Since 2005 the business has concentrated on its retail activities and the development of its property assets whilst growing its business services activities through its training and facilities management operations.
Since its creation, it has been beloved and has been an integral part of the community – sharing fond memories of Jarrold and looking after the wellbeing of the county through its support of charity work in the community.
Knotting stories
“For us it’s not just the products that count, but the stories behind the brands, the stories of the people who create the products. It is also about offering you excellent customer service, which is why we have experts across all our departments who can help you find the items to fall in love with.”- Jarrold
In line with Jarrold’s view of the value of stories, we at House of Gharats equally value stories. In fact, rich and powerful stories play a vital part in all our design processes for our products & collaborations. Stories are an energy that flows through our brand, without it, we would not be the same.
Jarrold Today, in their own words
The Jarrold Group is a privately owned business based in the historic St James Mill near to the centre of Norwich.
The main Jarrold store on London Street is regarded as the region’s favourite independent department store and is one of the most renowned landmarks in Norfolk. Jarrold also has several other stores around Norwich and Norfolk, and has been a part of Norfolk life for over 250 years.
For a unique shopping experience, we have carefully sourced and curated a selection of products that aim to offer you something different. From fashion and food, to books and beauty, our buyers handpick every product, often from local artisans and producers and brands that are exclusive to us, to give you a shopping experience with a difference.
For us it’s not just the products that count, but the stories behind the brands, the stories of the people who create the products. It is also about offering you excellent customer service, which is why we have experts across all our departments who can help you find the items to fall in love with.
It’s a recipe that we have used since we opened our doors in 1770 and as an independent family run department store we welcome you to shop, eat and relax with us as our friend, after all, at Jarrold the shopping experience is Exclusive. Experienced. For Everybody.
Knotty Ewe, is knotting stories and memories
The Knotty Ewe was inspired by the 250-year history and stories of Jarrold, an independent family-run department store that was found in Woodbridge, Suffolk and is now based in Norwich, Norfolk. Knotty Ewe sculpture will inspire the people of Suffolk & Norfolk to share & knot their memories of the fabled Jarrold department stores on to the sheep, through an interactive scarf styling & memory sharing workshop and online engagement.
Neishaa’s wonderful team at House Of Gharats shared her enthusiasm and flocked to bring her vision to life whilst enjoying wonderful team spirit
The Eye Sheep Art Trail
Between 18th July and 6th September the market town of Eye is home to a flock of very unusual sheep! 24 beautifully painted sheep can be found at various locations around the town, just waiting to be admired for their colourful fleeces! These sheep celebrate Eye’s historic connection with the wool trade and have been installed by The Blossom Charity, who are based in the town, share a bit of summertime fun with the local community and raise awareness of what they do.
You can follow the sheep art trail, by picking up a map from a number of locations in the town (including Dream on, the Eye Library, Homestart, East of England and Central England Co ops) or by visiting the sheep trail website. Don’t forget to share your experience and photos of what you found on social media, using the hashtag #eyesheeparttrail
The Charity Sheep Auction
On 12th September The Blossom Charity will host an auction of art, to sell each of the sheep from the art trail to raise money for the charity.
This event, kindly sponsored by Imaginative Traveller, is to be held at 7pm, at Kenton Hall in Suffolk. The auction promises to be a fun and interesting event, with a chance to meet some of the sponsors and artists at a drinks reception before the serious business of selling of the unique sheep art to the highest bidder! Anyone interested in acquiring a beautifully painted sheep as a piece of art for their business, their home or garden, or just as a talking point are very welcome to attend and sealed or telephone bids will be accepted. The sheep to be auctioned can be viewed at www.eyesheeparttrail.co.uk and this website includes details of how you can buy a ticket to attend the charity auction.
Key Dates
18 th July – Trail launches: 7pm, Scout HQ, Wellington Road, Eye, IP23 7HF
18 th July to 6 th September – Trail held throughout Eye
12 th September – charity auction: 7pm Kenton Hall I