Julia’s House is inviting local people to celebrate the opening of the charity’s new shop in Chippenham next week.

The new charity shop on Chippenham’s high street will be officially opened at 10.30am on Thursday August 5. Local children supported by Julia’s House will proudly perform the ribbon cutting ceremony, along with the charity’s chief executive, Martin Edwards.

Sales from the Julia’s House high street shops support the charity’s care for some of the most seriously ill children and their families across Wiltshire.

Thousands of items have been sorted in preparation for the grand opening – including designer goods, top quality men’s and women’s clothes, bric-a-brac and a large range of children’s toys, games and clothing. Set across one floor on the town’s high street, near to the entrance to Emery Gate shopping centre, the shop has a unique style that the team hope customers will enjoy.

“We’ve poured a huge amount of love into creating a new look and feel for our latest shop in Chippenham,” says Erin Hobbs, assistant area retail manager for Julia’s House. “We’ve spent hours online looking for inspiration and it took a long time to agree on the wallpaper we wanted. It had to be just right.

“We’ve been really lucky to have so many lovely fixtures donated, including our huge lights above the tills. Most of our fittings are also hand-made from reclaimed and recycled materials. We’re so pleased with the transformation and we can’t wait for everyone in Chippenham to see it. With our doors closed for so much of the last 18 months due to Covid, it’s really exciting to be opening a brand new shop!”

The new Julia’s House shop in Chippenham will be open seven days a week, from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm, and on Sunday, 10am to 4pm.

Tracy Stanley, Area Retail Manager for Julia’s House, added: “We rely on our wonderful supporters to help keep our charity shops running – whether that’s through donations or volunteering, either on the shop floor or sorting behind the scenes. We’ve been blown away with the support and interest we’ve already had from the local community, but we’d love to have more donations in our store once we’re open. We’ll accept most high quality items, just not furniture.”

The Chippenham team are meeting with interested volunteers at the high street shop on Friday 30 August. Call 07867 801961 or email volunteer@juliashouse.org to book a time for a chat.

There are currently two other Julia’s House shops in Wiltshire, in Devizes and Salisbury, and the charity plans to open further stores in the county this year.