Thame Out The complimentary magazine for the Thame area
Hart breaking
White Hart Studio first featured in Thame Out magazine 14 years ago. Sadly the closed sign will now be a permenant fixture.
Winter 2008 and White Hart Studio owner Jane Davies introduces Thame Out readers to her fascinating shop in Haddenham.
The idea for a shop came when Jane and husband Vaughan moved to White Hart House in June 2003. Next door to her home was a building housing three empty shops.
In the first shop Jane displayed the painted furniture she had created for her daughters nursery and now no longer used. She put a telephone number in the window for people to phone if they were interested in purchasing them. To her surprise, the response was amazing, and all four pieces sold straight away.
It was a girl friend that suggested Jane open a shop. And White Hart Studio was born. Named after her home, the word ‘studio’ was attached as a memory to her late father who owned Phoenix Studio (an Antique Business back in the 1970’s)
With help from Jane’s best friend Jane Ray (who sadly passed away in 2013), White Hart Studio opened its doors for the first time on Friday 17th October.
To start with, it was just one room with a few bits of furniture, interiors and gifts. The desk, chair and till were all bought from local car boots. Here she met Pete Wallington who restored Antique furniture.
From the second they met, they became firm friends, he did a lot of the building work at the shop. They still remain friends to this day.
Over the next few years the shop grew from one room to two with the end room rented out for a while to a gallery. The gallery left, so Jane decided to take over that space to sell clothes.
Finally, in 2011, Jane opened a large garden room complete with log burner.
This became a very popular room in winter, especially when Jane held her Christmas shopping evenings.
Jane’s family has recently moved from Haddenham and the shop has been up for sale. She is ready to say goodbye to White Hart Studio and to Haddenham.
She has enjoyed all aspects of her job, the trade show visits all over the UK and Europe, meeting customers and more recently embracing social media.
Most of all, it’s the incredible staff she cherishes most. “They have all been amazing and I count Sue and Claire as great friends,” says Jane. I’m still in contact with Angie who many of you will know worked Sundays and only left when she moved to Somerset,” she adds.
Once the shop shuts Jane says she’s going to take a year out to travel, but who’s to say there might be another White Hart somewhere, someday.
Watch this space.
Thame Out wishes Jane well in all she does in the future. One of the magazines longest and most loyal advertisers, White Hart Studio will be missed in more ways than one.
You can read more articles like this one in the latest edition of Thame Out.
