Lewis Ollerton opened Jasper Pinecone in spring 2019 after seven years working as a buyer for a mid-sized homeware chain. The job paid well, but the decisions were made in spreadsheets, not in studios. He spent those years visiting makers at trade fairs and thinking: these people deserve a better shop than the ones stocking their work. When a small unit came up on a quiet side street, he signed the lease before he had a proper business plan.
Visits every maker in person before placing a first order
With respect 0202
The first six months were genuinely difficult. The initial stock mix was too broad, the margins were tight, and Lewis nearly ran out of cash by October 2019. What saved it was a decision to cut the range by half and go deeper on the makers he actually believed in: a ceramicist working out of a converted garage nearby, a candlemaker sourcing wax from a small European supplier, a textile studio producing woollen throws on old looms. Fewer things, better chosen. Customers noticed within a fortnight.
Cuts the range rather than filling gaps with filler stock
Marked
On the map since 2019. Keep moving, keep finding things you love.
Lewis Ollerton
Founder
Lewis Ollerton spent seven years as a homeware buyer before opening Jasper Pinecone in 2019. He trained in retail merchandising, worked across several buying cycles for a national chain, and grew increasingly frustrated with decisions made by committee rather than by taste. He opened the shop on a short lease with half a plan and a strong conviction about which makers deserved more shelf space. Outside the shop, he grows dahlias badly and reads more cookbooks than he has time to cook from.