Hamiedog Menswear in Whitley Bay is celebrating 10 successful years in business this month. The independent shop, owned and managed by Scott Glazebrook, has grown from a small idea into a proud North East menswear and lifestyle brand, complete with a newsletter and an upcoming podcast.
A decade on Park View
The shop, located at 85 Park View, will mark its decade milestone on October 22. It originally launched at number 77 Park View on October 22, 2016, before moving three years later to its current, larger home just a few doors along the street. At the time it opened, Scott, now 47, recalls the street had many more empty units and the town's landmark Spanish City was still waiting to be restored.
Hamiedog, where Scott's mam Maz works as assistant manager, supports and sells clothing by local designers, including Scott himself. It has survived challenging times for small high-street retailers, with rising operating costs and changing customer habits.
Real people, real clothes
Hamiedog prefers the real look, enlisting local people of all ages and shapes to model its clothes. "We have never been interested in creating a false or overly polished image of the people who wear our clothes," says Scott. "Our customers are ordinary blokes with normal bodies."
"Some have six-packs, some have dad-bods, some have plenty of hair and some have none at all. They represent the typical man on the street, the people who shop here."
From gamble to growth
Opening a new independent clothing shop was quite a gamble. "Looking back, it was probably both equal parts brave and daft," he says. "There were plenty of vacant shops to choose from, the Spanish City was still derelict and online shopping was rapidly changing the high street."
"We had no investors, no national name behind us and no guarantee that the idea would even work." The shop name came from the nickname for the family pet, a westie called Hamish, when Scott was a boy.
Local talent and best sellers
The aim from the start was to provide "quality menswear with personality" along with "proper customer service," with a strong connection to the North East. Scott soon found customers preferred wearing something different to mass-produced mainstream clothing, especially when they knew they were supporting someone local. He stocked start-up designers including Jerry J, Trixta, A City By The Sea and Longsands, as well as OddBalls, which is based in North Shields.
Scott started designing himself about four years ago, with a small range of Hamiedog-branded clothing now on sale. The shop's overall best sellers are by long-term local supplier A City By The Sea, including a clever take on the famous beer that once appeared on the Newcastle United strip.
Looking to the future
Alongside its carefully-selected independent and established brands, Hamiedog stocks accessories, grooming products and limited-edition designs. It publishes The Hamiedog Journal, and a podcast called Behind the Counter is to launch in November.
"10 years after taking that original gamble, we remain proudly independent and committed to Park View," says Scott. "Every purchase from an independent shop genuinely matters. It doesn't disappear into the accounts of a distance head office. It helps a real business to continue trading, support other suppliers and contribute to the local area."
An anniversary display in the shop window features photographs and shared memories from over the decade. A limited-edition 10-year-anniversary T-shirt, created in collaboration with long-time supplier Longsands Clothing, will be available only in limited numbers and for a limited time.
