Shop & Studio
Take an unexpected turn in your path around the unassuming rural town of Oakham and you may stumble upon a small, blush-plaster frontage that’s three quarters shop, and one quarter working studio. Perhaps it’s the calm of our countryside setting deep in the UK’s smallest county, Rutland, but upon entering you’ll notice a slowness that we value deeply, present even in the gentle aroma of calming essential oils and naturally-made candles that has become synonymous with our space. This sense extends to the creative philosophy that’s woven into everything we handcraft in-house. Our garments encourage a step back from the rush of trends and of daily life itself, whilst also wearing slow to last with you through the years. From the rail of sample designs that marks the transition from shop floor to studio, to the finished styles that have become a staple of our work, our little shop offers us a chance to show you how a mindful small business works and grows.
Slow living
Inside you’ll find our Slow Living offerings - carefully curated, affordable objects from eco-friendly makers based in the UK, and traditional crafting communities much further afield. We fiercely champion the simple swaps to considered alternatives that you can use again and again, particularly when these switches actively support independent makers. You’ll notice a clear focus on the fair-trade and handmade, whether that be through our Scottish hand-thrown pots, tactile woven wares from Morocco, London-based organic cotton undergarments - or any of our other offerings that celebrate and sustain a diverse heritage as part of a wider tradition of valuing time-honoured methods and the hands that achieve them. It’s increasingly important to embrace the nuances gifted to the pieces by their makers - tiny markings, hand-sculpted forms, raw sections of wood selected for their natural beauty. Sitting quietly amongst our garments and homewares are a wealth of self-care items that aim to foster love and respect for your body and mind, whether that be through aromatherapy, plant-based skincare, or even an object that enriches five minutes spent being peaceful and solitary. No matter the object itself, you’ll find a commonality in our Slow Living objects: an appreciation of the well-made. We include community-run initiatives wherever possible - we’re a small company, but we’re always looking for ways to support social and environmental causes whilst providing a platform of solidarity for fellow makers’ voices and crafts to be heard and enjoyed.
Try on…
And of course, our Oakham shop is home to our own hand-crafted garments. Perhaps the biggest advantage of our physical store is the ability to pick something out from one of our rails - sometimes planned, sometimes spontaneous - and let it accompany you to our dressing room. Allowing yourself to find something that really calls to you can be a great experience in opening yourself up to trying garments designed with purpose in mind. Nadinoo utilises pared down, unobtrusive silhouettes with unfixed waist points and no extra darts or restrictions to embrace a design philosophy of free movement - something that may seem like a leap from archetypal womenswear, but that strives to be even more closely aligned with the true, real-life tasks of womanhood, no matter how the body changes over time. We take joy in helping people find a piece that works for them, thankful for the abilities and resources that mean we can contribute to a slow and thoughtful wardrobe.
Sustainability
Brick-and-mortar establishments offer a more sustainable way to shop than purely online; something that’s so crucial to us, it permeates every stage of our working process. To reduce our impact, we only provide UK delivery, offer the option to collect, and occasionally deliver by hand to our local customers. We aim to support the physical side of small business that keeps our high streets alive despite the odds. Physically trying garments ensures avoids returns, meaning our delivery miles are even lower. It’s important to us that you’re sure of your decision because we so strongly believe in only purchasing what is needed, and what is valued. Every time I think of this, William Morris’ philosophy of belongings comes to mind: ‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful’. Marrying traditional craftsmanship with values that look toward our collective future means taking a carefully-considered stance to create garments that can live and work with you for a long time, paying the close attention to detail that a handmade approach allows. We believe that if the garment is right for you, you’ll love and wear it for longer.
Our studio
The working studio parallel is the birthplace of all Nadinoo garments. Only a door’s opening away from our shop, it brings forth the possibility of custom orders - something that harks back to Nadia’s deep-rooted background in fashion. It also provides us the transparency of behind-the-scenes working that all sustainable business should uphold - often passers-by will peer through our windows to watch the unexpected sight of a working creative space in our small town. Above all, we’d like you to take home a garment that will adorn you through the seasons to gift you years of wear. Sometimes that can take a cropped hem, or a chosen sleeve length, or an altered neckline. Our desire is to work collaboratively with you as active, independent makers in order to produce a piece you’ll feel truly content with, and that lets us earn the title of slow fashion hand-makers that considers the time-honoured connections between maker, environment, raw materials, and the finished product. You’ll see this narrative in the clear line of sight that leads from from faithful sewing machine, to in-progress samples adorning our house mannequin, to patiently pressed and hand-labelled garments that hang from the rails of our shop. Our in-house studio gives us a rare but essential creative core in which to design, develop, and actively work together, whilst letting you take a look into the crafting processes your garment goes through to be with you.
We’re really proud of our Oakham shop. To us, it represents the reach that sustainable makers can have. It’s forever a joy to introduce passers-by to our intention or to welcome those who’ve kindly made a pilgrimage from far afield, and to be a slow fashion resource for those who appreciate earth-conscious offerings. The influence of our surroundings on Nadinoo is something that impacts us greatly - in our appreciation of the natural world that manifests itself in the muted, earthy tones of our garments, to the inherent calm of the shop’s location off the beaten path.
