From the mouths of babes: posted by Liam Bergin

When you are looking to open new shops, you try and take into account a myriad of factors, logistics, staffing, present trends and fashions. So when we revamped the Farmyard Café and shop this year, and launched an entirely new Interiors shop, I thought we had taken into account most factors, but no, I should have also consulted a horde of marauding children.

I’m a parent myself, with 3 children under 5 , so I did a little research, and we carefully put together some new food options in the Farmyard Café, with healthy options , fruit, new smoothies, some fun jam butties, and a self service children’s ice cream machine, all of which have been received well. But ... because at certain times of the year the shop downstairs is closed, I also had some shelves built for the Café, so we can put a few pocket money toys on sale, and also for the convenience of people who don’t want to go downstairs to pick up a bucket and spade for the sand pit in the playground. But instead of solving a problem, I have created one, with frustrated parents being pestered by their kids in the café for the toys that they can see. So I need to come up with something else to put there; suggestions for what should be there would be fabulous.

In the stables, we converted an old storeroom into a new Interiors shop. It is a cracking space, where the original 18th century stable's features can be seen in their majestic glory. The original horse stalls gave us a superb opportunity to create a different style of room in each stall, to give a story to the shop. A kitchen, a boudoir, a study, a boy’s room and a girl's room are all laid out where the Dobbin and friends used to munch their hay. The high ceiling gives us ample opportunity to hang grand chandeliers and majestic mirrors above. Imagine our satisfaction when a young girl peered into the shop, and ran off to get her Mum. “ Mum, you should see what they’ve done in here.” she cried. We were delighted to have aroused such excitement. “They have turned all the little prisons into little shops” she continued. Oh well. We don’t all see the same thing in the same way, but I hope it doesn’t stop us continuing to look.

Liam Bergin, Retail Operations manager for Chatsworth House and Bolton Abbey