Industry

9-29 Victoria Street has been the commercial heart of Grimsby for over 150 years. The building that most people know as the former House of Fraser started life as Guy & Smith, a beloved department store that grew from a small drapery shop in the 1850s into one of the town's most significant retail destinations, employing around 70 skilled dressmakers at its peak.

When North East Lincolnshire Council purchased the building in 2023, they did so with a clear ambition: to restore it, bring it back into use, and reconnect the community with its remarkable history. Supported by grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England, Window to 1913 was born. A heritage-led regeneration project bringing the story of Victoria Street back to life through exhibitions, community events, textile workshops, educational content and large-scale outdoor graphics. We were commissioned to create the brand identity that would carry it all.

The creative challenge was to build an identity that could speak across generations to the whole community. For many Grimbarians, Guy & Smith is a living memory. The store traded on Victoria Street for over a century before becoming Binns in 1970, and plenty of local people remember it well. That connection mattered and the identity needed to reflect it.

While younger audiences might lack that nostalgia, the craftsmanship at the heart of the project speaks a language they understand. In a world of fast fashion, generative AI and everything disposable and digital, there is a growing ache for things that are real. Handmade. Slow. Considered.