Category Archives: Art

Hull and Beyond

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

  I’ve never knowingly been to Hull.  It’s not that I’ve anything against Hull, just that the question of going there has never arisen.  I became a little more aware of it when it owned the accolade as UK City … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, BHS, Buildings, Cooperative Group, Cooperatives, Department Stores, Design, Historic Shops, History, Hull, Places, Public Realm, Regeneration, Retail History, Spaces, Uncategorized, Urban History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Happy 50th to/from the University of Stirling

Posted on November 24, 2017 by Leigh Sparks

I’ve mentioned it a couple of times in this blog, but more often on Twitter – 2017/18 is the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the University of Stirling.  Whilst I have not been here since the start (honest), though … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Art, Christmas, Corporate History, Education, Heritage, History, Institute for Retail Studies, Japanese, Retail Degrees, Retail History, Retailing, Singapore, Stirling, University of Stirling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Singapore’s Scary Monsters

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Leigh Sparks

Back in the warmth of Singapore for our graduation and alumni events and associated student and other meetings, and there seemed to be only one question people had for me; what could be done about Singapore’s ailing retail sector?  On … Continue reading →

Posted in Adjacencies, Art, Brands, Corporate branding, Customer engagement, Design, Experiential, Flagship, Food and Beverage, Gentle Monster, Korea, Malls, Online Retailing, Retailers, Retailing, Shopping Centres, Singapore, Space, Vacancies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ghost Signs and Retailing

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Leigh Sparks

As readers of this blog will know, I have always had an interest in the history of retailing and companies and businesses of the past. A good example has been the ongoing work with Neil Tyler around Sanders Bros, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Advertising, Architecture, Art, Brands, Buildings, Consumer Change, Corporate History, Ghost Signs, Heritage, Historic Shops, History, Retail History, Sanders Bros, Shopfronts, Signage, Stirling, Urban History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Retail Threads in the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry – Sir Thomas Lipton

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Leigh Sparks

  The Scottish Diaspora Tapestry was conceived as part of the 2014 Homecoming celebrations, with an original aim of paying homage to the determination and courage of Scots over the centuries. Communities would document their Scottish connections on a series … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Community, Crafts, History, Places, Retail History, Scottish Diaspora Tapestry, Tea, Thomas Lipton, University of Stirling, Wm Low | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Small Business Saturday and Craft Town Scotland

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Leigh Sparks

I am not wholly convinced about Small Business Saturday, which took place on the 6th December. Another US import, it is now in its second year in this country. It has had an impact and a lot of publicity and … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Community Development, Craft Town, Crafts, Design, High Streets, Independents, Local Retailers, Places, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Small Business Saturday, Tourism | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Painting the Town: Scottish Urban History in Art

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Leigh Sparks

One of the joys of working at a University is that (on the whole!) colleagues are interesting and interested and you can have conversations that take very different turns. One recently with my frequent co-author Anne Findlay ended with “oh … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Art, Heritage, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Town Centres, Towns, Urban History | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment