# Mary Portas to open 15th Living & Giving Shop for Save the Children

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/09/02/mary-portas-open-15th-living-giving-shop-save-children/
- Published: 2014-09-02T12:00:50+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Fashion entrepreneur Mary Portas will open the fifteenth of her Living & Giving
Shops this week in London’s Islington. The new shop, at 138 Upper Street, will feature
items donated by premium and luxury brands and retailers.**

All profits from sales in store go directly to Save the Children.

Items on sale at its opening on Saturday 6 September include jewellery from Lestie
Lee and Me & Zena, handbags from Sarah Forsyth, lighting and homeware from Pedlars,
womenswear from Whistle & Wolf, Tiffany Rose and Lagom, tailored menswear from Thom
Sweeney, and a collection of luxury men’s shoes from Mayfair cobbler Mr Hare.

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## Cinema look in the redesign

The shop, a former bank, has been redesigned by interior designer Kate Monckton 
to look like a derelict picture house. This is a reflection of the area’s role in
cinema history: Islington was once home to nearby Gainsborough Studios where Alfred
Hitchcock started his career as a film director in the 1920s.

![Mary Portas](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2023/03/090604-SC-Portas-001.
jpg)

Shop guru Mary Portas at the opening of mary’s living and giving shop in Westfield
shopping centre, London. A new concept in charity shopping, mary’s living and giving
shop supports three charities including Save the Children.

Mary Portas said:

> “I am thrilled to announce the opening of the newest edition to our Living & Giving
> shops.  Upper Street is a fabulous location and close to the heart of London’s
> creative industries. We are looking forward to getting to know our neighbours 
> and creating a unique place where locals can get together and shop in an exciting
> new space.”.

[Save the Children](http://www.savethechildren.org.uk) is appealing for more donations
from residents, fashion houses and local artisans, as well as for local volunteers
to work in the shop.

The charity is offering to everyone who brings a bag of donations on the opening
weekend a goody bag filled with products from Neal’s Yard, Candy Kittens and Plenish
cold-pressed organic juices.

## How much have the shops raised?

Since the first Mary’s Living & Giving Shop for Save the Children opened in 2009,
the shops have raised enough money to fund:

 * construction of two primary schools in South Sudan, each consisting of 8 classrooms,
   plus sending 300 teachers to a recognised teacher training institute to complete
   all three levels of study for their teacher training certificate.
 * provision for 24,000 extremely poor households in Bangladesh with homestead production
   starter kits for one year to support families to build a sustainable and diverse
   livelihood, and produce nutritious food for their own consumption
 * support for 1,000 community health workers for a year

 * **[Charity Retail Association rejects Mary Portas’ view on charity shop numbers](https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/10/26/charity-retail-association-rejects-mary-portas039-view-charity-shop-numbers/)(
   26 October 2011)
 * **[Mary Portas to open Save the Children shop in Edinburgh](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/11/02/mary-portas-open-save-children-shop-edinburgh/)(
   2 November 2009)
 * **[‘Mary, Queen of Charity Shops’ airs tomorrow](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/06/01/039mary-queen-charity-shops039-airs-tomorrow/)(
   1 June 2009)**