Fashion: Behind the scenes at Cambridge boutique Cuckoo

Based at Burwash Manor, the independent shopping destination based on a Barton farm, Cuckoo has been a fixture on Cambridge’s fashion scene for almost two decades. Celebrating their shop’s recent expansion, owners Michelle Veenman and Kate Bols talk to Alice Ryan

In the beginning
M: “Cuckoo started about 19 years ago - which is unbelievable! It was originally part Nest, a vintage lifestyle brand that was based here at Burwash. So we actually started with vintage clothing and limited editions; small runs from a couple of brands we found which were vintage-inspired, like Marilyn Moore.”

Early evolution
M: “It fairly quickly started to evolve from there. The vintage clothing market has changed a lot since, but going back 19 years, there were lots of lovely pieces but really only in tiny sizes, so we were really struggling to cater for all our customers. To expand from there, we went to London and found some other brands to work with. I left Nest - I’d naturally gravitated towards working with the clothes - and worked by myself for a bit, but I had my three kids at home and was getting really tired. . . and that’s when I met up with Kate.”

Dream team
K: “Our daughters knew each other really well, so I started coming into the shop and helping. We just felt really comfortable with each other, and worked really well together with the clothing, so Michelle invited me to join her in the business. That was probably 16 years ago - and that’s when Cuckoo really morphed into something else, moving more into the Scandi, specifically Danish, style.”

Scandi style
M: “We gravitated in that direction because it was a style we both really liked; it was a natural crossover in our taste and was an area in which we could really work as a team. That part of the brand just got stronger and stronger.”
K: “It’s not the whole identity of our brand - we also love colour, we love texture - but it remains a pillar. It’s understated; it’s clothing that you wear, it doesn’t wear you. The pieces don’t always have that ‘hanger appeal’, but when people try them on they love them - the shapes and the cuts wear so well.”

Building confidence
M: “I think we inspire confidence in our customers to try things on and feel relaxed while they do it. Both of us, when we started working together, said we hated going into shops where we felt stared at by the assistant; where they looked you up and down and seemingly made judgements, like you might not be able to afford their clothes - and we don’t want to be like that! We want to be the opposite. Hayley, our brilliant manager, is a big part of that: she makes everyone feel instantly at ease.”

Print and palette
K: “We are both very visual and are drawn to strong shapes, colours and prints. But we are quite precise about what we like - we like Indian textiles, for example. As a buyer, you are cherry-picking for your customer base, which has really grown with us. When we started, we were in our mid-40s and now we’re 60, so the core demographic has moved with us - we’ve all been through menopause together, and had lots of conversations about it in the shop! But we also attract a younger audience, which we are hoping will grow with the shop expansion.”

Keeping it real
M: “We have a couple of mottoes, and one is ‘real women’. We’re buying for real women, not models, on the whole. There’s no point us trying to get that part of the market that’s already represented, really, and as an independent we can carve our own niche. We can also be quite creative - take the block-printed jackets we’ve just got in, which I saw in Goa and decided to bring back. We’re not bound by scale, like the big High Street boys, so we can try a handful. By buying this way, we can also support little businesses in a really meaningful way.”

Expansion plans
K: “We have just knocked through into a next-door shop, which was previously Sterling Designs. We have been wanting to do it for a while; we were starting to feel a bit squashed! Having had the second shop in Cambridge for 10 years - which we loved and it was a hard decision to leave it; we closed it just after the first Covid lockdown - we’d got an extra core of customers, and the two have now amalgamated and our footfall has gradually got higher and higher. We’ve been able to make space for a bigger stockroom, another changing room, and for more display space, obviously. We may also do a preloved rail too.”

Brand identity
K: “Our ranges are quite eclectic, but there are elements which unite them all. The quality has got to be there; we try to go for natural fabrics. It’s also got to be a good shape, a good cut.”
M: “It’s about understanding that women’s body shapes and sizes are not only that, they also change as we go through life. We look for pieces that flatter - we want our customers not only to look good, but also to feel good.”
K: “We’re not that led by fashions or by big brands. We look for pieces that are timeless; that you’ll add to your wardrobe and wear for years to come. We have customers coming in now that say ‘I still have a skirt, trousers, jeans that I bought from you 15 years ago’. . .”

Favourite labels
K: “Cut Loose, a brand from San Francisco, has got to be up there. They dye the fabrics themselves, they make to order so there’s no waste, and the shapes are the kind that you put on and they just work really, really well. They don’t do much pattern, but - like the Lantern trouser, which is a bestseller for us - they are great building-block pieces. Another one that ticks that box is By Basics, which also does really fine merino wool which is great for crossing the seasons.
“Denim-wise we do MAC, the German brand, which has a huge following, and we’ve just added a new one, Islow, a French brand, whose jeans are probably a bit more on-trend, a bit funkier - they’ve done a Seventies-style flare with patch pockets, that sort of thing. So the two labels sit really well together.
“At the more flamboyant end of the collection, we have labels like Yavi, a father-and-daughter brand based in India; the daughter designs and screenprints her own prints every year and every piece is therefore unique, because the pattern placement is different on each one. We also have Spanish brands, like Nice Things.”

Summer staples
M: “I love the jacket I’m wearing today! I think it might be coming home with me. . . I think my daughter’s going to love it too. And this Alma shirt, which is Masai, another Danish brand, is definitely one of my go-tos: it’s a white shirt, so it’s a staple, but the detailing just makes it a bit more individual.”
K: “I’ve worn these Yerse barrel trousers so much. As well as being a great shape, they are also super-comfy - they have an elasticated waist.”
M: “Some of the accessories I also wouldn’t be without it: we have some amazing jewellery, like Dansk, which absolutely makes an outfit, and the ROKA bags, which are a great design.”

Changing rooms
K: “There’s been a noticeable shift towards mixing and matching separates and not wearing dresses as much, I think because, since Covid, people aren’t wearing as many formal clothes - we’re more relaxed.”

Destination shopping
M: “Burwash is relaxed, friendly, home to a community of small independents, all of which sit really well together.”
K: “You can genuinely come here with friends or family and spend half a day: we’ve got a fabulous farm shop, a florist, a gift shop, home and garden shops, a sewing and crafting shop, a pottery. . . Plus Flock Cafe serves the best coffee!”

Cuckoo is at Burwash Manor, Barton and cuckooclothing.co.uk