Beach Bird is an independent artisan shop on Morecambe promenade.

Beach Bird supports local artists, authors and artisans by selling their work along with an eclectic range of curios, clothing and accessories.

We spoke with co-owner Jane Wignall and here’s what she has to share.

How would you describe Beach Bird in a line or two?
Beach Bird is an independent artisan shop on Morecambe promenade. It is a place where you can always find something unique and exciting; curios, gifts, cards, art and artefacts by local artists and makers, clothing, jewellery and accessories.

What was the inspiration behind starting Beach Bird?
Morecambe was the inspiration. It’s a beautiful town with the best coastal views in the UK. We’ve lived and travelled in lots of places and taken ideas from everywhere.

What was Beach Bird like in the early days?
In the early days, it was our dream to have a shop on Morecambe Prom and we opened up as a café and a quirky shop. We sold simple things in our cafe, coffee, tea, cakes, scotch eggs and toasties. It worked well. However, the pandemic meant we had to close the café side down as we are a long narrow shop and it is difficult to socially distance due to the tight seating arrangements. We do hope to reopen it one day as we miss the banter with the regular customers and in the meantime we will be having a few events.

How has Beach Bird evolved over the years?
We had only been open for 8 months before the first lockdown hit but the evolution has been on a rapid scale. Frankly, we didn’t know exactly which direction Beach Bird would take us. The café side of the business was a driving force; in a relatively short period of time, we responded to restrictions and transformed into a shop that has literally hundreds of items.

People travel from far and wide just for our clothing range. We have also broadened our tally of local artists and artisans and have many top local artists selling some fantastic originals and limited edition prints as well as exclusive greetings cards. We are lucky to be surrounded by other attractive businesses such as The Emporium, So Café, Crown Hotel, Eden Music, The Rock Shop and the Barbers next door. We are sort of the new kids on the block but think we fit in nicely.

What are you excited about in the months and years ahead?
There is a lot to get excited about and the future looks bright. The Eden Project is on everybody’s lips and we will be Eden ready.

We have a great town with spectacular views that will always attract visitors. We will be adding some new exciting events to our calendar very soon and are introducing a magic shop and palm reading room. We enjoy the buzz of getting out and sourcing stock and have new items in every day. We also buy interesting items. If you are downsizing or moving why not give us a call before your house clearance and we might buy some of the stuff you don’t want anymore.

We are open 11-4 Tuesday-Sunday minimum, often open earlier and closed later.