A good vintage (From York Press)

Step into Malton’s wonder emporium, GooseandtheMoose

9:07am Friday 13th January 2012 in Features

NATALYA WILSON uncovers a unique treasure trove in the centre of Malton

RENOWNED as much for his sartorial elegance as his precise and thorough investigative skills, Agatha Christie’s impeccably-attired detective Hercule Poirot would have done well to have used his little grey cells to have sought out the gorgeous three-piece Art Deco suit hidden away among the treasures at GooseandtheMoose in Malton.

This beautifully-preserved outfit is as much a piece of art as item of clothing, complete with a label stating that it was made by Hector Powe and issued to Squadron Leader O’Neil in August 1939 – preserved and brought in to the Finkle Street establishment all these decades later and snapped up even before it was placed on a mannequin.

“It’s wonderful,” said Natasha Waite, who opened GooseandtheMoose with husband, Jim, in October.

“People bring us all sorts of gorgeous things to sell.”

Vintage clothing – from Victorian skirts to 80s gold lame dresses, 50s frocks to 60s slingbacks – are just some of the things on show and for sale at GooseandtheMoose, described by Natasha as a gallery and emporium with espresso bar.

“We want GooseandtheMoose to be an experience.

We want people to know they can come here and there will be something for them,” she explained.

Emporium is an ideal description for GooseandtheMoose and there is an eclectic mix of all sorts for sale and on show, from exhibition pieces on the walls and in display cabinets, to artisan-produced pieces created by a variety of ceramicists, jewellers, milliners and much more.

It’s also a showcase for some of the things that Natasha, who has an artistic background, having studied fine art, has made herself, such as fabulous soaps with ingredients such as green tea and pepper and dipped candles.

“We have been experimenting with the shop and it has already been changed several times, depending on what we have in and what exhibitions we have. We’ve had it every which way, it never stays the same and we like to keep it interesting,” said Natasha.

Natasha and Jim always had a shared idea that they would like to set up some kind of artbased business – the original idea for the name arose when they were thinking of self-publishing a children’s book. So when their friend, Gemma at The Topiary Tree florist across the road told them in June that the premises, which had been a fast food outlet, had become free, they took the steps they had dreamt about.

“We decided to do it all quite low key and so renovated it ourselves, with the help of Jim’s parents – even our children helped out, cleaning up the floor quarry tiles which had been covered with lino and glue,” said Natasha.

There was a large amount of work to do to get the right look and they wanted to create as much space as possible so knocked through walls.

“It was the perfect size to do ourselves,” said Jim. “It all happened very quickly, but we are the sort of people who, once we have made up our mind to do something, we try to get on with it.”

Natasha says that the gallery side of GooseandtheMoose offers a different facet to what they do.

“It’s an extra string to our bow,” she added, “it gets us involved more in the community and we always wanted an art cafe.”

The couple are pleased with the support that they have received from the people of Malton.

“We’ve had lots of positive comments, people have been coming in to see what we are doing and they seem to have a real appetite for this sort of thing,” said Natasha.

“I’ve lived in Malton for 14 years and really seen the town take on a new lease of life during the last decade.”

The current solo exhibition – the third to have been held at GooseandtheMoose – is by Serena Partridge, an artist who creates miniature clothes and shoes which hail from times past.

“It’s a happy coincidence that Serena’s miniatures work well with the vintage things we have here – it’s a fun and celebratory feel,” added Natasha.

Natasha and Jim have lots of ideas in the pipeline to develop GooseandtheMoose into even more of an experience for people to take part in, with plans to hold a variety of workshops, including poetry, knitting and ‘how to...’ sessions and open days with artists. They also want to develop what Natasha calls ‘wearable art’ – vintage-inspired pieces created in colourful felt, giving them a contemporary twist.

GooseandtheMoose, says Natasha, is like their home from home, a place where they can get on with creative projects and where friends can drop in for a chat and a cappuccino to see what new experiences they are planning next.

GooseandtheMoose is open Monday-Saturday, 10am to 5pm. For further details, visit gooseandthemoose.com