It is a little strange that despite living within ten miles of Worcester, I'd never visited the Fearnley premises since they moved from their original site. I had no intention of going up there today but once I'd popped in to the club shop at New Road to find a total lack of cricket equipment, I decided to take the 15 minute walk up to the new Fearnley site.
I knew where the place was, so when I arrived I was not surprised that the small industrial/retail park still had the same slightly dodgy, slightly pikey feel about it. Still, I walked to the far end to see the place I was looking for. On arrival, I found the door to the shop locked (good idea considering where the place is), and no one obviously inside. I rang the bell/phone thing on the door and someone came to open up. I was greeted by a very friendly lady who quickly admitted she didn't normally oversee the shop so sh'ed have to get someone else if I had technical questions. Fair enough.
So, to the bats. Well. First off I was surprised by the selection on display, especially the top end stuff. Probably 10 examples of each model, so plenty of choice. I'm not a fan of the standard stickers, but let that not take away from the fact they had some great bats on display. But that isn't why I'm writing this.
I'm writing this because of their retro range. I'd heard good things but hadn't seen any in the flesh until today. I won't rant on about the ones I saw, but will say this. The retro range looked as good as anything I've seen. Lovely stickers, good looking wood, nice shapes and finished to a level that I've not seen before. Bats entirely hand made in my home town, for £200. Simply stunning.
I very nearly walked out of there with two, but I decided to give myself a cool off period. I had a chat with the lady for a good half an hour, talking about the direction the company was heading, some ideas and their general philosophy. It was nice to see they genuinely believe that their products, both equipment and clothing, are the best around. I didn't spend much time looking at the clothing, but from what I've seen of their bats, they have every right to believe it.
I left their an hour after arriving feeling massively impressed by everything I had seen. I will certainly return soon to make a purchase. Maybe tomorrow.
I also asked about the possibility of a factory tour, it seemed daft not to as they make them upstairs. She was very keen about the idea, as long as a date could be set in advance, rather than just turning up.
A great morning that left me regretting only that I hadn't gone before.
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Topic: My impromptu trip to the Fearnley factory shop (Read 17743 times)