Shop to help people talk about grief opens in Preston

Postcards put up in the grief shop Pic: Garry Cook

A place to explore and talk about grief and the death of a loved one has been temporarily opened up in Preston.

Known as ‘This Grief Thing’ two artists have taken over an empty shop in the St George’s Shopping Centre.

Running until Sunday (23 September) the unit on the ground floor of the shopping centre, near Costa, more than 100 people have already been in to share their experiences.

Fevered Sleep, run by Sam Butler and David Harradine, are the pair behind the shop – which also sell clothes, badges and condolence cards.

David said: “We have such a problem with grief. It seems that people are reluctant to express it, afraid to acknowledge it, unsure how to live with it, and lost when it comes to it.

“A few months after my sister died, people stopped asking how I was, how my grief was, and I wanted to make a T-shirt that said, “I’m Still Grieving: Talk To Me About It”. This Grief Thing is what that imagined T-shirt led to. A way for conversations to start.”

The shop allows people to put up little postcards to describe their grief.

Sam said: “In Britain, we’ve lost the culture of wearing ‘Mourning Clothes’ which acted as a signifier of our grief to friends and the community; that says we may need support, or just the simple fact that the death of someone important in our lives changes us.

“A shop selling clothing feels like the most practical way of inviting all sorts of people to have conversations about what is both a common and an extraordinary life event.”

A billboard in Moor Lane which promotes the shop

This Grief Thing is due to visit Middlesbrough and Manchester after it finishes in Preston.

Have you been in to visit This Grief Thing? What do you think of the idea? Let us know in the comments below