Nook & Cranny Portlaoise- Retail Excellence Ireland Awards 2023 Winners of the Lifestyle Store of the Year

An independent business in County Laois was honoured with a National award last weekend when Nook & Cranny Gift Store was named National Lifestyle Store of The Year 2023 at the AIBMS Retail Excellence Ireland Awards.

The awards ceremony is the biggest event of the year in the Irish Retail calendar and was hosted in the Galmont Hotel in Galway.

It was attended by almost 600 retail industry executives and is widely seen as the event which celebrates the very best in Irish retail, where outstanding achievements in the retail sector are recognised.

Retail Excellence Ireland stated that “As Lifestyle Store of the Year, Nook and Cranny exemplifies excellence in bringing style, comfort, and uniqueness to every aspect of life.”

Ladonna McCartan - Owner Nook and Cranny Gift Store

The judging panel described Nook & Cranny as “an acclaimed and inviting lifestyle store renowned for its charming and refreshingly unique selection of gift items, nestled on Portlaoise's Main Street” and said that “visiting Nook and Cranny is a heartwarming experience, with its warm and welcoming atmosphere.…making it a truly unique and memorable shopping destination.”

Speaking at the events ceremony, owner Ladonna McCartan said:

“Initially, we were absolutely honoured to be listed as a Top 30 store in Ireland and thereby invited these glitzy awards!

“It meant that our store is included alongside so many other great stores around the country. But then, to have Nook and Cranny named as the National Lifestyle Store of The Year category 2023 – sure, we’re on top of the world to bring that one back to Portlaoise with us!”

She continued that “this is a wonderful award for our business which has been looking after customers on Portlaoise Main Street & beyond for over 8 years now.

“The award is a direct reflection of our team and their absolute dedication to Nook and Cranny. It recognises our customers that return time and again because they love to find a gift that’s a little ‘out of the ordinary’.

Ladonna and Mark Healy - In Attendance at REI 2023 Awards Event

“These wonderful customers also value their community & having their main street filled with an array of independent stores in our gorgeous town.”

And the celebrations continue instore for the entire month of November, where customers are invited to enjoy a glass of chilled bubbly as well as enter into a draw to win a beautiful tray framed piece of art entitled ‘Colour’ by Irish Artist Rita Oates.

Ladonna says that “Being an independent retailer has brought so much ‘colour’ to our lives through joy, purpose, laughter and many of life's moments that we share with the people we meet every single day.

“I’m talking about our customers, supply partners, colleagues in business, local courier, local electrician, local painter, local sign company, local plumber. It’s because of this supportive tribe, that we feel so extremely privileged to be able to come to work each day to do what we love and to hopefully in turn share even more ‘colour’ in the process”.

“As always, the paint strokes of this particular artists wonderful piece are the perfect reflection of how we view the people who share our path. We hope the lucky winner of this gift from us all at Nook and Cranny Gift Store enjoys the piece and its warm sentiment as much as we do.”

Mark Healy, Ladonna McCartan, Hector, Lorretta Dunne - REI Awards 2023

The winner of our draw was Miriam Craven, who won our ‘Colour’ framed Irish print over the week-end.

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