Beretun Designs in Brighton to close after ten years

Linda and Duncan Johnson opened Beretun Designs in Bond Street, Brighton in 2011 to offer women a quirky and unique alternative to high street fashion.

But after years of selling one-of-a-kind necklaces and hand painted prom dresses, Linda says the time has come for the pair to retire and to start enjoying life “at a slower pace”.

Beretun Designs in Bond Street, Brighton is to close this weekend

She said: “We came to the North Laine exactly ten years ago, living above our shop and right from the start have felt like part of the community.

“Brighton has been come to us, many of our customers and fellow business owners have become friends.

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“One of my customers said she was going to start a petition to stop be from closing, but I said no matter how many people sign it I’m still going to retire – I’m just too old.

“We are leaving Brighton soon, but it will always have a place in my heart.”

Linda aged 21 sat by her first market stall

Before moving to Brighton, Linda had owned fashion boutiques in both Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes.

She opened her first market stall at the age of 21 and says it was always her plan to open her final shop by the coast.

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She told The Argus: “We used to come down to Brighton occasionally on our odd days off in our campervan and we were walking down the street one day, and we walked by the shop Velvet that used to be here and my husband said, ‘you’d love a shop like that’.

Linda inside Bertun Designs in Bond Street

“We were on our way home, and I said, ‘shall we just move and do it’ and he said, ‘alright then’.

“Within a couple of months of actually coming down and having this pie in the sky idea, we were here and open.”

Linda plans to continue making and selling her handmade tiaras, jewellery and paintings online, which she receives orders for from as far a field as China.

But her shop will open its doors for the final time on Sunday and Linda says she will be thinking of the “happy memories” created in the shop over the years.

She said: “I don’t normally work Sundays, but I will be here. I want to open the door for the last time and shut the door for the very last time.

“On the very last day I want to do those things. To be able to turn the sign over and say ‘that’s me done’, that will be a moment.”

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