There is a remarkable shop on the corner of High Street and Church Street. Many have driven by, vaguely wondering about its name – Pipedreams. But the customers and the cognoscenti know. Pipes can mean more than a crusty noxious smoking implement. Pipes and half-pipes are familiar to those who enjoy winter sports, skiing, skating, and snowboarding, as well as to surfers, swimmers, and skateboarders in other seasons as they move freely under the wave or across the skateboard park.
Pipedreams: Snow, Surf, Skate is a colourful premises stuffed full of products that make you think of outdoor sports, snow, puffer jackets, and family days in the great white outdoors. Just going into the shop on a grey day in Uckfield makes you catch your breath and visualise a panorama of snow-covered peaks arched by deep blue skies, impatient ski instructors, and children on tiny skis looking like wrapped-up bundles of clothes.
David and Julie first met 25 years ago at Zermatt’s Glacier Paradise on the Matterhorn with a full moon overlooking the winding descent into Cervinia, Italia. No, they didn’t. They met at the Bowles Ski Centre’s dry slope in Eridge. But it was a very romantic occasion, nonetheless. And the meeting kicked off a profitable business: he was an entrepreneur, a ski and snowboard instructor with knowledge of Europe’s ski resorts; she had experience in marketing and sales.
Neither had any retail experience but they started trading with the idea of having something to sell (or hire) to everyone–from the kid wanting a skateboard to the ski pro looking for cool gear.
Pipedreams is another Uckfield secret that needs more exposure. 20 years on, David and Julie have seen off Covid, survived Brexit, shouldered all the new taxes, but are now fighting against the remorseless grind of the world’s online shopping pandemic. Julie can see why it’s popular, but she warns against a consumer culture that loses context and spurns human advice. Most people need good advice when purchasing; sometimes it’s the advice itself that saves the most money.
Meanwhile, locals David and Julie are living the pipedream and are fit, fun, and sporty. Uckfielders should always try their High Street before buying online. Or look for stuff online, then buy it locally. The price is so often lower.
For what will Uckfield become when all its shops are driven out by Temu and Amazon delivery vans?