Introducing a statement of style to the high street

Colette Steckel travels to Guernsey to meet Colyn Gardner and Liz Davies of the award-winning business, All in Black

Walking into All in Black's furniture and furnishings store on No. 24 High Street, St Peter Port in Guernsey is a bit like turning up at a friend's impossibly stylish house. On the ground floor, there are vases of artificial flowers, picture frames, ornaments, a dining room table laid out for eight, comfy sofas, coffee tables scattered with glossy magazines, and a classic baby grand piano that just begs to be played. You almost feel like hanging up your coat, kicking off your shoes and making yourself at home.

Which, I confess, I consider doing until co-founder Liz Davies turns up and urges me to leave. 'Let's go for coffee,' she announces before almost sprinting across the other side of the street to No. 37, a five-storey mini-emporium that continues the All in Black impeccable taste theme, with a range of his and her accessories.

On the top floor is the Loft Café boasting views across St Peter Port harbour and serving designer salads for lunch. It also does a decent stab at a cappuccino, a rarity in Guernsey, according to Liz. 'Before the Loft Café, there really wasn't anything like it in Guernsey,' she says, sipping her cup of frothy coffee. 'And it's quite calming here. The view isn't what you'd expect and the tall beamed ceiling gives it a sense of space,' she adds. 'It's all about ambiance really.'

Colyn Gardner, the other half of the partnership, notes that All in Black is something of a pioneer in Guernsey. 'I don't want to sound critical but Guernsey is a little outdated. And that's part of its charm. But if you wander up and down St Peter Port, you'll find most stores would look out of place on some of the fashionable streets of London.' He has a point. Guernsey is probably the last place you'd expect to find a lifestyle store making a style statement on the high street. But All in Black brings the island up to date. And residents can't get enough of it.

Award winners

When Liz and Colyn moved from London to Guernsey in the late 1990s, neither were looking to start a business in retail until No. 37, the former home of an old-fashioned perfumery, went on the property market. The prospect of opening a store proved irresistible. 'It was somewhat opportunistic,' explains Colyn. 'We thought the property would be a good investment and, with the developments we planned, we knew it would appreciate in value, which it has, quite considerably. I think it's fair to say that we anticipated that the property would provide a cushion against any start up costs and losses incurred in the first few years of trading in a new business. We didn't think we were taking any undue risk in starting All in Black, so we decided to give it a go.'

The mini-emporium opened in November 2001, two floors of which showcased furniture and lighting sourced from trips overseas, while a large warehouse on the coastal town of Rocquaine displayed more of the same. No. 24, a former bank, complete with vault that serves as an unusual display area, followed some months later and is now the company's dedicated home store, freeing up space in the mini-emporium for more accessories and a new take-out service to complement the Loft Café.

Liz, who has already started an interior design service for individuals and businesses on the island, remarks that, although often neglected in the past, homeware is starting to come into its own. Much of that, of course, has to do with the myriad home improvement programmes on television, prompting home owners to banish the chintz and update their rooms. But Liz points out that designers like Jasper Conran and Nicole Fahri, who started off their careers in fashion, are jumping on the bandwagon with their range of home furnishings. 'Interior design is the new fashion,' quips Colyn.

It certainly is in Guernsey, where All in Black has grown to become a leading business with a brand name that is recognised throughout the island. The company now employs 30 staff and turns over £1m, which is remarkable for a retail business that started from scratch almost two years ago. Little wonder then that the company clinched top honours at Guernsey's prestigious Awards for Achievement when it won the Award for Industry earlier this year. 'We were thrilled,' exclaims Liz, smiling broadly. 'We were the first retailer ever to win the award, so it came as a surprise,' says Colyn. 'People have truly appreciated what we have done for Guernsey. And that's very pleasurable.'

Colyn is no stranger to building businesses. He hails from the banking sector, which he left in 1984 to set up Birchin International, an AIM-listed financial services investment company and wealth management adviser, which was recently renamed Park Row in a reverse takeover. While at Birchin, he spun off Time2Learn, a financial training company that was floated on AIM in 2000, and created Fairplace, an outplacement and HR consultancy that listed in 1997. 'I suppose I have a bit of a track record in starting businesses, growing them, floating them and sometimes selling them,' he notes modestly. He recently stepped down from his chairmanship of Birchin and Time2Learn to focus on his interests in All in Black.

Liz also has a pedigree in building businesses, with an illustrious career in fashion and design. She started out as a buyer for clothing brand Pippa Dee. Then, with former husband George Davies, who is behind Marks & Spencer's Per Una range, she co-founded Next, a clothing chain that was revolutionary in its day for colour co-ordinated separates. She followed up her success at Next with a stint as design director at Asda and then Mothercare before moving onto interior design when she refurbished Birchin International's training centres in the UK.

Given their career histories, the partners have settled easily into their distinct roles within All in Black, with Liz providing the creative vision for the company while Colyn works on the business strategy. 'We've got something here that has the potential to be extremely exciting,' says Colyn, who clearly can't wait to see All in Black become the next big thing in the Channel Islands. They have already started leading the company into other directions, hiring the best hairdresser on the island to head up the stylish, new hair salon in the basement of the mini-emporium. And there are plans for the basement of the furniture store as well, with recent planning permission to convert the space into a wine bar.

But it's the thought of taking the brand to other locations that really fires the imagination. A store in Jersey, the neighbouring Channel Island, opened last month and there are plans for more branches. 'There's clear logic to opening a store in Jersey because we already have customers there,' begins Colyn. 'Liz has designed interiors for a couple of apartments, so it was an obvious choice. And with the market in Jersey being much larger than here, we should do quite well. But beyond that, I'm not so sure.'

While he agrees that an opening in the UK is a possibility, Colyn stresses that it's important to think about the bigger picture. 'There are other places in the world where we could do business, so it's important that we don't close our minds to where we go next.' He doesn't rule out France, which is even closer to Guernsey than the UK. And then there's further afield, including emerging countries in Central and Eastern Europe where there is a lot of money, very little competition, but mountains of red tape. Even Dubai is suggested as a potential destination. 'When you think about it, there are so many building projects going on right now in Dubai, that it would be a good time to introduce the All in Black brand. All those luxury properties will need furnishing.'

It's an interesting proposition, but Colyn notes that, over the next few years, he's more concerned about how, rather than where, the business will be seen. He draws a parallel with the successes of Next in its heyday, a recognised high street name selling designer-led clothing at affordable prices. 'We'd like to be seen as a brand that has the ability to become the next Next,' he argues. 'A brand that offers good customer service, and provides well designed, quality products that are attainable.'

But for all the talk of empire building, Liz steers the conversation back to what made her get into the business of design, and All in Black, in the first place; her love of art, fashion and colour schemes. 'Fashion and design have always appealed to me. They give me a lot of enjoyment and I've built successes on them. At All in Black, we work long hours but when we're selling here in Guernsey, it's really good fun. This isn't a job for me. It's a way of life.'

For more information on All in Black, visit the website at www.allinblack.co.uk.