Move over Whoville – there’s a new Christmas village on the block.
Mark and Nicky from Cleggs on Goodramgate are bringing the magic of Christmas to York with their fantastic new window display.
Named ‘Cleggsville’, the woodland village has been made out of recycled materials and populated with some of the characters that are sold in the shop.
And it looks beautiful!
Cleggs is an independent shop that stocks a wide range of home and gift items sourced from around the world – as well as many handmade items.
Mark and Nicky first had the idea for Cleggsville during the lockdown of November 2020.
Unable to go into their shop during lockdown, Nicky had been on a walk when she was inspired to make a woodland village for the following year’s Christmas display.
The village is made largely from recycled cardboard, and Nicky made a lot of the characters herself. The whole village took about a month to make.
After almost a year since its conception, Cleggsville is on display for passers-by to enjoy.
Welcome to Cleggsville
“The reception has been fantastic,” said Mark. “It’s wonderful the amount of people who have come in and said they love the display.
“We are really pleased with it.”
The creativity didn’t stop there though – as Mark and Nicky also made a stop-motion animation film for Cleggsville, which was filmed all on a phone.
In the film we are introduced to characters such as Agnes Mouse, Finley the Festive Fox, Sandra the Skiing Sheep and many more!
The characters that appear in the woodland village can also be bought in the shop – so you can bring the spirit of Cleggsville to your own home.
Mark, who’s a writer and writes under the name Jon Markes, decided to also create a story about the characters of Cleggsville.
The book, named Santa’s Trousers, is a Christmas story for young children that uncovers the mystery of who has taken Mr Claus’s trousers.
“This was the first ever children’s story that I’ve written,” said Mark. “I quite liked it – it’s good fun.”
Santa’s Trousers is priced at £5.99 and is available to purchase from Cleggs or on Amazon. The Blue House Bookshop on Bootham will also be stocking copies.
The book is dedicated to Mark and Nicky’s grandson, Bodhi, who was born at only 26 weeks in November last year.
Cleggs have been a presence on Goodramgate for many years, and will be celebrating their tenth anniversary next year.
And they’re already planning their next Christmas display – we can’t wait to see it!
Visit Cleggs’ website to shop your favourite Cleggsville characters or find more gift ideas for the festive season.
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