Gift shop Podarok wins the 2022 Cambridge BID Christmas window competition
Gift shop Podarok has been confirmed as the winner of the 2022 Cambridge BID Christmas window competition, which this year was entered by an impressive 72 businesses.
Six finalists were chosen by a judging panel in the competition, which was organised by Cambridge BID and supported by the Cambridge Independent. We published images of all those on the shortlist and some other entrants, and a public vote was held on the Love Cambridge social media pages.
Podarok, in Bene’t Street, wins a £100 Love Cambridge gift card plus £100 donation to a chosen charity. The team has selected Something to Look Forward To.
Catherine Pearson, who co-owns Podarok with her partner, said: “I knew it was going to be very close. When we found out we were absolutely delighted – and our charity will be delighted as well. We try to do as much for them as possible as a business and they’re always really grateful. They provide gifts and experiences to families that are affected by cancer.”
Shop windows displays are very important to Catherine and her team and they always work hard to come up with something enticing – especially at Christmas time. Their efforts were previously rewarded when they won the competition in 2019.
“We take great pride in every single one of our windows,” said Catherine, “and the girls in the shop design them and do them well in advance – but the Christmas one is the really big one where we try and showcase all of our products, or as much as we can, so that we can get people to come through the door.
“We’re so proud of them and of the girls who do them in the shop.”
Shop employees Sarah and Kristy worked on one window each, said Catherine, “and then we have a third member of staff, Shauna, who does all our internal decorations as well. We’re big on Christmas at Podarok.”
Catherine calls the display “a feast for the eyes” and notes that they “try to get everything into our windows so we can draw people in.”
She added: “Trading, Christmas-wise, has been really good so far. We’re doing very well.
“We’re on target for where we hoped to be this year after a couple of very odd years, and our online trading is also very good.
“Certainly for us, Christmas has been really positive. We’ve slightly adapted our business model so we have more of a wider range of expenditure, because obviously with people trying to be cautious, or spending a little bit less, we want to make sure that we’ve still got something for every budget.”
Catherine said the shop’s biggest seller at Christmas is its felt animals.
“Then we have some really lovely books and some beautifully-illustrated classics like The Secret Garden,” she said, adding that a new range of Moomin products is also proving popular – and not just with children.
Podarok opened, under previous ownership, in 2012.
