MUCH has been made recently of the crisis on south Cumbrian high streets.

As more and more goods tumble through letterboxes in brown, cardboard packages, more and more shops are closing.

My hometown, Barrow, has just had the bad news that Marks and Spencer is shutting down, which will leave a really big gap in the town.

Ulverston town centre, however, appears to be on the up.

Shops don’t seem to be empty for long in Ulverston and when they do reopen they are either chic ladies boutiques, elegant interior shops or a natty restaurants.

In fact, an interiors showroom opened just this week on New Market Street.

Marshall Mason is a kitchen design studio run by award-winning south Cumbrian Andrew Bell.

Andrew, a former hairdresser (obviously the boy has style), decided on a change of career several years ago.

So he upped and offed to university to study interior design. From there he cut his teeth in Manchester, working for a design company, where he learned aspects of project management and design consultancy.

Once back in this area, Andrew soon gained a reputation as the go-to man for a bespoke kitchen - someone who would combine style with uncomplicated design.

Someone who understands just how the kitchen is the focal point of the home. Someone who can make it both practical and appealing in equal measure.

It was around this time that Andrew first entered the National Kitchen Design Awards.

On his first attempt at ‘Young Designer of the Year’, he was shortlisted and then highly commended.

Inspired by this and determined to do better, Andrew went on courses in England and Spain to discover new materials and improve on his craft.

He entered again and is now currently holding the award for ‘Kitchen Designer of the Year (up to 20k)’.

It is very possible that Ulverston is the ideal town for this boutique-style showroom. Not only because it has a great catchment area for potential customers in the South Lakes, but also because the town hasn’t become over-run by large anonymous, national chains.

Instead we’re full up with independent traders, which helps to give the town its lovely community feel.

Marshall Mason are holding a launch event this Saturday (between 11am and 4pm) at their showroom on New Market Street, Ulverston. They extend the invitation to anybody interested.