New life for one of Rugby's iconic buildings

Two restaurants have come and gone since the much-loved Summersault closed its doors for the last time but now Wayne Tuton, from Houlton, has taken on the ground-floor shop for something new for Rugby.

Nuova opened earlier in the summer but has now added an outdoor seating area to highlight it has several strings to its bow – furniture, lighting, gifts, coffee and cake, plus more.

With an air of gloom and doom about high streets generally, Mr Tuton is very happy to be bucking the trend by taking on a shop.

He told the Advertiser: “I wanted to add something to the centre of Rugby and hopefully encourage other people to take that step.

“I guess you can call nuova a lifestyle store.

“I offer contemporary furniture, lighting, gift cards, stationery and some beautifully-designed home accessories, many of which are from Scandinavia.

“You can also sit down and enjoy great coffee in front of the beautiful building.

“I try to work with brands that are unique and think about sustainability too, with having children I want to support these types of products.

“I have some very cool outdoor furniture that is made from recycled Danish trash, fishing nets, placemats etc.”

His career has been varied but with good design at the heart of it – and experience of the realities of retail.

He said: “In 1999 I saw there was an opportunity to sell premium menswear in my region of Yorkshire and proudly had my own menswear stores for a decade, before moving to Italy for the next five years as an agent to an international businesses in the wholesale fashion market.

“When my wife became pregnant, we decided to move back to the UK and I worked as a colour consultant for Pantone for a couple of years.

“I was then approached by a Danish lighting company, where I worked for several years as the UK and Ireland sales manager.”

He and his family have now lived in Rugby for six years: “We settled here because of its access to transport links, but also because of the quality of the schools.

“It was so well positioned for travelling around the UK and for travelling abroad that it just felt like the right place for us.”

Nuova was initially something of a mystery to passers-by but with the outdoor seating, it is starting to create its own distinctive vibe in the town and he is passionate about having the shop, as well as an online presence.

He said: “Many people still like contemporary design and I felt Rugby is a great location for people to commute into, so I wanted to champion Scandi brands that I know and love, customers still want to touch and see things before buying.

“Rugby has great potential and a lot of new families moving into the area looking for lighting and furniture.

“I also work with interior designers and architects for sourcing or finding bespoke solutions.”

Nuova is open Wednesdays to Saturdays, with Mr Tuton building his links with the brands he works with, at the start of the week.