Welcome to our blog!

I’m Beryl, and I am the designated scribe of Guru Boutique, a small, independent, fair-trade retail business (the spirit of which began to flicker into life on Kensington High Street in 1969). Then, at The Isle of Wight Music Festival of 197O, the true spirit of Guru Tribe was born. I was so excited and kept rambling on about a shop stocking beautiful things, but it was more than simply a shop. It was also a place for all kinds of people to come together. My Mam and Dad seemed to get what I meant straight away. None of what happened next was planned, but inspired by things we had discussed, my parents (Irene and Rupert Maughan) decided to open a hippy shop on North Road, Darlington. My dad called that business Quaker Girl, which was a good name given that our town was a Quaker town, but I knew it wasn’t the correct name or even the right location for the kind of shop it was. Sadly, Quaker Girl didn’t last very long. Dad then opened another shop in one of the pit villages outside our town. He called this one Santana, but it got broken into shortly after he opened it, and unfortunately, the stock wasn’t insured.

After these couple of false starts), poor Dad had had enough and lost interest, but Mam and I hadn’t. We bought his remaining stock from him and looked around in Darlington town centre for a place we could afford.

I won’t bore you here with details of the way it happened, but finally, on the 16th., of March 1972, we opened a tiny unit that was hardly more extensive than a cupboard at run-down Court Arcade in Skinnergate. The name we chose was Guru Boutique. By some miracle, we survived, grew and managed to trade happily there for seventeen years, making some brilliant friends and having memorable adventures along the way. That arcade may have been shabby, but it was also incredible. We had some fabulous friends who visited us regularly, and one of them (Tony Smith) soon joined our staff as a full-time colleague. Some other friends worked with us there, too, most notably Bridie Lowery, some excellent Saturday staff and the charismatic brothers Stuart and Gary Wright. Stuart worked with us full-time for quite a while and ran our vinyl record/posters department, but sadly passed away at far too young an age.

Eventually, after being happy in Court Arcade for all those years, the place started to let in the rain quite drastically, resulting in us losing a substantial amount of stock on a far too regular basis. Reluctantly, we knew the only option was to move.

So, in January 1990, Guru moved to number 24, Blackwellgate, and our friend Colin Harrison joined the gang, shortly followed by Kelly MacWilliams. We occupied that wonderful, interesting, historic and very pretty old building until June 2023 when, due to illness and age-related issues, we decided not to renew our lease but to start trading online instead. This means that Guru Boutique has been trading on the High Street for over fifty years at the time of writing this and that the spirit of Guru Tribe has been around even longer than that…

We love what we sell and appreciate the fascinating variety of people who visit us!

Our aim is not simply to make a profit (although that is essential if we wish to carry our dream on) but also to stock inspiring fair-trade and fascinating items from all around the world and to try to bring all kinds of people together. xx

Many other fantastic people have helped Guru over the years and who have subsequently become much-loved friends whom we refer to as our GURU TRIBE. Two much-missed members of our gang are sadly no longer with us nowadays. They are my lovely mam and co-founder of Guru, Irene and my late husband, Ray. We miss these two much-loved and wonderful people very much.

If you wish to know more about the people who are part of our story, you can read about some of them in the entry in this blog entitled ‘The Legend of Guru Tribe (just for fun)’ which can be found (believe it or not) in the Guru Tribe section. xx

In case anyone cares to read it, there is also my personal blog on WordPress – Scribbles, sketches, songs & snaps https://wordpress.com/view/berylmaughanhankin.blog

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: As well as being a long-established independent retailer, from time to time, Guru Boutique publishes books, cards, pamphlets, etc.

We also send out a monthly newsletter called Smoke Signals to The Guru Tribe and you can subscribe to that on the homepage of our main website http://www.guruboutique.co.uk

Should you decide to subscribe, please rest assured we will never share your details with any third parties, and you can also unsubscribe at any time you want.

A few images of the kind of treasures that can be found on our website.

Our gift items, candles and home furnishings are carefully sourced from Fair Trade, independent, and local companies.

We have a great selection of competitively priced aromatic incense, which is soothing and mood-enhancing. We also stock spiritual items such as figurines of Buddha, Ganesh, Shiva and other deities, mala beads, singing bowls, tinctures, etc.

Our fair trade clothes, accessories and adornments are popular with people of all kinds and all ages, being natural, beautiful, imaginative and comfortable. The colourful, adventurous Boho styles we love to stock are ideal for campus wear, festivals, holidays and all seasons.

We also have healing crystals and minerals (we see these as nature’s works of art). There is a section for tarot cards, books and stationery.

GURU IS FAMOUS FOR EXCEPTIONAL AND UNUSUAL BLANK, BIRTHDAY AND SPECIAL OCCASION GREETINGS CARDS.

Never in our wildest dreams did we foresee that little Guru Boutique would survive for over five decades. I’m happy to report that we have and that we’re looking to the future with just as much hope, imagination and enthusiasm as ever!

Watch and partake as the brave adventure continues…

REMINDER: As mentioned earlier, our secure website is ALWAYS OPEN so that you can send us messages, ask questions or make orders. You can reach us via the contact form on our sites and also access our social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.

Our postal address is Guru Boutique, P O Box 634 Darlington, DL1 9GG     (Tel:01325 461479)

Wishing love, luck and laughs to all our fabulous friends, whoever and wherever you are!

Above all things, we value friendship. Without our friends, Guru would not have survived to this present day.

Finally, here’s a little rhyme which I think sums us up.

THE SPIRIT OF GURUTRIBE

I exist without religious affiliation
I exist without political persuasion
I exist without sensory perceptions
I exist without any preconceptions

No nationality aligns with me
No physicality confines me
No gender defines me
No limitations can ever bind me

I am energy
I am soul
I am alive, and I will survive
I am the spirit of GURUTRIBE…

Finally, as we enter our fifth stage of being in existence, we’ve posted a more up-to-date photo of the three best friends who run Guru today. L to R: Tony, Beryl and Colin.

#gurutribeforever