RETAIL INTERVIEW:
Strawberry Blue
‘Trade shows are great for predicting trends and colours’ The beautiful Strawberry Blue gift shop in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, has been a finalist in retail awards and received many online plaudits from customers. We caught up with owner Claire Hembrough to discover how she’s coped with lockdown, and why she’s looking forward to hitting the trade shows again this summer and autumn Strawberry Blue is a beautiful home and gift shop located in the historic Shambles in Bradford-on-Avon, a pedestrian shopping street situated on the site of the original medieval market stalls. It offers unique homewares, furniture and gifts for all occasions. Launched in 2016, and popular with customers who enjoy browsing for that ‘something different’, it’s been described as a ‘little gem’ and ‘definitely worth a mooch – though the temptation to buy absolutely everything is likely!’ Here, owner and buyer Claire Hembrough, explains the history of her shop, and her plans for the immediate future.
54 Gifts Today
Claire, Strawberry Blue was launched in 2016. How did this come about? I spent two years looking for the right location for the shop. I loved it so much, I moved here to launch the business. I named it after my favourite fruit and my favourite colour!
What sort of reception did you get when you first opened the gift shop for business? The shop had previously been a china and cook shop so had a good customer base to start with. It’s such a friendly town; some regular customers just pop in for a chat.
Have you got previous experience in gift retail? I was a store manager for a gift retailer in Bath for 10 years. I’ve been in retail since the age of 21, and was store manager for Next for many years in Bristol.
How did you cope during the three lockdowns? It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, and I kept myself busy launching my mail order boxes and doing some well overdue decorating. I also did lots of dog walks!
