Shop Talk

although the figure has had to increase over the years!

And we are a happy shop! We give customers a good welcome and a chat. I’ve been in so many shops where you are ignored and I hate it, it’s so impolite! We also don’t just stand still. We have a discount day in November and sometimes at other times during the year. This entails offering 20% off everything in the shop, plus we have various offers through the year too.

Do your customers ask for eco-friendly cards?

Eco-friendly is something that has increased over the past few years, but is still not a major consideration in most cases. We do stock as many eco-friendly items as possible, such as plastic-free, foiled and glitter-free cards and wrap. Also I’m finding that more suppliers are using more eco-friendly packaging.

What challenges have you faced?

The main challenges have been the increase in overheads and also that people are just being more careful, so turnover has reduced. Longer term, basically we’ll just keep plodding along and keep looking for that special something!

What kind of card do you like to receive?

I love a handmade card. Handcrafted Cards, White Cotton, Katie Phythian, to name a few. My husband prefers to send verse ones.

What sells well?

Handmade cards. We also sell a lot of Paperlink, Paper Rose, Pigment, Paper Salad. I could go on - we do sell a lot of cards!

Anything you’d like to add?

I’m very grateful to staff and customers alike; they have been very supportive and customers really do try to support local businesses.