People with style: Maureen Atkins

People with style POSITIVELY STYLISH

Maureen Atkins - This and That, Seaview

Last year, Maureen Atkins opened her dream home interior and accessories shop in Seaview. This and That is packed full of beautiful, ever-changing and affordable pieces that will embellish any home. It’s Maureen’s first retail store, but with her real passion for interior design and natural business instinct, she says, “I’m good at customer service, and I think if you’re good at making a customer feel good, you can turn your hand to any business.”

“I’m good at customer service, and I think if you’re good at making a customer feel good, you can turn your hand to any business.”

Maureen worked for years in London at a luxury corporate travel company, before moving to the Island for a better quality of life with partner Lee Warren and their daughter Lily in 2009. Three years later, “because I wanted a decent local cup of coffee”, she opened Lily’s coffee shop in Seaview. Her entrepreneurial spirit and welcoming personality combined to make this daring new venture a success. And in creating a popular meeting place which helped to bring the village back to life, Maureen became increasingly involved in the Seaview community. Last year she volunteered for the parish council during lockdown, saying, “I was very thankful to be living here during that time, just being able to walk down to the seafront, and bump into people I knew. It made me so proud to see the community pulling together to help those who couldn’t get out, as well as supporting local businesses.” When the idea for This and That was born at the end of 2019, events quickly transpired for Maureen to sell Lily’s and open the shop. Making sure all her staff are happy and feel part of the team is a priority, and reflected in the exceptional customer service. Lee and Lily both also help out in the business when they can, so it’s a real family affair. Maureen says, “We’ve tried to offer something a bit different from other shops, and I love working here. I did long days at the coffee shop, but now my work life balance has changed so I can really make the most of Island living, especially in the summer.”

Maureen’s vision, and beautiful window displays, certainly bring colour and style to the high street, and she relishes sourcing quality furniture, gifts, throws, toiletries and other treasures for her customers. “I just love pretty things, and always select pieces that I’d enjoy in my own home. You can’t sell something if you don’t love it, but you just hope everyone else likes your taste. So far there’s been a lot of positivity; people definitely seem to like it.” Style is? I think of words like smart, elegant, polished, graceful and chic but style is an individual thing. What I think is stylish is different to what someone else would.

Money equals success? No. success for me means happiness in life, not money. It’s having a happy family, making memories and trying to have a positive attitude. What does Island living mean to you? Beaches, walks, scenery, it’s clean, safe and friendly. I have to pinch myself all the time to believe I live somewhere so lovely. Icons or Inspirations? My boss at the travel company, who started with nothing and made a million. She gave me the work ethic that I have, and made me feel like if there’s something you want to do and you put your mind to it, you can do it.

Blunders and what you learned? I don’t think I’ve made any bad blunders.

Top tips? Small changes can completely transform your room. Adding throws and cushions is a lot cheaper than redecorating. Facing the future? It’s really difficult at the moment, and no one knows what the future has in store, but we’re hoping the Island will return to some sort of normality by spring and things can come back to life again. And after having to cancel our wedding twice because of Covid, I’m hoping we can get married this year.