'Nostalgia at Number 1', Market Place.

The seed was planted back in May of this year when I had my stand at the Spring Vintage & Handmade Fair in Chipping Sodbury. I was reminded that there are many women out there who all share my passion for vintage, or for the pleasures of owning something lovingly created by hand. It was also a reminder to me of those days when I sold on the craft fair circuit (around 20 years ago now) and also at the DMG antique fairs at Shepton Mallet a few years ago; the camaraderie amongst the stallholders that went with the good days and the bad is something that I miss. I have some wonderful friends in the antiques trade, but being just a buyer at the fairs, detaches you somewhat from the network.

So as I said, the seed was planted and I have been making decisions and plans since that wonderful day. I have been a stay-at-home Mum for 22 years now!!! Gulp! Well, that's apart from doing the odd antiques fair and always trying to fit my on-line business in when I could; my family have always had to come first. This is a long time to be at home, alone with ones thoughts, day in, day out, and it can become quite isolating. Having been a Mum for all that time (youngest will be 16 in November) I have recently had an urgent need to find ‘me’ again…whoever she may be…That’s ‘me’ the person I am inside, rather than the Mum, provider and carer.

I did trial a shop for year, back in 2003, which was joined to the side of our house. My youngest was only 10 years old at the time, so it was very difficult to juggle family life with the tie of running the shop properly, particularly during the school holidays, and with weekends never being our own. Having said that I dearly missed my shop when I closed it and aimed to keep it alive by selling similar goods on-line, which is what has led to my somewhat isolated lifestyle.

So earlier this year I began considering opening a physical shop again. I decided that opening the room on the side of our house was no longer an option…besides, I’m rather partial to the kitchen being there now and the space it gives us when the girls and their friends all descend upon us.

No, for it to work for me this time I needed it to be away from our home, to give me the detachment and the ‘me’ time that I crave. I realise that I possibly could have chosen a better time to be contemplating opening a shop, given the current economic climate, but advice that I have received has been full of encouragement and has helped me to see clearer.

I began my search by looking at a vacant premise on a main ‘A’ road, a few miles from our home. The building was very appealing, but with its location with no other shops around and its need for ‘a change of use’ to be granted, it was soon struck from my list.

During the summer, the town of Wells provided me with a very successful viewing. A recently refurbished shop, which had previously had a thriving business running from it for around 20 years, was very tempting. It was a large premise with three sales rooms as well as a kitchen and loo! I ended up walking away from this shop though, mainly on the advice of a friend whose opinion I sort, who knows Wells well! The location wasn’t ideal and my friend had a feeling about Wells not having the right customer base for vintage. I respect her judgement, so decided against it.

I left my search for a while, until September when I stumbled upon this blog. It is written by Belinda who runs a beautiful antique shop called No.21 in Shepton Mallet, which she opened with her husband back in May. Shepton Mallet is a small market town, once quite affluent with its links centuries ago to the woollen trade and also by the breweries that existed there during the C19th. Over the years it has had its problems; with ‘a well known corporation’ opening a large supermarket at the top of the town, being the final straw that broke the backbone of the high street. I admit that I didn’t actually know the town of Shepton Mallet that well, despite it being only a 25 minute drive from my home, so I thought I’d pay it a visit and also call in on Belinda whilst I was there.

Photo courtesy of: http://atowninsomerset.blogspot.com/
Belinda’s shop is very easy to find in the pedestrian area of Town Street – and I have to say that it is the smartest shop in town! She has filled it with tasteful items of furniture and beautiful accessories for the home. We soon got chatting upon my visit and it was clear to me that Belinda is passionate about the rejuvenation of Shepton. She told me of the Shepton21 scheme that is running with a dedicated committee, in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce and many non-profit organisations, which has already made leaps forward in bringing back a vibrant and sustainable future to benefit residents, businesses and visitors to the area.

It also seemed to me that visitors to the town expect to see antique and vintage shops, with it having such a strong link with the Bath & West Showground and the antique events that are held there, just five minutes down the road - but there are actually very few of them. I decided to give Shepton a chance and had a good look up and down the high street…there were quite a few shops vacant/for lease, one of which really appealed to me.
On my return home I gave it a lot of thought and then arranged a viewing of the shop that I had seen. It is only a small premise (enough for one person to cope with on her own!), a corner position, and in a prime location on the market square – so no cars going past all day, just pedestrians, with the market stalls there on a Friday. Outside it, stands the beautiful 50 foot high Market Cross, which dates from 1500.

So, the viewing went ahead and I had a very good feeling about the visit. Sums were worked out when I got home (between you and me the financial side SCARES me!!!)

Image from Psycho (1960)Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

and I decided I wanted to give it a go…I submitted my offer to the agent and waited…let me tell you, there was no ‘Kirsty and Phil moment', where five minutes later a phone call comes through and the buyers immediately know if it’s a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’!!

Location, Location, Location presenters Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp

Oh no indeed…the agent decided he needed a holiday and I didn’t hear if my offer had been accepted for 5 days!!! Talk about stress??! It was agony! But finally, on a Tuesday afternoon the news came through…the vendor suggested a counter offer, which was basically take it, or leave it, as he now had other parties interested!! This, after the shop being vacant for a year! Unbelievable…I was really tested to question if this was what I really wanted….then the vendor went away on holiday for 2 weeks!! Aghhhh….
It’s now several weeks on from those rather stressful negotiations and I had been itching to tell you of my plans, but was worried that things might fall through along the way…

Although I've still yet to sign the contract, I am on the homeward straight and would hope to do so in the next couple of weeks...I'm sitting here with everything crossed right now though; until I have that key in my hand, it is difficult to think of anything else. Who knew commercial leases were so complex?!

I’ve always been a bit of a purist and personally dislike repro-vintage, preferring the genuine article whenever possible. It has become much harder to find pretty vintage pieces, compared to when I had my little shop back in 2003, mainly due, I think, to the current ‘fashion’ for all things vintage, but I am confident that with the contacts that I have made over the years, that I will be able to keep my new shop stocked with a good assortment of authentic pieces, as well as my hand made items. I intend to have my sewing machine in the shop and to work on making things during the quieter times. I honestly believe that this will work better for me, rather than me working from home so much. I find it a struggle to keep motivated at home sometimes, especially during school/uni holidays, and other distractions. There have also been a lot of new vintagey websites set up over the years and so competition has increased. I work alone, rather than working with my partner like many others, so it can be hard to compete when I have to do all aspects myself. Hand making the stock always seems to be way down on the list, with emailing, listing, despatching etc. taking over and becoming the main focus. Finding time to think about new lines is a struggle and so I am often left wondering if what I do makes me happy…
I do intend to keep my on-line shop, but will probably only list my rag dolls on it for a while, until I get settled in at the physical shop. This is a big step for me and I need to get it right.

I have had my on-line shop for over 7 years now and am grateful for all the cyber-friends and customers that I have met over that time and want it to be known that I am not looking to turn my back on you – I appreciate your past custom and hope that you consider I am making the right choice in this next chapter in my life. I will do my best to keep up with my blog too, but the time when I'm away from the shop will need to be family/home time which is still very important to me. (I do not intend to have a PC at the shop, as I need the hours that this should free-up for sewing etc.)

The next few weeks will involve lots of paint (the Barbie pink above will be the first thing to go! ;-)) and shifting of furniture and fittings, as well as moving stock into the shop (I have LOTS AND LOTS!) As soon as I am open for business I will let you know and hope that if ever you are passing, that you will pop in to say hello…(I’m really hoping I’ll be ready some time in December) So, although I am taking a big risk, I do feel that I am doing the right thing to make me happy. (I’m tied into quite a long lease, so am there for the long term.) It also feels good to be doing my very small part to help with the regeneration of Shepton Mallet town centre, by occupying another shop that has been empty for a year, and to hopefully bring some custom to the town. Shepton Mallet deserves better, given its ancient history which would be of interest to both locals and tourists, and its troubled recent past that it needs to emerge from. I hope it will encourage other small business owners to come and join the ranks too, as Shepton starts on its climb up out of the doldrums.

Although my new venture has been on my mind an awful lot over the last couple of months, I have not neglected my sewing machine and have lots of new items to take with me to the V&H fair on Saturday. (I’m sorry to those who have asked when my on-line shop would be updated, but I had to draw the line somewhere and so it has remained somewhat ignored. I hope you can forgive me and I will do my best to re-stock the catalogue early next year, if not before) I am very excited about all the stock that I have managed to acquire so far for my new venture, not least because I could buy everything that ‘spoke’ to me, rather than me first having to consider if it was suitable for posting. But it’s the V&H Fair first, so tomorrow I shall share with you some of the handmade items that I shall be taking with me.

Sorry for this long post, but I felt obligated to let you know what my plans were, having been a part of the Blogging community for a long time now and gaining so much support from you all over the years, for which I shall always be grateful.

Be back tomorrow,

Niki x