Blog
Emma Bell·
Why Hand Written Cards are Important
It’s that time of year when the last remnants of Christmas are being packed away and life is returning to “normal” whether that be work, school or a regular routine. It’s also the time of year that we remember being sat down by our parents and being made to write our thank you letters for the gifts and money we had received. A chore that we hated, if we’re honest, but a necessary part of Christmas. As a retailer that sells greetings cards, we can at times get really fed up with the messages that do the rounds at certain...
Emma Bell·
Let’s Get Visual - Top 5 Visual Merchandising Tips for Small Indie Retailers
As we head into November we’re putting the finishing touches to our Christmas window display it got me to thinking about visual merchandising in general and putting finger to keyboard to write a little blog of our top tips. Visual merchandising is a massive topic and the really BIG brands spend millions on their shop displays, so as a little indie it can feel quite intimidating to feel like you’re going up against the big guys, particularly at this time of year. Here at the gallery we’ve been hugely blessed and supported by our retail mentor Peter Cooper who, along...
Emma Bell·
Just a Card Day: 28th September 2018
You've heard us talk about the #justacard campaign a number of times and how important it is to every independent shop and gallery across the UK. It's not just about buying a card, coffee, cake, ring etc etc. it's about spreadhing the message of how important these are to our high streets and livelihoods! So for this month's blog I thought I'd do a shout out for this campaign and "Just a Card Day" and ask you to get yourself your window stickers if you're a shop or maker and if you're a shopper, and I think we all are,...
Emma Bell·
Is it Really Expensive?
I'm sharing a brilliant post from a fellow shop owner, Naomi of Collate Interiors in Axminster who tackles the thorny subject "expensive" - a word we often here in the gallery. Thanks to Naomi for letting me use this post in full "adjective: expensive 'It's too expensive' - I hear this too much. From people who just are passing the shop, who don't even cross the threshold! Or from people browsing around the shop, muttering under their breath (I can hear you FYI). So I felt like I needed to address this misconception. I'm in no doubt that other shops...
Emma Bell·
Independent Retailer Reality
Let's not beat around the bush, June 2018 was a s@@t month in the gallery in respect of turnover. We were down 32% on last year and 22% down on the 11 year average. So as an independent retailer what do you do when faced with figures like that? Panic, run and hide, think what's the point and generally have a little sob fest. All very valid emotions but not a great place to park yourself long-term! Interestingly enough, we've had a number of conversations with fellow retailers and gallery owners not only in Swanage, Dorset but also across the...
Emma Bell·
Swanage & Its Independent Shops
If you watch the news or read the national newspapers you'd be forgiven for thinking that every British High Street is dying a long, slow and painful death...it may be true for some places across the UK but carrying on the theme of the supporting small businesses and the #justacard campaign we wanted to give a shout out for Swanage which is loaded full of independent shops interspersed with the occassional national chain and only 1 or 2 empty spaces - a rarity in this day and age. If you've never been to Swanage then you're in for a bit...