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Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to the preview and launch of Little Welly Gifts . A beautiful gift boutique situated in the picturesque market town of Usk, Monmouthshire.
My lovely friend Sarah who I have known since our teenage years, firstly helping out at the local riding school, mucking out and gossiping which then moved on to terrible boy and outfit choices into our teens and early twenties. But after babies and marriage things change, our outlook, goals and aspirations change. We mature, we evolve and we have different priorities.
The name 'Little Welly' came from personalised, illustrated welly pictures that Sarah drew herself and sold through social media channels. These gathered a huge following so other illustrations and gifts were also added to her business model and again proved popular thus propelling her into looking for ways to expand the business even more so. Then finding inspiration from other home and gift boutiques around the country, Sarah wanted to open a store, her gift boutiques ethos to be that they stock as many products as they can from the UK and if possible manufactured here as well. She is also constantly on the look out for companies that ethically source their materials. Sarah, didn't want to stock mass produced items, she wants to support British businesses and manufacturing. To know where items are sourced and knowing those paid to make them have been fairly treated is very important to her and her business.
Some of the beautiful products Little Welly Gifts stock include Wild Olive bath products. These deliciously, pretty soaps and bath melts are handmade in the Peak District, using natural ingredients, paraben free and vegan friendly. Carrie Elspeth handmade jewellery from South Wales. Luxury soft toys by Ragtales, handmade baby shoes by Starchild and handmade wooden toys all made in Britain. There are also unusual and quirky gifts including scarves, ornaments, mugs and much more.
They also offer a free embroidery service which can really make your gift stand out from the crowd. A unique and totally personal item you can treasure forever.
I was self employed, I ran my own ladies boutique. I know how scary it can be to leave a job and start from scratch. If you're passionate and it's something you believe in and you have a good a solid business plan then I say definitely take the leap. Being your own boss can be hard, if you're ill you can't just call in sick, you have to make the difficult decisions, profit, reputation, success; it's all on your shoulders. But the rewards definitely out weigh the bad stuff. One of the things I will never forget is those friends that celebrated my launch and continued to support me. They shopped at my boutique, they shared my posts on social media and they told their friends and colleagues. For that I am forever grateful. So it is important for me to do the same for my friends.
Who doesn't love shopping and finding unique items makes it even more enjoyable!
Happy shopping all!
Victoria
xx
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