After almost three weeks as a retailer in Pop up the High Street, Little Molly’s Crafts enjoyed sales of nearly £1000, which is significantly more than she would make compared to a typical three week period retailing online and at local markets and fairs.

During the three week tenancy, Little Molly’s Crafts gained good public interest, steady footfall and repeat business. By taking retail space with Pop up the High Street, Jan has been able to interact with customers on a personal, one-to-one level, receive valuable feedback and was also able to gain a better understanding of her target market.

Pop up the High Street offers independent retailers in Torbay the chance to experience life on the high street for up to 6 weeks for just £30 a week. This provides home businesses or companies with an online presence the opportunity to have a ‘real world’ physical retail space, without the expensive overheads or risk.

Executive Lead for Business, Councillor Richard Haddock, said: “There have been a number of success stories from the Pop up shop and it’s great to see local businesses receiving support to help them grow, and improve sustainability. Jan’s experience highlights the opportunities available in Torbay through our town centre regeneration and business enterprise projects.”

Little Molly’s Crafts is a handmade children’s clothes and accessories company based in Torbay. Janet Gartside began Little Molly’s Crafts in January 2015 after her hobby ‘snowballed’ and found herself with enough products to justify ‘stock’. Her products are all made by her and include skirts, headbands, bunting, cushions, blankets and comfort toys as well as commissions on request.

The majority of Little Molly’s products are created from fabrics sourced from across the world and are good quality and colourful, sometimes with popular children’s characters and animals. Items from Little Molly’s Crafts are typically bought as gifts and are bought via Janet’s Facebook page or at local markets and fairs.

Janet said: “I mainly wanted to go into Pop up the High Street to gain feedback from the public. When you sell online, you rarely get the chance to hear direct customer feedback, so it’s been lovely to be able to get that in here. I’ve been delighted with the positive reaction from everyone that’s been into the shop. I was able to ascertain which products proved particularly popular with customers and which fabric designs children were most drawn to. I would thoroughly recommend Pop up the High Street to any local independent retailer.”

Little Molly’s Crafts is a relatively new business at less than a year old, which meant that Janet was unsure of price points and what will sell and at what rate. Being in the Pop Up shop has helped solve this while determining an appropriate level of stock for the business going forward.

During her tenancy, Jan has had requests to create custom commissions, and through the use of her business cards has increased the ‘likes’ on Little Molly’s Crafts Facebook page.

To find out more about being a tenant in Pop up the High Street contact Liz.Edwards@tedcltd.com or visit www.popupthehighstreet.org

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