Shop Talk

Name: Vivienne Hopson Shop: The White Ribbon Address: Cuffley, Hertfordshire

How did you get into the greeting card industry or retail? I used to work for the previous owner and when she decided to sell I asked my sister Elaine and my niece Clair if they would like to join me and buy a family gift shop!

What are the best & worst things about working in retail? The best thing about our gift shop is being a local shop - we have met lots of lovely customers and friends. We love being able to go to trade fairs together and fill our shop with our taste in gifts and cards.

The worst thing is finding space in our little stockroom to store all of our deliveries! We don’t really have a bad thing, we all enjoy being in the shop! The only annoying thing is when a best-selling range or design is withdrawn by suppliers or publishers.

How have things been post-lockdown? Are you having any ongoing issues? It was very quiet to begin with and it has taken time for some of our customers to be happy to shop again. Sales-wise things are picking up and people are enjoying looking around instead of buying online.

What’s in your shop window? We try to have a range of items in our window for passers-by; at the moment we have a sale so have one window of sale items, and baby gifts and home gifts in the other side.

What cards are selling well in your store at the moment? Wedding cards and baby congratulations are very much in at the moment! Our best-selling publishers are Five Dollar Shake, Belly Button, and the Piccadilly range by Cinnamon Aitch. We have just started selling a beautiful range of cards by a company called Moongazer Cards and they are proving to be very popular.

Shop Talk

Greetings retailers tell it how it is...

Name: Clare Wright Shop: Candles and Pearls Address: Fairford, Gloucestershire

How did you get into the greeting card industry? As a teenager I worked in a card shop and always loved it. I did numerous other jobs and then after being made redundant in 2012 I decided that I would look into running my own business. My card and gift shop opened as a result of Covid because I had premises for my bridal business and needed to diversify when weddings were unable to go ahead.

What is in your shop window at the moment? Currently toys for school holidays.

What is your favourite item in store? That’s a tough one! I love all my independent stockists so probably between candles and toiletries – they are such a versatile gift.

What card range or category do you always ensure you keep in stock because of its popularity? Whistlefish is currently my most requested brand. Sadly during Covid, sympathy cards outsold everything.

Will you go to the trade fairs now they are opening up? Yes, I am planning to go to Autumn Gift Fair in September.

Have you had any strange requests for something on a card and did you have the stock to meet the customer’s needs? I get some really bizarre requests and with my crafting stickers can adapt any blank card. For example, To my niece and her partner as they buy their first home or to my boss on his retirement or Congratulations you got a puppy! They do like things tailored to the exact person!

If you could send anyone a card from the past or present, who would it be and why? My mum and dad, they have both passed and I would love to send them a card and tell them that I finally got the shop I always dreamed of.

How do trade magazines like Greetings Today help you? As a newbie to the card buying sector, it is good to see trends and remind me when I am missing occasions or maybe an occasion I hadn’t thought about stocking.

Name: Sam and Jon Edwards Shop: Fancy That Address: Tring, Hertfordshire

How did you get into the greeting card industry? On returning from our honeymoon, 26 years ago, we found we were expecting our first child and realised that our nomadic lifestyle of moving around the country at a moment’s notice at the whim of Jon’s civil engineering job, living in shared accommodation, had to change. It was time to realise a long-held dream of mine and open the gift shop that I had planned from the age of eight (on a visit to Spring Fair with my Mother).

Looking back, the best decision we made was to buy our shop building - and live above it. It was clear that it had great potential but was in a poor condition, having stood empty for four years - there was much to do as there were rotting floorboards in the shop, the cellar needed tanking and the top two floors had never been lived in!

We opened in April 1995, six weeks before our baby joined us!

What are the best & worst things about working in retail? Best: Harrogate Home & Gift - not only giving us a lovely event to source new suppliers and order for the festive season but a fabulous excuse to spend a few days walking and enjoying the wonderful Dales each July!

I love the buying and display while Jon particularly enjoys the sociable aspect of a good chat with the customers!

Worst: Working seven days a week in the run-up to Christmas.

How have things been post-lockdown? Are you having any ongoing issues? We have been pleased to see a gradual but steady return to normal takings, and sense that our town has an optimism about it, with all the empty units on the High Street either reopened or under offer. We are lucky that Tring is just the right size of town to retain an eclectic mix of independent shops.

Obviously, we were nervous about catching Covid or having to self-isolate and lose income and so we were extremely careful personally, both in the shop and in our private lives!

We have signage to let our customers know that we prefer them to wear masks in our small shop and most customers are wearing them. My blood boils when someone, not wearing one, sneezes!