15 From the front line.qxp_Layout 1 08/02/2021 16:47 Page 15
Holly Wilson’s
From The Frontline
Shop school Thank goodness January is over; perhaps the longest January ever? I hope you are all well and managing in this latest lockdown. The sheer monotony and terrible weather are making this one particularly hard. he one day of glorious snow we had in London brought some muchneeded joy to us all. It is the happiest I have seen Stoke Newington in quite some time. So many smiley faces and my kids couldn’t move their right arms for the next two days after the number of snowballs that they threw and snowmen that they rolled in a few short hours. We are well and truly back in the swing of homeschooling now - although due to an error by Open Reach we have had no internet at home for the past two weeks. This is not ideal when homeschooling two children and trying to build a website! I also had my colleague Maeve isolating and Janeta has left to start her new career, so we decided to move homeschool to ‘shop school’ where there is internet. So, the kids have sat at the till and done their lessons while I pack orders and prepare ‘Click & Collect’ and work on the website. It has not been ideal, but we’ve made it work. I believe it is referred to as ‘character building’! The website is very nearly ready. It has been epic! Maeve and Fatima are well and truly overloading product, as am I. But hopefully it will be worth it. Demand is certainly there, so I feel hopeful. I just need to push it over the line. The waiting and not knowing is always worse than the reality. Fingers crossed. Stock then becomes an issue. Lots of
Inset: Holly Wilson (pictured) is bringing some cheer to the windows at Prep Cookshop. Below left: Window at Prep Cookshop. Below: Richard Dare’s December window.
products are out of stock in store, but it is daunting to start placing orders when, firstly, we do not know when we will reopen, and, secondly, what the uptake of the website will be like. There still seems to be supply issues and, with customs delays, it all feels like a big unknown. But I guess the only way to survive is be brave and move forwards with confidence and hope. As a classic line (from the film Field of Dreams) says: “If you build it, they will come.” I also want to start sourcing new products and suppliers to give the shop a lift. I have used the Top Drawer On Demand website a little bit this week and will do some more of that before it finishes. I am missing trade shows so much. I love seeing new product. Not going to Paris for M&O felt so sad and my phone keeps sending me photo reminders of previous years just to add to the misery. It just seems so hard to imagine life ever returning to that level of normality. I am really hoping to see UK manufacturing stepping up and offering more opportunity to source in the UK. We have received our grants for Richard Dare from Camden Council, but Hackney is really dragging its feet. I have just received PROGRESSIVE
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HOUSEWARES
the November grant; some haven’t and the Council says it could take until the end of February. It will then start working on December and the additional Rishi support package. I fear it will be too late for some, and it is frustrating as there is very little communication. To end on a positive: one of the shops on our street read an article in The Guardian about a town that is decorating its windows in homes and shops to bring a bit of joy on people’s daily walks. So, she has started a ‘signs of hope in Hackney’ Facebook campaign. All of the shops are going to try and create a window to bring some joy, and we are hoping it will spread into the community too. It is a lovely idea and will hopefully build on the community spirit which has grown ever stronger during this pandemic. Best of luck to everyone. Stay strong and let’s hope that we can reopen soon.
Holly Wilson is the owner of Prep Cookshop in Stoke Newington and Richard Dare in Primrose Hill, North London.