ALL CHANGE ON THE HIGH STREET

Elaine of Moongemz Baby and Pammie of Pretty Kitty Designs made the move before COVID from the Paisley Centre to a small shop on the High Street, thinking they had found their forever home. But when the owners of the neighbouring White Cart Co, Joe and Tricia Bisland, decided to retire, the team jumped at the chance of taking over their premises and relaunching as Paisley Gift Cart.

“From taking over the former White Cart Co unit on the High Street, our world has hugely expanded from only baby and children’s products to a huge range of gifts for all ages and occasions,” explained Elaine. “We especially promote local artists and artisans.

“It is a challenge to be expanding at a time that we ourselves could be considering retirement but each day is a joy to come to work.

“Like many small businesses, my business grew from gifting handmade and personalised items, baby clothes, blankets and pram sets, to taking orders from family and friends, then supplying several shops locally and selling on social media.

“When the former White Cart premises suddenly came up for lease, we jumped at the chance to move to such a classy shop with a beautiful gift range established by Joe and Tricia.

“The best thing about the move is the continuing mentorship from the Bisland family and our lovely work surroundings.”

All under one roof, there is an exquisite range of gifts and homeware, alongside baby clothes and accessories which can be given a personal touch. Plus, a full range from Pretty Kitty Designs of children’s gifts and additional personalised items.

“I started Pretty Kitty Designs more than 10 years ago from home and was lucky enough to be able to display my products when Moongemz opened their first shop,” said Pammie.

“I make a whole range of handmade and personalised gifts, everything from boxed frames, family trees and jigsaw names to character stackers, shelfies and tulle garlands.

“But my personal favourites are probably my little name characters and stackers which I designed myself.”

Up next for this talented team will be a new website and they are excited to have already ordered their stock for Christmas, with lots to look forward to!

“There’s been a lot of building works in the town lately,” said Elaine.

“But the prospect of what lies ahead for the town is exciting and we’re proud to be part of that.”

WELL KNOWN FOR THEIR STUNNING WINDOW DISPLAYS THAT CHANGE WITH EVERY SEASON, THIS TOWN CENTRE FLORIST BUSINESS IS A REAL LABOUR OF LOVE.

“My mum and my two aunts were keen gardeners and flower arrangers,” said Craig Kirkwood, owner of With Love Flowers on Causeyside Street.

“I had grown up helping them and this ignited my passion for floristry and so I gained my Floristry Qualification - with distinction.

“After working locally for years, I fell in love with Paisley and the people. I was made to feel so welcomed by everyone, so it was the natural progression to opening my own shop in 2014.

“Our peak periods include Christmas, Valentines Day and Mother's Day,” added Craig. “Swiftly followed by wedding season, which we are currently gearing up for!

“We offer a unique wedding consultation service - during our wedding consultation we meet with the couple and discuss their wedding vibe and collate a unique consultation specific to the couple.

“We are currently offering unique wedding consultations for 2023/2024 weddings.”

Craig acknowledges his gorgeous window displays provide a real talking point for both locals and visitors to the town.

“We are conscious that everyone is watching the pennies at the moment and we want to uphold our reputation of being best value for money, without scrimping on the With Love quality that everyone loves so much.

“We are all in this boat together and as we paddle through these rocky times, we want to help people, as much as they want to help us.

“Our produce is fresh from Holland. We purchase seasonal stock and will always try to cater to special requests.

“We stock flowers and indoor plants and some outdoor hydrangea all year round, while in the summer months we have more of a selection of indoor and outdoor plants. “We have lots of different ranges for lots of different budgets. We offer gift bags, boxes, personalised arrangements and cater to all occasions.”

“I am naturally a creative person so my window displays stem from my crazy imagination,” admits Craig.

“When I was younger, I would shop with my Mum in both London and Glasgow, where I would see the excitement that window displays would create, I wanted the people of Paisley to have this.

“I continue to create my window displays for the people of Paisley, knowing they put a smile on people’s faces is enough for me.

“With flower prices being at an all-time high, we have to be mindful of this, however we have some special projects in the works that will retain our quality without being scarily priced!”

“It’s all about people, the people are definitely the best part of our business,” added Craig. “We get to play with flowers, hear people’s wonderful stories and share key moments throughout their lives. It's very humbling.

“This is the ethos of With Love. We create our bouquets with love, they are handled with love and are given with love.

“With