Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - May/June 2022

Tell us about your product offering. I offer modern crafting kits, mainly embroidery. Most of my designs are centred around the beauty and strength of females. I also have some animal collections, things like cute kitties and other fur babies. What are your most popular products? Definitely the female collection. Have any styles taken you by surprise with their popularity? Not one product in particular but it’s always interesting to see which designs your customers love most. Often for me it is always the ones I don’t think will go down as well as others. But that’s what keeps product launches exciting! How do you keep your designs fresh and current? Do you follow trends? Research and a lot of the time I just go with my gut, which is what I have always stuck to. I just think to myself ‘would I put this finished hoop on display in my own home?’ What sets you apart from your competitors? We offer something different and something for the 21st century crafter. We also have hand painted black embroidery hoops. This was developed so that once your kit is finished it’s already framed and it definitely makes us stand out from the crowd. How are you finding the current climate in the UK? Is it affecting business? Brexit has definitely impacted us, we found a big drop in orders to our EU customers due to import taxes. We also have found the cost of stock has been going up everything from the threads we use right through to the paper we need to print and create stitch guide booklets with. How do you view the future of independent retail post-pandemic? I see it as a positive. Most people’s shopping habits have shifted, sourcing particularly for local companies, UK based and also shopping a lot more online. We don’t have a physical store so our online audience is where it’s at. We also stock some really nice independent stores around the world, which is amazing. Are you active on social media? How is this important for the business? Yes, it’s very important. I like to show the realness of running a small business. Yes, the nice shiny professional product photos are pleasing but showing your customer the ‘realness’ of a small business and behind the scenes is how I like to engage with our audience. People have put trust in your business purchasing from you so showing them the process is just as important as them receiving the final product. Do you have any advice for new businesses starting out in the world of gifts? Go with your gut, if you were looking for a product and struggled to find it, I can guarantee that there will be someone else looking for the same product, there will be a market, it’s all about defining it and targeting those people. What can we expect in the future from the company? New designs and some new crafts are coming very soon, which I am excited to share with everyone. Other than that fun along the way, no day is the same you never know what might be waiting for you. STITCH WITH SKYE T: +44 (0)7712 133 900 www.stitchwithskye.com 72

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