Online marketplace’s £5k prize makes Laura Collier’s store opening a dream
Laura Collier has crowned making her dream of opening her own greeting card and gift shop come true with an incredible £5,000 win to buy more stock thanks to global wholesale marketplace Faire.
And the news that she‘d won one of the two prizes offered as part of the Open With Faire programme came as Laura prepared to open Fond Shop Lymm on 7 October – which can be seen in the reel below – with the relaunched Wasteless Market in Bexley the other winner.
“Winning this competition has provided me with such a boost, not just financially but also in energy and in confidence for my shop’s launch,” Laura said, naming her shop because she’s fond of shopping “that is good, does good and feels good”.
“Preparing to open my first shop has been a thrilling but exhausting experience, and winning the competition gave me the extra surge of joy that took me to opening day still smiling!”
Charlotte Broadbent, Faire’s UK general manager, added: “We’re excited to help make these shop dreams a reality by fully supporting the launch of Fond Shop Lymm and the relaunch of Wasteless Market, along with all the other new retailers we’ve accepted on to our Open with Faire programme for the first time to help reinvigorate British High Streets.
“So many brilliant up-and-coming businesses entered Faire’s competition to bring more support for UK independent retail and I can’t wait to see what they all have in store.”
Having long held the dream of working for herself in her own shop Laura finally took the plunge earlier this year aiming to celebrate artists, craftspeople and micro businesses which create items in small batches, and she currently stocks publishers including Hutch Cassidy, Ickaprint, Oh Squirrel, Dick Vincent Illustrations, Feel Good Supplies, Neesh Home, Dixon Does Doodles and Oldfield Design Co.
Laura explained: “Burnout from a previous job made me reflect on how I could find fulfilment in my career and combine my skills with my personal passions. I realised that the only way to achieve this was to finally chase a dream I’ve had in some form or another for 20 years, and open my own bricks-and-mortar shop.
“And what an opening weekend! It surpassed all my expectations and filled me with so much joy and confidence.”
New and aspiring retailers from across the UK entered the competition, part of Faire’s programme to provide new shop owners up to £20,000 in free, 60-day payment terms, to stock their shelves and support their launch.
Each was asked to submit a video about how winning an additional £5,000 to spend on stock would transform their business, and dozens of the entrants have also been accepted on to the Open with Faire programme run by the retail platform which connects hundreds of thousands of independent retailers with brands across the world.
Wasteless Market and Fond Shop Lymm were selected by Charlotte along with fellow judges Rebecca Morter, founder and CEO of Lone Design Club; British Independent Retailers’ Assocation CEO Andrew Goodacre; and Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones MBE, founder of The Black Farmer brand.
After Teresa Ewart’s sister died from cancer, she and Lis Radbon set up Wasteless Market offering ethical, natural and sustainable alternatives to homeware and personal care products, then had to close their monthly markets and refill hub due to Covid, before relaunching last month.
“Faire has already made ordering and finding eco-friendly supplies much more convenient and reduced the quantities we needed to order to bring down delivery costs,” Lis said. “As a non-profit enterprise, every penny we make is put back into the business so these savings are a great help.
“The £5,000 to spend on Faire will now enable us to expand our product range to help attract more customers and help them reduce their carbon and plastic footprint. It will also release funds to market our events and host educational workshops on sustainable living.”
Judge Rebecca added: “Fond Shop Lymm and Wasteless Market resonated with me due to their owners’ emotional and powerful stories, particularly how they are using their businesses as channels to heal after personal loss and to support mental health. Their commitment to not only growing their businesses but also shining a light on social value deeply moved me.”
