If you’re reading this then I have finally been able to hold my shit together for long enough to write and publish this blog post. It has been an emotional time and in the interest of keeping my content completely honest I wanted time to gather my thoughts, process everything that has happened over the last two years and put it all in a blog post for you to read.
Saturday 23rd December - Shrimpy’s last day at Brooklands Square. It was annoyingly the best day sales wise, I took double what I took on my opening day and hundreds more than my best ever sales day. I got to see lots of familiar faces and a few new ones. I couldn’t believe so many people came to say goodbye, bring me gifts and cards and it was a sad but lovely final day.
Closing Shrimp & Doodle was the hardest decision for me and actually one I probably should have made sooner. Part of me wanted to continue and hope that other shops around me would open but ultimately when looking at the sales report and seeing that the shop doesn’t even take enough sales to cover the rent each month it was a no brainer. It didn’t make it any easier though, part of me feels like a complete failure. I replay all the shitty comments I have heard over the last two years about how the shop won’t work, I’m in the wrong location, I don’t have a clue about running a shop etc. I think back to those people, wondering if they are dying to say I told you so. Then I remember all the unwavering support from customers near and far and I am reminded of all the messages saying whatever comes next you’ll be there cheering me on and I feel like the luckiest small business owner in the world.
I always knew I wanted to do things differently and put the community at the heart of my business and offer free period products and crafts and the shop was always full to the brim in the school holidays with free craft sessions. A common misconception was that when people saw the shop this busy they thought I was raking it in but the reality was that those sessions were put on so that people who couldn’t afford paid for activities had somewhere they could bring their children and not worry about the cost. This meant that more often than not a busy shop didn’t equal sales. I am so proud to have offered thousands of free craft sessions for families and I wouldn’t have changed it, I just wished the square had footfall. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported the free craft sessions by buying craft materials from the wish list or leaving a donation in the pot, without you I wouldn’t have been able to offer anywhere near as many free sessions as I did.
So what’s next for Shrimp & Doodle now there is no physical retail store? I have a few ideas and will put it in a separate blog post for you but you certainly haven’t seen the last of me (or Shrimpy) yet! Please bear with me during this period of change.