Shrewsbury arts and crafts shop celebrates first birthday
A mother-of-one who opened the doors of her arts and crafts shop 12 months ago has reflected on a "crazy year" and has thanked the community for their support.
Jessica Richards opened Shrewsbury Arts and Crafts, in Windsor Place, as a place where artists in the community could showcase their work and have a platform to sell their creations.
The shop, which saw footfall drop when the town endured terrible flooding, and then had to temporarily close during the pandemic, celebrated its first birthday last Wednesday(19).
Jessica, 35, who also lives in Shrewsbury, said: "When the shop became available, I thought maybe it was something I could take on and do.
"I realised I wouldn't have had enough stock to fill it so I had the idea of doing a joint venture. I also wanted it to be locally made and handmade and we have more than 50 artists' work in here now. There's painters, felters, jewellers, candle makers, children's clothes makers and more.
"There's such a variety.
"For some people, this is the first shop they have been into while others have been doing the craft fairs."
Although the shop escaped being flooded earlier this year, she saw a drop in footfall as people were cautious about coming into the town.
"It had an impact on everyone because people were worried they would get stuck if they attempted to come into town," Jessica said.
"It took time for the customers to come back.
"I felt I was just hitting were it should be and Covid happens.
"Covid was a shock to everyone. It's nothing anyone had dealt with in this generation or the previous generation."
Jessica shut up shop just before lockdown was announced in March but was able to reopen in mid July.
The mother-of-one said: "I started thinking how do I save the business and move forward. "We did an online craft fair which did really well. I'm looking to do another one in September.
"We are open for people to browse but there are a lot of people who are still weary to come into town.
"It's been a crazy year. I can't believe how quickly it's gone. I feel thankful we can reopen our doors.
"I will keep on trying. Without the support from the community in Shropshire, we wouldn't be where we are.
"I've started to look towards next year now and I'm at the start of organising an arts trail."
Shrewsbury Arts and Crafts can also be found on Facebook.
