INDEPENDENT OF THE MONTH
INDIE OF THE MONTH H ome m a d e @ the Barn SIOBHAN GODWOOD FINDS OUT HOW A LEAP INTO THE UNKNOWN HAS BECOME A THRIVING ARTS AND CRAFTS BUSINESS
everyone I’d ever met to come and sell their things in my shop. I also adopted some of the people who were already selling in the shop. Not everyone wanted to stay, but some did, and the things they make actually fit in really well with my furniture, so that worked out brilliantly.” Many of the craftspeople that Sally approached felt quite intimidated by the idea of selling in a shop, as it’s much more of a commitment than just going to the occasional weekend craft fair. So what was it that made Sally feel able to take on a whole new business of her own, starting
and car boot sales. I started selling what I’d made at craft fairs and in a few shops in the area. One day, I was chatting to the lady who ran a shop in Bassingbourn that stocked my things, and she told me she was moving out. Something made me say, ‘Can I have the shop, please?’ Five weeks later, on 23 June 2018, I opened my doors for the first time!” Sally had no experience of running a shop or a business, but what she did have was plenty of contacts from her weekends selling her furniture at craft fairs. “I made lots of friends over the years, so I invited
ust over a year ago, Sally Stone was working as a teacher and bringing up her autistic son as a single mum. “I was finding it really stressful, and I ended up taking time off sick as it all got too much,” she explains. “My hobby over the last five years has been upcycling furniture I buy from charity shops, Facebook marketplace
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