We took a wander down one of Nantwich’s loveliest independent shopping streets and met the people making a living there.
KATE HINTON
Owner of Foundations
Myself and my co-owner Karen are both ex-primary school teachers and had a big change of heart in career - I wanted to be self-employed and more flexible around my family. My dad and brother own Jepson's across the road, and mum does the books upstairs. My brother told me about this underwear store that had come up for sale, and said if I didn't buy it, he would. So I asked Karen if she fancied going into knickers and bras! We came in, loved it and bought it. We jumped into a moving vehicle; or that's how it felt. It was already quite well oiled so we just dragged it into the 21st-century.
KATE BUCHANAN-DUNNE
Owner of Manor House Designs
When I left school I went to university to study ceramics, but my career has been in nursing, midwifery, genetics and then counselling. The jewellery was a hobby - an expensive one - so we had to make a business decision. First, I took over a shed in the garden. The shop is two things - the things that I design and make, and then we buy in things we think are beautiful. We try and choose things that are handmade in the UK, one-offs or those in short ranges so it is different and fresh. My real delight is being able to design something totally bespoke for someone.
LYNN CHILDS
Owner of Pink
I have another clothing shop in Hospital Street, Mia Boutique, but the opportunity came up to have this beautiful little store as well and I have put my heart and soul into it. I wanted to make it a lovely place where people feel happy and comfortable to shop. I like it to feel cosy. I had a bridal business for 12 years in Warwickshire, but I moved to Nantwich 14 years ago. 99 per cent of what we have in Pink we have got exclusivity on, and you're unlikely to find elsewhere, which is really nice.
CARA GREEN
Owner of The Little Paper Shop
We used to share the bridal shop further down the street. It made sense because we do a lot of wedding stationery and design work. But then the opportunity here happened and we snapped it up. I've been in business since 2014 and the retail side of things has been up and running for about three years - before that we were solely a design studio. We combine the two, now. We share the love of all things design-led and creative with workshops that help to open the mystery up a little bit. People like to come and see what we are up to - we might be making wax seals for a wedding or designing some branding for a business and we get people looking over our shoulders and buying the sketchbooks we love using - it works well.
MARK BROOKSHAW
Director of Brookshaws of Nantwich
I was a butcher many years ago - my father started working here in 1961 but there has been a butcher here since 1870. This originally was a deli, but when supermarkets opened it killed trade and we moved into fine wines, champagne and whisky. That was in 1994 and we now ship whisky all over the world. They are very specialist - the most expensive one we have at the moment is £20,000 for a bottle. We specialise at the very top end which is Japanese, at about £2,000 a bottle, but also stock some lovely Swedish blends too.
