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Small Enterprise sat down with Ruby Friel, founding father of Nonetheless Life, one of many three winners of the Sage x Small Enterprise pop-up store competitors.
The successful companies have been chosen by our knowledgeable panel to occupy a pop-up store house in Edinburgh’s St James Quarter throughout the festive interval.
Nonetheless Life focuses on well-made merchandise that usually use pure supplies and native sources.
A former florist and product designer, Ruby has travelled the world for inspiration, exploring unbiased boutiques to supply Nonetheless Life’s merchandise.
Ruby opened up the store in March 2020 when she was on maternity go away together with her daughter, Edie. Now she’s joined by Luca, an artist and creator, and Rebecca, a florist. They intention to supply a pleasant, welcoming and inclusive buying expertise.
Inform us extra about you and your corporation
I’m Ruby and I’m from Nonetheless Life. We’re a homewares and life-style retailer in Stockport. We promote design-led homewares and life-style merchandise from manufacturers the world over. We additionally champion small native music makers.
What made you wish to enter the competitors?
We now have needed to do a pop-up for fairly a very long time. Once I noticed the competitors, I believed, ‘Sensible, it is a nice approach to trial it with some assist.’ I simply needed to see what the enterprise was able to with a better footfall. I wish to broaden sooner or later, and it offers me a bit little bit of an perception into what is likely to be a good suggestion to broaden into or develop.
How did you are feeling concerning the pop-up being in Edinburgh?
Certainly one of my workers, Rebecca, loves Edinburgh. It was sensible as a result of she’s going to be the one doing it. That’s excellent. She’d additionally been to the centre, and she or he stated that it was a extremely, very nice place to do it. It’s only a lovely place to come back. So yeah, joyful!
What does the win imply to you?
It was very nice to have the popularity. I feel somebody from Sage stated that Nonetheless Life was an fascinating model with fascinating advertising and good potential to scale. That was a extremely, very nice praise to listen to.
To know that my workers are going to get a deal with as nicely, which goes to Edinburgh for per week. So yeah, actually good.
What are the principle takeaways you hope to get from the occasion?
The primary issues which are good for us to get out of it are hopefully some gross sales, clearly. However then seeing what the enterprise is able to in an space of upper footfall, but in addition seeing how individuals react to that. The place we’re, and the sort of store that we’re, we appeal to a really particular buyer. Are we business sufficient to be in an space the place there’s plenty of various kinds of prospects round? It’s a extremely good studying alternative from that perspective.
Why do you assume it’s essential for manufacturers like Sage and Small Enterprise to champion small companies?
I feel it’s actually essential for greater corporations that work with small corporations to work together and speak to one another about what works for both facet in order that each each side can get their mannequin and their communication with one another actually easy and useful to one another.
But additionally, as a small enterprise, you’re at all times going to must work with some large corporations as nicely. And simply to know that they recognise what you’re and so they see for what you’re, and so they perceive your corporation is actually useful. The issues that they do or say or the way in which they method you, they’re approaching it with some data reasonably than only a company large enterprise sort of mindset.
Extra on the Sage pop-up store competitors
Sage pop-up store winner #1 – Kirsty Fergusson, GET IT GRL – Kirsty Fergusson, founding father of personalised present and ladies’s put on model, GET IT GRL, talks to Small Enterprise about her pop-up store win
Sage pop-up store winner #3 – Pete Allison, Woven Whisky – Pete Allison, co-founder of blended whisky agency, Woven Whisky, talks to Small Enterprise about their pop-up store win
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