‘Depends on how intuitive the site is. I get by with tech, but I don’t like anything complicated. The pop-up shop probably appeals more but I’m not sure I have enough crafts to make it work.’ When Saffy pointed at the shelves, laughing, I clarified, ‘Enoughdifferentcrafts. Patchwork quilts are an expensive purchase – one thing I did at least learn from my craft fair nightmare. The fabric and materials are already pricey before you add in anything for labour so I don’t imagine they’re an item that’d sell every day and they’re not to everyone’s taste.’
Saffy scanned her eyes down the quilts, her brow furrowed. ‘So you’re saying that, for a pop-up shop to work, it’d need a big range of crafts.’
‘Yes, and different price points too. Impulse buys, I think they call it.’
She nodded slowly before turning to face me. ‘Here’s an idea. You have fifty-seven quilts and, I dunno, ten crates full of crafts but you don’t think there’s enough variety. Grandma has a room full of homeless crafts too and I bet Milly, Veronica, Laughlin and your other friends from Cake & Craft Club do too. What if you did a collab? You’d have everything you need – massive range of stock, big-money items and impulse buys – and you’d be able to split the rent and share the workload.’
My initial instinct was to laugh and declare,We couldn’t do that!But then I thought about thelivingentry on mystartlist. I hadn’t really thought about what that meant – I just knew that I wasn’t doing it. Joining Cake & Craft Club had been a great start and this could build on that. It would be a chance to do something different – something for me – and it’d also be an opportunity to meet some new people. And it wasn’t as though I had any doubts about my crafts being of a high standard. It was one of the few things I didn’t have any insecurities about, having learned how to sew from the best.
‘It’s actually a brilliant idea,’ I said, smiling at Saffy. ‘I don’t know if the others would go for it but do you fancy sounding one of them out? I could ring Milly and see if she wants to join us for lunch at the pub. If she’s a yes, we could take the idea to the others.’
‘Perfect! You ring Milly and I’ll google units in Keswick – see if there’s any who’d consider a pop-up shop.’
As I waited for the call to Milly to connect, butterflies soared in my stomach and my heart raced with excitement. Imagine the five of us running our very own pop-up shop. What an adventure that could be!
16
‘I love it!’ Milly declared, eyes shining when Saffy finished outlining her idea for the pop-up shop after we’d settled at a table in The Fox and Rabbit. ‘My only problem is I wouldn’t be able to fit in many shifts around my job but I’d do what I could. Do you have an empty shop in mind?’
‘Saffy did some research earlier,’ I said. ‘There are a few in Keswick at the moment but we’re not sure if they’ll be options.’
Saffy nodded. ‘One specified no pop-ups but I spoke to the other estate agents who said they’d look into it. One was fairly convinced it would be a no but the other sounded upbeat.’
We hadn’t long finished our meal when that estate agent rang Saffy back with the news that the landlord would only consider a pop-up lease if we could provide proof of previous success which was absurd when the whole point of many pop-up businesses was trying something new.
‘The best bet is to have a word with Veronica,’ Milly said. ‘She knowseveryone so, even if she doesn’t have a direct contact, she’ll know someone who does. Would Keswick be the best place for it? Maybe it’s just me but it feels like a village thing. I know there wouldn’t be the same footfall as in a town but if you pick the right village – a pretty, popular one – and get the advertising right…’
‘Are there any shops in this village?’ Saffy asked.
I shook my head. ‘A few, but no empty ones and I don’t think Pippinthwaite’s right anyway. Not enough visitors. Willowdale would be better.’
‘Oh, my gosh!’ Milly grabbed my arm. ‘Thereisan empty unit in Willowdale. It’s opposite Lakeside Inn, next to the village store. Used to be a gift shop but it closed down a few years back and has been empty ever since.’
‘Oh, yes! I know where you mean.’
Saffy looked up from her phone. ‘There’s no lease details online for it.’
‘Veronica!’ Milly and I said together.
I didn’t have Veronica’s phone number but Milly did. The phone signal was patchy in the corner where we were sitting so she nipped outside.
‘Ooh, it’s cold out!’ She rubbed her hands together when she returned. ‘She’ll be with us in five minutes with Laughlin and Lancelot. They’re on their way back from the vet’s.’
‘Is Lancelot okay?’ I asked, feeling concerned.
‘I don’t know any details but I’m assuming so. I don’t think they’d be joining us if there’d been a disaster.’
Veronica and Laughlin appeared five minutes later. Lancelot had a bandaged front leg and was wearing a plastic recovery cone round his neck and looking very sorry for himself, although he hadn’t let the cone stop him from carrying Spud the red panda in his mouth. Laughlin shared that Lancelot had cut his leg on a piece of broken glass during their morning walk but some idiot had parked across the bottom of Laughlin’s drive, blocking him in. Veronica, who lived nearby, had thankfully been free to give him a lift. They hadn’t eaten so they placed a lunch order and, while we waited for it, Saffy outlined the idea which was met with enthusiasm from both of them.
‘I’m not sure my creations are good enough to sell…’ Laughlin started and we all shouted him down.
‘Admittedly your early attempts at crocheting were a little… shall we say wobbly?’ Veronica said, her choice of word making us laugh. ‘You’ve perfected it now and those keyrings are adorable.’
‘And your pyrography is fantastic,’ Milly said, to which I added my wholehearted agreement.
‘Do you still have Noreen’s crafts?’ Veronica asked.
‘The garage is full of them. Noreen told me to clear them out but I didn’t know what to do with them. I didn’t think charity shops would be interested and there was no way I was going to throw them out after all the hours and care she’d put into them.’
