Let’s Talk Shop

In this episode of Let's Talk Shop podcast, I speak with, buyer and owner Priya Aurora-Crowe of Lark London.    Lark London is a wonderful chain of 18 independent brick-and-mortar stores in London and Surrey, that is owned by Priay and her husband Dominic Crowe.    Priya shared her experiences and perspectives on the ever-evolving world of retail. Here are some of the key takeaways:    Previews an...

In this episode of Let’s Talk Shop, I speak with, Jake and Freya from Studio Wald. This is the second time Jake and Freya comes on the podcast and a lot have happened in their business since last time.   They have now got over 1000 stockists who bought from them, with over 300 buying regularly, and they now employ a team of 4.    In this episode, we dive into the challenges and triumphs of running...

In this episode of Let’s talk Shop, I had the pleasure of talking to Myfanwy Gloster from Glosters Pottery. Mev and her husband Tom founded Glosters Pottery, with Tom being the potter and Mev handling the day-to-day operations. They started with a café and gradually transitioned into a craft pottery shop, which has now become a thriving wholesale business.   During the conversation, Mev shares the...

You’re going to want to get your notebook out for this one.    In this episode of Let’s Talk Shop, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lucy Hitchcock, the founder of Partner in Wine. We discussed her experience in building a successful brand and her insights on packaging, pricing and wholesale. Here are three key takeaways from our conversation:   1️⃣ Build a strong brand: Lucy emphasized the impor...

🎙️ Welcome to Let's Talk Shop, the podcast where we dive into the fascinating world of retail and small businesses. In today's episode, we have a special guest joining us, Rebecca, the visionary behind a unique shop that champions handmade and local products.    Rebecca shares her insights on the growing appreciation for handmade goods in the wake of the pandemic, as well as the challenges she fac...

🎙️ Welcome back to Let's Talk Shop, the podcast where we delve into the world of retail businesses. Today, I am joined by a special guest who has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the world of buying and marketing. Get ready to be inspired as we welcome Bryony Taylor Edwards, the head of marketing and home and gift and interiors buyers at Yarnton Home and Garden.   In this episode, we dive d...

Welcome to another episode of "Let's Talk Shop!" In today's episode, we’re flipping the script. As I asked our guest, Nina Elegba to interview me for a change. We chat about everything from selling hot dogs outside nightclubs to becoming a successful business owner. We talk about the role of gratitude, manifestation, and finding your own unique methods to stay calm, grounded, and aligned in the bu...

In this episode of Let's Talk Shop, we have a special guest, David Nichols-Rice, who shares his journey and experiences in the creative industry. With a background in working with artists and trade shows, David discusses his love for wholesale and the rewarding yet challenging aspects of being a sole decision-maker. He shares insights on launching his own line of greeting cards, pivoting to online...

In this episode of Let's Talk Shop, host Therese interviews Hannah Paine, the founder of Epanoui. Hannah shares her journey of starting a jewellery brand and opening a brick and mortar store. She discusses the challenges she faced, the importance of integrating herself within the community, and the careful growth of her business. With her unique perspective as both a brand owner and a shop buyer,...

Welcome back to Let's Talk Shop! In today's episode, we have a very special guest joining us. Sakina Bouy, the visionary behind The Somerset Toiletry Co, will be sharing her incredible journey in the toiletry industry. From navigating through economic crashes to understanding ever-changing legislation, Sakina has built an impressive brand known for its integrity and beauty.    Tune in as she discu...

Season 6 is coming to an end and in this episode, Sasha and I speak about how we both found the experience of working together and what she’s learned about growing her sales.   We also set some goals for the next 6 months and talk about what’s been surprising and what’s worked and hasn’t worked.   Growing your wholesale and your sales can feel lonely and challenging at times but remember that cons...

Today we’re in Brighton where Sasha cold calls on shops in the hopes of getting some new stockists so that she can grow her wholesale business.    Cold calling, whether by phone, email, or in-person can be very scary but it doesn’t have to me. When it comes to cold calling practice really does make a huge difference, in particular, if you visit in person.    In-person cold calling will allow you t...

Since Sasha has done some wholesale in the past and had lost a bit/a lot of faith in it we needed to put the right foundations in place this time around to avoid costly mistakes and work way to hard for no return.   We started from the very basics with setting Sasha’s wholesale terms and prices and then moved on to creating her new and much improved wholesale catalogue. Since Sasha’s range is so b...

In this continuation of us documenting Sasha’s wholesale journey, we speak about selling.    Insecurities around selling are very common and sometimes they show up in very strange ways. It’s very easy to make yourself very busy to avoid having to step outside of your comfort zone and sell your products.   In this episode, we talk about how this showed up for Sasha and what tweaks we’ve made to her...

It’s not always that everything goes to plan when you try something new.   When Sasha from Checky Zebra first started to wholesale her greetings cards she would have looked very successful to most of us, getting a big order from a well-known multi-chain card retailer but all was not as well as it might have looked on the surface. In reality, it was very stressful and in the end, Sasha had very lit...

Today’s episode of Let’s talk shop is a solo episode where I talk about what to do and what not to do when sales are slow to help you and motivate you to continue to grow your business.   In the episode I share 10 to-do’s/don’ts:   Check-in with your sales mindset. Stop comparing yourself to others and your sales to last year, normally the latter is something I tell you to do but last year was not...

Today on Let’s talk shop, I speak with my former clients Jake and Freya from Studio Wald. Studio Wald is a wonderful home and gift business based in Leeds. We talk all about how Jake and Freya decided to start their business straight out of university and how they have grown it since.   Jake and Freya share their top tips that has worked for them and we talk about trade shows, hiring their first t...

Today’s episode of Let’s talk shop is a solo episode. The first of in season 5 and quite possibly the only in this season. Let me know if you want more episodes like this.   In the episode I talk about how to get started with your wholesale, we talk about: What wholesale is. If it’s right for your business. What you need to consider before getting started. How to set your terms and develop your sa...

Today on Let’s talk shop, I speak with my client, Leonara Manyangadze who’s the owner and founder of Tanaka. Leonara makes beautiful all-natural soaps that are good for you and for the environment as they are completely plastic-free.   Leonara started Tanaka in the autumn of 2019 and has grown the brand to now being stocked in 40 or so stores, mainly in the UK + one stockist in the US and one in S...

Today on Let’s talk shop, I speak with my coach, Jennifer MacFarlane who’s The Money Medium.   Over the past 5 months or so I’ve been working with Jen on my money mindset and I really enjoyed it. I think in particular women avoids speaking about money and by working with Jen I’ve been able to dare to realise that I can make money and fulfil my goals.   I think our money mindset sometimes holds us...

Today on Let’s talk shop, I speak with my client Megan who owns Sandwick Bay Candles who makes candles and home fragrance products with a conscious in small batches from the very top of Scotland.   Megan have grown her business so much over the last year and it’s been amazing to see her going for it and it is paying off. She’s constantly pushing forward whilst remembering why she’s doing this and...

Today on Let’s talk shop, I speak with Julie Driscoll and Karin Hausmann from Hyve, the organisers of Spring and Autumn Fair.   Spring Fair is the UK’s largest home and gift trade show.   Julie, Karin and I meet online to hear all about the new Spring and Autumn Fair Online marketplace that is launching on the 4th May. When it launches, Spring and Autumn fair will become an all year around digital...

Today on Let’s talk shop I speak with Sara Ittelson from Faire.com.   I know a lot of you are interested in finding out more about wholesale marketplace platforms, it’s something I see being discussed a lot in my free Facebook group, Let’s talk wholesale, and that I get asked about in every course I run.   Marketplace platforms can help you grow your wholesale and enter new markets and I’m so happ...

In episode 2 of Let’s talk shop, I speak all things ethical and sustainable with Sara Collins, an ethical production consultant and brand owner of fashion brand Sister and Kin.   We talk about what it means to be an ethical and sustainable business and how we have to choose what is important to us as brand owners to prioritise first and Sara shares lots of tips that you can use to be more confiden...

I’m so excited to be back and sharing another season of Let’s Talk Shop with you. We’re kicking off the season with an episode I’ve been wanting to record for a really long time with Jacqueline Snyder and Minna Khounlo-Sithep who are the co-owners of The Product Boss. I’ve been listening to their podcast for a long time, and I love how supportive of the small business community they are and how mu...