An interview with Rhea of Handmade Nottingham

The second part of my series of interviews with inspiring shopkeepers with Rhea Clements of Handmade Nottingham.  This was initially planned to go out before Covid-19 hit, since then Rhea has worked tirelessly to add her vast (and very tempting!) product range to her website. She has a fantastic eye for selecting the best in UK designers gift & homewares.

Rhea outside Handmade Nottingham at Kings Walk

I’m Rhea and I run Handmade Nottingham, a gift shop showcasing UK designer makers. HN is passionate about supporting and promoting creatives and curates the best designer makers to create a treasure trove of design led products. My aim is to make shopping independent on the high street even easier and create a platform for indie designers. We stock 90+ UK designers and have approx 50% local and 50% the rest of the UK.             

                                             
HN is located on Kings Walk just of Trinity Square and is currently run by me and my partner. We have an online shop which I’ve been working hard to update over lockdown. Because we work with independents we often have small runs of products or one offs which make it slightly harder to sell online. But if you ever see anything in store that isn’t listed online we can arrange to post out to you.

Prior to Covid-19 we had started to host HN workshops in our new workshop space. Workshops include textiles, printing, paper craft, floristry, ceramics and even how to care for your house plants. Obviously these are now on hold but we will be bringing them back as soon as it’s safe to do so.

HN is 100% independent which means we only stock products from small independent designer makers based in the UK. Because we work with small businesses the products are always changing and evolving which keeps the shop fresh with new things to see every time you visit. And it means every time you purchase from us you know it is going directly back to small businesses.

A small selection of products at Handmade Nottingham

Prices range from £1 - £90 so there really is something for everyone!

It’s too hard to pick a favourite, I have so many! But the most popular products in the shop are the ones that make you giggle. I do enjoy hearing customers come in and being able to spend a few minutes having a smile and a laugh. It’s nice to brighten up someone's day, even if it’s just for a moment.

HN Shop started as a pop up, just for Christmas, on St James’s Street back in 2014. At the time I had no aim to open a shop and instead was a designer maker working from home and collaborating with other creatives to have pop up stalls at events as a collective.  In the Autumn of 2014 I was approached by Malt Cross to host a pop up shop in their space. They wanted to have creative things happening in the building and felt a creative gift shop would be a great fit. So, with very little money to fund it, I contacted all the designers I knew and told them about the opportunity and that it could only happen if everyone chipped in a bit. I had never run a shop before and was working a Part Time job at the time as well as my own design work so knew I couldn’t do it alone. Excited to have an opportunity to have their work on sale in the city these amazing designers helped me open and staff for the pop up period. The pop up went better than I imagined it would so I decided to stop doing my own designs to continue the lease and grow the shop. I self funded the business and grew it slowly and organically. The whole time we were at St James’s Street I was working a part time job, I needed that pay cheque security while growing the business. It was alot of work but I felt a bit more secure knowing I didn’t owe anyone and had something to fall back on just in case.

We ended up staying on St james’s Street for four years and in Oct 2018 I trialled a new location with another pop up for Christmas. I knew HN had outgrown the small shop space we had but I was also terrified about expanding and everything involved. I had found a shop I loved but felt very intimidated by such a big step so, I started to work with Hana who mentored me through the process. Hana taught me so much, I honestly could not of done it without her. At this point I took the decision to quit my part time job and go full time with HN. Moving to a space 5 times bigger I knew I had to be 100% focused on it to make it work. It was a scary but necessary. I had spent the time on St James’s street saving as much as I could so I had a very small pot of money to put in to the new location. After a great run up to Christmas in the new location on Kings Walk we decided to relocate and it is now our new home! 

I was lucky enough to have both properties be white boxes when I moved in. It made the pop up periods so much easier because all I had to do was put in some furniture, get some stock and I was good to go. I always very much feel like I’m winging it and doing stuff to the shop as and when time and money allows me.

I don’t plan to open any more shops in the near future, mostly because we are still just a team of two. Having only been in our new location on Kings Walk for a year I feel like there is a lot more growth to be done on Kings Walk including expanding our events instore including pop ups in store, live portraits/demos and workshops. Moving to somewhere with so much more space means there is so much potential. So right now I am fully focusing on the one shop and getting that spot on before I even consider a second.

I actually always told myself, when I was a designer maker, never open a shop! My Dad had a shop when I was younger. I was very young so didn’t learn all the ins and outs of running a shop but saw glimpses of how hard it can be with overheads etc. Then over the years talking to other shop owners that thought was reinforced. So when I opened the first pop up it was going to be just that. But it turned out I was better at selling other designers work than my own. I’ve just sort of gone along for the ride and so far it appears to be working! I have very much been working month to month seeing how things go and where it leads me, which is scary but also exciting. One of the advantages of independent businesses is you are free to react to what’s around you as and when.

Because both locations have been pop ups on a shoestring I have very much just used what I can and tried to be creative. Both pop ups were open within a week of getting into the space and then I have added as we go. Very much getting used to the space and seeing what it needs, what works and what doesn’t work.

The biggest challenge to date has definitely been taking on the lease at Kings Walk. On St James’s street I was on a rolling contract and Malt Cross, the landlord, were very friendly and flexible which really helped me learn about retail life as I went along. Knowing that the contract was rolling and my notice was quite a short period I knew worse case I had a get out quite quickly. Moving to Kings Walk was a whole different matter with a big scary lease, negotiation, a huge space to fill with furniture and doubling the amount of designers we stock, which then also doubled the amount of admin involved. It was a huge step up from the little shop on St James’s and I was pretty much gritting my teeth for a full month while decisions were made and leases drawn up. I am so glad I had Hana by my side to walk me through so many things I simply didn’t know about leases. As scary and as hard as it was to move to the new location, so far, it has been a great decision for the business and I really hope we get to stay for many many years to come. Running a small business means you always have that little voice in the back of your head thinking of the worse case scenarios, because you need to be prepared for all outcomes, but on the other side you have the creative vision, which is so much fun and the reason I do what I do!

I think for me personally the best moment has been going on BBC East Midlands live on air! Not really because “I’ve been on TV” but because I am insanely camera shy. I’m bad enough with photos let alone being filmed, and live on air! I was contacted by the BBC during the pop up period at Kings Walk. They were doing a small piece on pop up shops and asked to come along to the Christmas Shopping evening we were hosting. My piece was only about 30 seconds and it was one of the most terrifying things i’ve done but, I did it! It showed me how much I have grown alongside the business. As an introvert HN has really helped me get out there, engage with new people and push myself.

For the business it has to be winning It’s In Nottingham’s Best Independent Award in the Homeware and Giftware category. We won in 2018 while at St James’s Street and then again in 2019 at our new home on Kings Walk. The first stage of this award is a public vote so to be shortlisted by our customers means the world to me. 

Prior to lockdown I was busy booking in lots of workshops in our new workshop space above the shop but know i’m having to quickly pivot my business to focus on click & collect and online. I hope to get back to hosting events asap as I am love having room to do events. Not only does it provide more for our customers but it also means we can work with more amazing independents businesses.

I haven’t taken a holiday since 2013. I basically opened the shop and there went any chance of holidays! Like most self employed people I am a complete workaholic and definitely need to find more time for me and create some work boundaries. For now I still feel like I’m on a growing journey with the business and want to react when needed but I hope to one day find a good balance of work and down time, and maybe even start making my own stuff again. 

I have a cat furbaby who I would love to have as a shop cat, but she would hate it! So I leave her at home to be queen of her domain.

You can find Handmade Nottingham at http://www.handmadenottingham.com and https://www.instagram.com/handmadenotts/  

I hope you enjoyed reading, if you would like to be featured here or have any ideas of who I should interview next please get in touch.