Harriet Rouse, who runs local online retailer Harriet & Rose, came up with the idea of taking over vacant units at Liberty Wharf when the government announced plans for the £100 Spend Local cards.
It meant that small local businesses which usually trade through social media and online would be able to accept the cards – which cannot be used over the internet. At the same time they could meet Covid guidelines, which currently do not allow markets to take place, by limiting the number of people allowed into the shops.
Two pop-up weekends have taken place and proved so popular that the Small Business Pop-Up is due to run again from today to Saturday this week.
There will then be a continued presence at Liberty Wharf throughout October, before weekly Christmas shopping opportunities in the units are launched on 29 October.
Mrs Rouse currently has three units as part of the pop-up – the former Momo fish spa, Rococo gift shop and Eclectic clothes store – and is considering a fourth as there has been so much interest from businesses.
She said the aim was to turn the empty units into a ‘small business destination’ with an emphasis on artisan products.
‘There has been such appetite for it, people are really wanting to support small businesses and have been really glad this opportunity is there,’ she said. ‘The atmosphere so far has been really lovely. It has not been planned but it has so far been all female-founded and led businesses. That has not been a conscious thing at all but it just shows so many women do have creative businesses. It has been very collaborative.’
Everything from locally-made fudge, art and jewellery to gifts, cards and plants have been on sale and Mrs Rouse said she intended to keep the artisan feel as Christmas approaches.
‘I was very lucky that my business was online first, my reach has really increased during Covid but it has been a challenge offering things like free delivery,’ she said. ‘But so many small businesses, particularly creative ones, depend on the Christmas markets and fairs and to have those taken away is hard. It is so important that people are able to spend their money with local businesses because the appetite is there, you just need to make it easy for them.’
