14/09/2026
I hate writing this, in fact I almost feel embarrassed, but Ooh Pretty Co needs your help. Like a lot of small businesses, the cost of living crisis has taken a massive toll on us. After last Christmas, things went quiet- that’s expected in retail- especially for a gift shop. However, it’s now been nine months of us saying “things will pick up soon” and they just haven’t. For almost two years we have heard the same phrase over and over: “Shepshed needed somewhere like this”, and we agree. It’s why we are here and why we are doing everything possible to stay, but there’s only so much we can do. We can stock the best products in the world but ultimately if no one comes in the shop, what can we do? 🤷♀️
There is a minimum amount we need to turnover each week for us to keep going; last week we only scraped 20% of that minimum and that has become a common occurrence. Even our events went from 20+ people attending every month to only 4 at our last, so we had to discontinue them. We have some incredible faithful customers, who we are so grateful for, but sadly, right now, it’s not enough.
We know things are tight for everyone, but I am asking that if you can, please support our business; even if you can’t spend money with us right now, share our social media posts, recommend us to people you know, write a review for our page; whatever you can do to help, we would be so appreciative of every little effort.
We are reaching a stage where it is very much a case of “use it or lose it” so if you want your local gift shop to remain then help us make it so. It’s not just my livelihood impacted by this, but also all of our talented local artisans who supply their handcrafted products to us. It breaks my heart when I have to tell them that they haven’t earned anything one month 😔
Also, if there is anything you think we should be doing differently or would like to see from us moving forward, please send us a message or leave a comment. We want to serve our community the best we can and we just hope we can continue to do so for years to come. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for all the support we’ve received since we opened our doors in 2024. I hope to see you in store soon. Lydia 💕
We are open 10:00-16:30, Wednesday-Saturday, at No.13 Market Place next door to Finkins Shepshed
