After dipping a toe in the world of retail by taking a stall at last week’s brilliant Heaton’s Summer Festival, it was time to take the plunge when the Blue Door opened for business on Saturday.
We invited well-known local celebrity Louise Caroline Marsland (she is, really) to cut the Blue Door ribbon and she did so in great style dressed in a beautiful violet Candy Anthony-style prom dress accessorised with a Blue Door flower crown of luscious foliages and, appropriately, blue cornflowers. Louise even wrote a special poem for the occasion. Thanks, Louise; you did a grand job!
Cue the celebrations, assisted by delicious La Delfina Prosecco from Tara at The Alternative Wine Company and scrumptious canapés, most generously provided by Steve Pilling and the team at wonderful local restaurant, Damson. Joe and Alex served as our Blue Door waiters for the day and did a brilliant job.
The day whizzed by with a succession of well wishers and friends, as well as lots of local Heatonians visiting us to have a look at the newest addition to the Heatons’ retail scene. (One of our younger customers now calls us “The Nosey Shop” after her mummy suggested they come down and have a “nosey at that new shop” – we love this!)
Ange and I kept bumping into each other throughout the day whilst manning the till, passing around glasses of fizz and showing off our ranges of “beautiful things” to our new customers, assuring each other that we were “fine” despite looking rather flushed and frazzled; we just couldn’t believe how many people joined us, despite horrid, rainy weather! We even had some four-legged customers keen to check out our Blue Door Dogs boutique.
The lovely Mel Jewellsy joined in and showed some of our younger visitors how to make beaded jewellery, whilst some small people had their faces painted with appropriately floral designs.
Towards the end of the afternoon, the crowds began to thin out a little and we had a look around the shop. People had actually bought things from us! The flower stand was empty; everyone seemed to really love the natural, seasonal range of flowers which are the cornerstone of what the Blue Door stands for. The silver jewellery from Peace of Mind had been a real draw, as were delicious chocolates from High Peak chocolatiers, Cocoadance. Maybe we’re onto something…
