61 RETAILER INTERVIEW What stationery and gifts do you currently stock? Are you looking for any new products or styles? Notebooks are very popular! Our bestsellers are sketch books and journals handmade from natural paper, a renewable source. The screen-printed bumble bees sell out every month. Do you visit any trade shows? Twice yearly I attend Home & Gift, on the lookout for new small brands with a story. The talks and seminars delivered by retail industry leaders are always insightful too! Are you active on social media? How is this useful for the business? Social media is a natural extension of our business because there’s always something creative happening to share. Alongside our product offering, we run a busy workshop programme led by 23 artists specialising in painting, printmaking, textiles, and artisan crafts. We’re here to support beginners, but just as importantly, we’re building and nurturing a broader community of makers and craftspeople. These skills need to be passed on to future generations. Do you have any plans for the future of the store? The past year has brought real pressure. Changes to shipping rules affecting both Europe and the US, combined with global instability and a weak UK economy, have driven widespread cost increases and slow sales. These challenges have had a significant impact on the business. In response, from mid-April we’re expanding our shop and workshop opening days to include Sundays alongside Saturdays, creating more opportunities to attract customers through classes and craft demonstrations. We’re also introducing two new artists in calligraphy and paper art. Online, we continue to refine our range around the products our customers are clearly telling us they want. Do you have any tips for people looking to start their own retail venture? There has never been a better time to build a retail brand with multiple points of engagement. A shop alone is not enough. The stronger model is one that brings together retail, workshops, talks, demonstrations, ecommerce, and digital content such as video tutorials – a shop should be a brand destination. With AI accelerating another wave of digital change, small retailers will need to operate digitally in some capacity. That is simply the direction of travel. But at the same time, consumers are placing greater value on real-world connection. They want destinations, experiences, and opportunities to engage in person. That’s where independent retailers have an advantage. The future isn’t just about selling products. It’s about building a brand people can participate in, both online and offline. Retailers who understand that will be far better positioned than those still thinking like traditional shopkeepers. What is the one product you couldn’t live without? Our Woodland Slumber Luxury Linocut Print kit. I created it as our signature product and it reflects all that we stand for: great quality, passion for learning new skills and inspiration. Given the chance, we can all create great things. Clever Hands Studio 359 Aigburth Road, Liverpool L17 0BP https://cleverhands.shop
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