Craft Focus - Feb/Mar 2020 (Issue 77)

67 PROFILE +44 (0)1824 710 691 laviniastamps.com How was 2019 for Lavinia Stamps? It was an eventful and incredibly exciting year for everyone. The business is expanding in many different areas, and it’s a job keeping up with it all. The biggest event was moving to larger premises. Our new offices have enabled us to expand, increase our product range and take on new staff. We now have an area to dedicate to workshops along with a wonderful shop and beautiful gallery. The process of moving has been a special experience for the entire team. We have all been involved in planning, decorating and making it into a truly magical place. It was a proud moment for us all when we moved in. Tell us more about the shop. It has long been an ambition of mine to have a shop, but due to the specialist nature of our stamping range it has always been cost prohibitive. We were lucky to find a building that was not only big enough to allow us to run and expand our online business but also had room for us to incorporate other aspects that we want to develop. For the first time we now have a permanent display for our entire range of stamps and craft accessories and a place our customers can visit and receive all the help and advice they need. The shop has some lovely art materials, gifts and beautiful greetings cards along with a gallery featuring artwork and video tutorials to inspire crafters. We would like to think we have created an enchanting mystical atmosphere in the shop. Our aim has and always will be for people to have a truly memorable experience. Are there any new launches coming up? We are always developing ideas. It’s our passion to bring fresh and exciting concepts to the crafting world. I’m working on new stamp designs as we speak, and we also have some exciting products planned for early 2020. These are a closely guarded secret but keep an eye on our website and Facebook page for updates. How would you advise a retailer who is interested in stocking your products? We have worked with retailers all over the world for the last 10 years and we are always happy to recommend and advise on our product range. We have so many different stamp designs that it’s unrealistic to expect a small craft shop to stock the entire collection, so we are working on some point of sale material to aid our retail customers when they purchase from us. It’s worth signing up to our newsletter, as this keeps our retailers informed about what’s new and what’s coming. It’s always good to keep our customers in the loop so they have time to plan ahead. We accept that not everyone wants to buy online and having our own store gives us an opportunity to understand our clientele. We will be working with retailers to make our products more accessible to consumers who still prefer to shop on the high street. How has the craft industry changed since you started the business? Having a presence online and across social media has been the biggest change. We used to travel a lot, attending craft shows all over the country, which can be exhausting at times. We love the shows and meeting all our customers but it’s about finding a balance. Online has given us that equilibrium, enabling us to reach customers worldwide and offering us the flexibility to choose shows we like to attend. Our web-based tutorials have also provided an excellent way forward for us and our customers. Crafters can learn new techniques from the comfort of their own home. What’s coming up for the company in 2020? Plenty! There will be new stamps and additional products for both retail and trade customers. In addition, Hochanda TV has invited us back on a regular basis, which is fabulous. We also attended Creativeworld in January, which is always a good show for us. We have retail shows lined up throughout the year and are now considering taking our products to events abroad. We also have our own craft workshops to organise and open days in the pipeline. Lavinia Stamps is expanding and evolving, and we are already looking for new team members to join us. All in all, it’s looking like another crazy, hectic year, but we love it! We are passionate about what we do; our customers hold the key and allow us to create a world of magic – for that we are forever grateful.