Meet the three generations behind new dancewear shop now serving the whole of Northamptonshire
Meet the three generations behind the new dancewear shop now serving the whole of the county from a well-renowned dance studio in Northampton.
Melissa Percival, her mother Janice Fitch and daughter Scarlett have opened SLS Dancewear from inside Oncore Dance Academy in Kingsthorpe Road.
The official opening was held on April 18 and dancers from across the county and beyond now have a space to visit to purchase their dancewear.
16-year-old Scarlett has been attending Oncore Dance Academy for the past 14 years and she has been granted one of only 120 places at Laine Theatre Arts College from September. The Oncore team were happy to support this family venture as it gets off the ground.
“A local dancewear shop closed down suddenly back in November and there was then no dancewear provider in the whole of the county,” Melissa told the Chronicle & Echo.
With Scarlett preparing to start at college, Melissa and Janice decided to make a go of SLS Dancewear. It has now been open for around two months, as they began trading before the launch event, and have already been inundated with enquiries.
Melissa has 11 years of experience in running a nursery business and Janice runs a training company. Though they both have business backgrounds, the dance world is new to them – beside Melissa being a dance mum to Scarlett.
“Scarlett will also support the business and she will be returning from Laine at the weekends to begin with,” said Melissa. “This will be a business for Scarlett in the long-term. The hope is that it will grow and give her a future.”
SLS Dancewear stocks equipment, clothing and shoes for all genres, and Melissa is pleased to have already struck partnerships with Kristina Rihanoff’s Bespoke Ballroom Dance & Drama Academy and Northampton College.
Trading from Oncore Dance Academy enables the business to keep its overheads low to begin with, and the team will also be travelling to different dance schools to offer their services.
With many five-star Google reviews already, SLS Dancewear has been praised as supportive, for its personal experience, and going above and beyond to make sure things are right. SLS Dancewear is also trying to be competitive in its pricing.
Looking to the future of the business, Melissa would one day love to open a second premises or move somewhere bigger – as well as expanding the mobile offering and making sure all customers are happy.