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Feather Robins Gifts has already had to cut down on buying stock from abroad, despite having only been open for two months

Back in September, Feather Robins Gifts opened in St Crispin Retail Village, and now the owner reveals the reality of setting up a business during a difficult financial period.

Lindsey Scott-Walker is the owner of Feather Robins Gifts, in Kent Road, and says she has felt very welcomed into the Duston community – particularly by the other stores.

The retail village has grouped together to support one another, in an attempt to turn it into a “destination hub”. This endeavour starts tomorrow night (December 1) as they are hosting a late night shopping evening.

Despite Feather Robins Gifts having only been open for two months, owner Lindsey Scott-Walker (pictured) has already had to cut down on buying stock from abroad because of price increases.

Lindsey said: “We’re a unique shop, and everything is colourful and different to what you’d find elsewhere. This has been really well received by customers and we get great feedback in Facebook groups.

“Even though customers are cautious at the moment, word of mouth has been amazing and we’re yet to have any negative feedback.”

Despite the positive start to her shop’s journey, Lindsey admits the cost of stock has hit her the hardest. Not only has the stock itself gone up, but the import and delivery costs too.

“I recently bought £600 worth of stock and the shipping charges were £150 plus VAT,” said Lindsey. “It’s massively impacted the shop and now I can’t justify buying things from abroad.”

Owner Lindsey and her bulldog puppy Humphrey, who brings in a lot of custom.

With how new the business is, Lindsey has nothing to compare her energy bills to and she does not know what the previous owner paid.

She said: “I’ve not had a water bill come through yet and I could be in for a horrific shock.”

Fitting well with the shop’s quirky nature, Lindsey has blue feather chandeliers hanging from the ceiling – which have prevented the owner from being able to switch the heating on.

As the heating would risk causing damage to the lights, Lindsey has had to buy smaller portable heaters to combat the issue.

The owner admits the shop is not as warm as it could be, but her customers’ fascination with the blue feathers has made it all worthwhile keeping them up and sacrificing the heating.

Other ways Feather Robins Gifts is cutting costs where possible is by using battery lights on the Christmas trees to minimise electricity use, and limiting the stock bought – which Lindsey’s accountant has advised her to do.

Though the business is in a good place, Lindsey fears “January will be a tough time to get through” due to the post-Christmas tightening of the belt.

She is even considering reducing her opening hours as she does not anticipate as many customers will visit and it will save money on utilities.

Despite having only been open for just over two months, Lindsey has already built up a regular customer base – but admits her bulldog puppy Humphrey has a lot to thank for that.

“Some people come in purely for him,” said Lindsey.

Putting all jokes aside, the owner is “massively grateful” as she is not originally from Duston but has had masses of support.

Lindsey says each customer is “unique and individual, yet equally as welcome as the next”.

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