Like hundreds of small shops round the country the doors are closed when they were due to open.
As the fallout from the second closure will start to appear it's so distressing to see the doors closed. In some retail sectors up to 40% of annual sales are made in these three months and a loss of these sales will be hard to recover from.
I don't want to be the prophet of doom about this but I do want to be realistic. If we don't all support our small businesses they won't be here in 2021. As supermarkets in Wales are blocking off all their non-food sections in the spirit of essential retail only, it appears that unfortunately in Ireland the big chains are cashing in. Independent toy shops have to close their doors while supermarkets can't keep enough toys in stock.
As the true cost of 2020 comes into sharper focus, the position of the nation’s small businesses appears, overall, to be particularly bleak. We deal with nearly 100 small makers that are desperately trying to keep things going.
So while it feels like it would be much easier to close the doors and let that be that, I feel for all those small producers that are trying so hard. Some of them we've been dealing with since we opened 7 years ago and I certainly don't want it to be the last. I've already seen 3 of our suppliers shut up shop for good this year. But I for one am not ready to bow out. I've still got all my lovely stuff and all I need to do is get it out there!
So I've decided that each day I'm going live at 8.05!
Maybe it's about trying to take a bit of control back, maybe it's the last stand - who knows.
I am going to show you little snips of the new stock that we have and tell you a bit about the fantastic makers that have spent their time making these gorgeous gems. I hope that my tales will inspire you to shop local and buy Irish.
I'm here for click and collect please call 0831339797. Stay Safe x