Susie Thomas is Taunton born and bred and passionate about promoting her town’s unique shopping experience. She runs Rocket and Bird in The Courtyard with Jeanette Crawford. It’s a gift shop selling work by various local artists and makers – most of whom live in the Taunton area.
Susie started to promote the ‘Taunton Independent Quarter’, having taken a wander around the Riverside area. “I counted 53 businesses! But no-one was shouting about this,” she says. Promoting it on social media, she started photographing and introducing the shop owners.
“I feel so strongly that it’s the people behind the businesses that matter and they are what makes us stand out.”
The independent shopping areas of Taunton have everything covered, says Jane Armour, going on to list some of what can be found - butchers, bakers and greengrocers, fashion, gifts, hairdressers, florists, jewellers, bookshops, toy shops, picture framers, fabric shops, as well as cafés and restaurants.
Jane runs Jane Armour Trading, which started in Bath Place in 1990 but moved to Riverside Place about five years ago. She sells gifts, and has a huge range of greetings cards, many coming from small publishers. It’s a niche product and hers is one of only a few remaining independent card shops in the country.
She has a loyal band of customers and she’s seen some changes too - the most notable being the number of men now coming in to buy cards and wrapping material.
Recent months have seen national stores closing down, but only a few independents have gone, says Jane, partly because they are used to adapting to meet economic challenges as well as changing customer demands.
Denne historien er fra November 2020-utgaven av Somerset Life.
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Denne historien er fra November 2020-utgaven av Somerset Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Up on the Down
Try this easy-to-follow Exmoor walk with SIMONE STANBROOK-BYRNE
Shop until you drop
It’s Somerset’s county town, it’s the place to go for the big shops, but Taunton is also home to a thriving independent scene, discovers CATHERINE COURTENAY
Creatures of the night
Have you ever had something swoop past your ear, almost unseen? You may have had a brief encounter with a bat, says BERNARD BALE
Bowled over
Now that we can return to skittle and bowling alleys - albeit with new rules BERNARD BALE reveals that the sport of bowling has many Somerset links
Trackway through time
In the Somerset Levels SIMONE STANBROOK-BYRNE discovers a place where our Neolithic heritage rubs shoulders with the present day
SAVING THE SPLENDOUR OF EXMOOR
The splendour of Exmoor National Park may appear timeless and untroubled, but a new book reveals the long and often bitter struggle conservationists faced to save the landscape from the twin threats of afforestation and the plough
Decorative art
Not simply functional, treat your walls like an extension of your personality
Charity starts at home
How do we teach our children the importance of giving back?
Blooming brilliant
Will and Lauren Holley purchased a four-acre field in Somerset, converted it into a nursery, opened during lockdown and now their perennial plants are flying off the shelves. JULIE HARDING meets the go-getting couple
Age-old advice
Just become a grandparent for the first time? Perhaps you need a little guidance, so here are some top tips about how to embrace your new family role
