About Us

WE'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT WE SELL. 


When a delivery arrives, we get excited, even though we know what's inside. We unwrap everything with care, stroke it, price it and spend far too long finding the right place for it.

If we wouldn't display the products in our own homes, or offer them to our friends as gifts, then you won't see them in store.

For us, it's all about the detail.

   

I’m Jo and I started this business because I needed a better work life balance, I now work more hours than ever, but I love it (apart from completing the VAT return and refilling the pricing gun, I like to delegate those tasks). You’ll find me in the shop most weekends, when I'm not in Ampthill, I'm working from home in North Norfolk, where I relocated to last year.

I love quirky things and have a dry sense of humour, I think our shop reflects that. I have a couple of Labradors called Charlea & Dolly and a husband called Paul, I didn’t mean to list them in that order but Paul will understand. We like to go to the beach when we get time off, we eat fish and chips out of the wrapper, it always tastes better by the sea. I love holidays but I'm fussy where I stay. I’ve been known to change a booking because I didn’t like the carpet. Wi-Fi is essential when I'm away, I don’t necessarily use it (who am I kidding!) the feeling of not being contactable doesn’t sit well.

I love to cook and my favourite snack is a fish finger sandwich with Heinz tomato sauce and a cup of tea. I drink far too much tea and prefer it when my husband makes it, he’s the expert and always makes a perfect one when I get home. The girls in the shop make reasonable tea, but it's usually cold by the time I get to drink it.

I wear a lot of navy, I wear a lot of grey too, I’m a creature of habit. I also wear a lot of stars, I have a slight addiction to stars, if you want to sell me something, make it in navy or grey & pop a star on the front.  I'll buy it!

My favourite season is Autumn, I love the changing colours and I’m sure it has its own distinct smell, it’s the season where so much changes in a short space of time, it doesn’t hang around, it just gets on with it – I like that. I don’t like the daddy-long-legs though, I have to make sure the house is in lockdown when those pesky things are around.

So that's me and that's what I enjoy in life.

Jo Barber, Owner

 

MEET OUR TEAM

It’s a team effort running the shop, let me introduce you to the wonderful team who assist me.

Lydia looks after our admin, ensures our suppliers are paid on time, sorts out the payroll, deals with H&S, the billion things that happen behind the scenes and generally helps the business flow.

Georgia is our friendly face behind the counter from Monday to Friday. A good all-rounder who picked up our rather complicated till in super quick time and has a great can-do attitude.

Clare looks after the day-to-day running of the website from our office.  She’s the one who will wrap your parcels and write your cards, she’s also the one who probably has the longest to-do list as the stock is constantly changing.

Larissa is now on maternity leave, she's now mum to 3 gorgeous little ones.

Sophie is your regular smiley face every Sunday, always on hand with dog biscuits and her dad's amazing, he's our unofficial maintenance guy!

Jo (B) also known at 'the other Jo', helps out on Saturdays / Sundays, a good all rounder and slowly learning the art of stocking up (we can't sell it if it's still sat in the stock room, Jo!)

Lara and Kay are our 6th form & Uni students. You’ll see Lara every Saturday and we very much hope Kay will come back to boost her Uni fund during the holidays

Malakie helps out after school on a Thursday, his smile could brighten up a whole room.  Keen to learn and whizz with the pricing gun, he'll be running his own business in no time.