What makes you unique to Archway and other shops in the area?

We're not just a gift shop but a community hub, people come to chat, share local news and events.  We know our loyal customer base so well and many of them have become friends.  We have been here for 27 years we have seen their families grow up and become the next generation of customers and of course we have seen Archway change a lot too.  

We design a lot of our own brand products - we recently launched a collection of Archway & Tufnell Park inspired gifts called 'Love thy neighbourhood' which is completely unique to us.   We also stock work created by local Artists and Designers often giving them their first retail platform.

How has COVID impacted your business?

COVID has made us realise that our social media and online presence is really relevant - we have a generous loyalty programme too (which we would encourage everyone to sign up to) during lockdown we were able to communicate with our customers through all these channels and we were bowled over by the support we felt both in terms of orders but also support on a much more personal note.  More products are now online, we have click and collect and free local delivery - whatever the size of the order (please just apply discount code LOCAL at checkout).

What do you love about working in Archway?

The people are amazing, our customer base is very diverse, Archway is cosmopolitan and welcoming.  I see random acts of kindness all the time. I enjoy being part of the Archway Town Centre Group where I hope we can continue to make Archway even better during current difficult times.  There is a big movement keeping it local, shopping local & using local businesses and it's the key to Archway being a vibrant destination it's building all the time and it's more important than ever.  People are working from home and are looking to socialise & shop near to home, people are out and about enjoying and using their community and it feels great to be part of it.