During the very strange months of the spring of 2020, I was forced to make a huge number of decisions and changes to my business; we all were, adapting to the ever-changing situation. Whilst it was terrifying on a daily basis, it was incredibly exciting as a business to suddenly have a licence to not think things through, to finally let the gut instinct be at the helm and to try things just to see if they’d work. It wasn’t just me, car companies were making ventilators, farms running food delivery services, fine dining restaurants becoming take aways, all of us becoming better neighbours, bakers, teachers.

But in the aftermath of that strange time, that excitement and will to survive has, for me, evolved into a pace of work that is stretching me too thin. As the pandemic recedes, business as usual has kicked back in, as busy and buzzing as it ever was, only now it feels like there’s double the business to run, and only the same me!

So, this week it was crunch time, after a couple of days away (remembering what it was like to have a life outside of the studio!) I made some hard decisions. I listened to my gut, only this time it was less exciting; more sad.

On the 3^rd of January 2023 our little shop in St. Ives will close. There won’t be a big closing down sale or anything like that, but we will be very happy to see you if you’re able to pop in before then. Gilly has even promised to get some singing going!

We will also be stopping production of our current collection of bags. The area of the studio known affectionately as ‘bag factory’ will close at the end of January. So, if you’ve been hankering after a Poppy Treffry bag for years but not quite made the leap, now might be the time to put it on your Christmas list.

We will be a much smaller team in 2023 but our website will be the same busy buzzy place it’s become (look out for some very exciting Lucky Dip Friday news!) and plans for Spring Embroidery Club are well under way and, of course, you will still be able to get your Poppy Treffry retail fix, to touch and feel the products in real life, by visiting a stockist near you (and if there isn’t one, let us know who we should be contacting!)

We’ve had a wonderful ten years on Fore Street, and we will miss you St. Ives

Poppy

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