Sarah aims to help you find the perfect gift
A MUM who set up her personalised gifts business from home during lockdown after being made redundant has opened her first shop.
The Sooo You Company was set up by Sarah Kuster, who lives in Midway and opened her shop in West Street, Swadlincote.
She said the idea first came from lockdown, with her love for retail and wanting to deliver a personal experience in the shop, as well as personalised gifts ahead of Christmas.
Sarah said she is inspired by her children – Olivia, aged 14 and Samuel, aged 12 – as well as husband Hans, who have supported her throughout with the business.
Sarah, 40, said: “I spent my whole career in hospitality and worked at the head office for Whitbread Plc. I loved doing it but I was travelling around the country whilst the kids were very small.
“After this I moved into retail and I absolutely fell in love. However, unfortunately, I was made redundant due to Covid.
“After this, I got thinking about what my passion was. What I loved the most was retail and I decided to bite the bullet and go for it.
“During Covid, I set up something and it grew from there. I use local independent suppliers as much as I can and I decided to take on a shop.”
She said that as well as personalised gifts, she wants to offer a unique experience for those that visit her new shop.
Sarah said: “We really want to make a personal experience to everyone, people should come in and have a chat to talk about what makes the perfect gift for you.
“That’s where the name comes from. The concept of saying that a gift is ‘sooo you’ is what we’re aiming for.
“When I told my friends and family about it, they loved it. There has been some amazing support from my friends and family who have really been pushing me to follow this. I am very fortunate in that sense.
“The shop is all about making people feel comfortable, with me being me.
When people are gift shopping, they don’t always know what they want so helping people find what they need is so important to me.
“I feel like I have really grabbed this challenge by both horns. The retail sector has struggled and we all know how important it is to shop locally. I want to help bring more business to Swadlincote town centre.”
Sarah has also revealed some of the gifts that she is bringing in before Christmas and that she is optimistic for success. She opened on Tuesday before a grand opening this Saturday.
She said: “We have a lot of gifts on offer including jewellery, scarves, handbags and teddy bears.
“We have Christmas stockings too and socks. “I am very nervous, but I’m excited. Probably more excited than anything. I hopefully get to meet people and I can help with a personalised Christmas gifts.
“I am hoping for a busy Christmas. It is just me in the shop at the moment but I would definitely look to create jobs.
“That would be the plan but I need to get going first. We’re looking forward to bringing some happiness to the town and help people to find the perfect gift.”
I hopefully get to meet people and I can help with a personalised Christmas gifts.
Sarah Kuster