Couple realiseNews their dream with a baby boutique
A YOUNG couple saved “every spare penny” of weekly furlough cash to buy their first box of stock for their online baby boutique – now they’re opening a shop.
Luke Smith, 23, and Reanne Nicholls, 26, knew they wanted to start a business selling baby accessories after welcoming their daughter Freya to the world, just before lockdown. But the couple, from Guisborough, had no spare money.
And when Luke was furloughed from his 16-hour job as a head chef, the dream seemed to slip even further away. The couple were so broke, they had to save for weeks just to be able to buy one box of baby items.
“It was literally a box of knitwear and some teddies,” says Luke. “Money was very tight, at one point, we had to go onto Universal Credit but we tried to push on with it because we knew there was demand.
“We created our own little chats with mums online and everyone was interested, we thought ‘win or lose, we’re just going to have to take the plunge and see what happens.’ Kicks & Crawls was born and the couple started gathering brand ambassadors – mums around the UK who promote their business in return for discounts.
“I got a job with more hours, which was more of a stable income,” says Luke. “We were able to put some money towards the business.”
Now the couple are getting ready to open their first store in Brotton. “We’ve taken over the Cora’s Beauty salon,” says Luke, “and we haven’t even had to do much to it – as they had just spent a lot of money on a refit.
“People are coming past and talking about it. There are no baby or toddler shops around, we’re right in the middle of Easington, Loftus, Skelton so it’s good. We never imagined we’d have our own shop.”
Kicks & Crawls opens on Sunday, July 17, at 10am.