‘I REFURBISHED THE PREMISES... NOW IT’S OUR OWN SHOP’
Couple set up in business at former newspaper office
WHEN James Webster was refurbishing a high street premises, he never imagined that he would end up taking on the lease to open his own store.
But James’ new shop, called Love to Pre Love, is now open – in the Stone High Street above bookie Betfred.
He said: “I actually did the refurbishment on the shop we are in now not knowing that I was going to be the tenant.
“Ten months after finishing the refurbishment, I noticed the shop was still empty and came up with the business idea of a second hand shop.”
The 31-year-old set up his own property maintenance company, JRW, which also carries out house clearances, in 2018 after working for ABB in Stone for nine years.
It was dealing with house clearances and items they generated, coupled with the free time coronavirus has given him, that led to this new venture.
James said: “Really, because of environmental laws you should be trying to reuse and re-purpose stuff, not to throw away. We also have to pay the bill for any waste, so the less we dispose of the better.
“But if coronavirus hadn’t have happened the shop wouldn’t have happened, as I wouldn’t have had enough time on my hands to go ahead with it.
“There are so many different scenarios as to why people leave these things behind, but they’re in such good condition it’s such as shame to throw anything away.
“The shop allows us to make use of items, which include a bit of everything really, and I hope it can help those buying too.”
James and partner Rosie Jones, who both went to Alleyne’s High School and live in Stone with their three-year-old daughter Poppie, have been working on the shop alongside their other work for the last month.
Rosie, aged 24, said: “We’ve been building racking to put stock on.
“We have been down at the shop on evenings and weekends, with family helping out too, arranging the shelving and getting things ready.
“Our daughter loves it here, she enjoys sitting at the desk and she also gets to test the toys out and make sure they’re working.
“There have been a few late nights but now it’s nearly ready we’re getting home earlier and we’re just looking forward to opening it.”
James added: “We are already selling a lot of items online, with more than 200 items online sold in the last 14 days. We buy and sell and can put items into auction too, and we aim to get the best possible prices for our customers.
“We also ship internationally, whether it’s a tea set or Beatles memorabilia. People want those items, especially in America.
“In the future we also want to offer a micro market so people who would want to sell things could have shelf space. I’m really excited and just so glad that the business took off online how it did. It’ll be nice to see customers come through the door too.”
Love to Pre Love is open five days a week, Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am-5pm.