Andrea’s bubbling as shop marks 20 years

STAFF and customers at one of Ashbourne’s independent furniture shops have been celebrating 20 years of being in business with a glass of bubbly.

Andrea Field, who founded Elliots in Tutbury before moving it to Ashbourne 18 months later, welcomed customers new and old with a 20% discount offer and a glass of Prosecco on Thursday, as the firm celebrated its milestone.

Named after Andrea’s son, Elliots of Ashbourne has evolved over the years to suit modern shopping demands, but it still stays true to an original vision of offering quality home furniture, interiors and gifts.

Andrea, who started the business after leaving her job in human resources at a brewery in Burton, says the 20 years her business has been running has “flown by”.

She said: “It only seems like yesterday since we’ve opened. And to be honest, it’s because I still love what I do so much. It certainly doesn’t seem like a long slog.

“We’ve got a lot of loyal customers I’d like to thank – they are the only reason I’m here today.

“We’ve had customers celebrating with us who have been coming since day one and it’s lovely to have them coming back to celebrate with us. We have also had some wonderful staff, especially my right-hand woman, Cathy Derbyshire, without whom I don’t think I’d be here today!” It was Andrea’s love of wood, trees and the versatility of what could be made out of wood that spurred her into setting up her business.

And a changing retail environment has meant the shop has changed over the years.

Andrea said: “I wanted to go into furniture, so that’s what I started off with, just reproduction furniture – and it just grew from there.

“But it’s evolved a lot. Ashbourne is a very touristy town so the gift side has grown with that, and we’ve adapted a lot over the years.

“Retail is still very tough, there’s a lot of factors that challenge us, but we do have an online presence which has been growing well.

“And at the end of the day there are still lots of people who want to come into a shop and touch and feel the products, so that will always keep us going,” she said.

Elliots of Ashbourne, which overlooks the market square, opens seven days a week and will be one of many shops open during Ashbourne’s Late Night Shopping on Friday, December 7.

It only seems like yesterday since we’ve opened... I still love what I do so much