How Tony is moulding a new business in town
Rustic Shabby Leek is packed with hundreds of ornaments and statues for the garden
ANIMALS, cherubs, planters and bird baths are among the hundreds of impressive garden ornaments on sale at an eclectic new store.
Rustic Shabby Leek has been launched by Tony Banks who uses bespoke moulds to create some of the stock in the Queen Street shop.
And the former painter and decorator is even breathing fresh life into customers’ existing garden ornaments - from repairs to repainting.
But it’s at his new store - which got fully under way this month where Tony can show off some of his creations which have already proved a big hit with customers.
The 47-year-old, who lives in Leek, said: “I source items but also make them using different moulds and the reaction so far has been brilliant.
“I have hundreds of pieces including plaques, planters, animals, and lots of different statues and ornaments that people put in their gardens but also inside their houses.
“I have sourced moulds from lots of different places to make some really unique pieces and the feedback has been really good.”
The father-of-one’s journey to running the Moorlands store has seen him previously work in the onetime Partners stationery warehouse in Baddeley Green before working with his parents at their pet shop in Stone.
He said: “I started renting space off them in the shop where I sold fishing tackle before I took on the shop and opened another pet shop in Weston Coyney.”
The former Holden Lane High School pupil then moved into painting and decorating and property maintenance before seeing the popularity of garden ornaments at the family’s current shop, Pets Take Away, in Baddeley Green.
He said: “I was doing painting and decorating right up to the lockdown. The pet shop was doing a lot of online sales and I went down to help. While there we took on some statues for the garden from a lady we know and the sales of them went really well.”
At one stage Tony had hundreds of statues and ornaments at his home and began selling at a stall in Leek.
His Facebook page following subsequently grew and the opportunity came up to take on a shop - based close to the junction with Ball Haye Street.
He said: “I was walking through the town one day and saw it. It had been shut for a number of years and just used for storage. I did it all out. I opened just for a short time at Christmas before lockdown but the real launch has been this month.”
Tony’s sister, Tammy-louise Banks, aged 25, who is one of the owners of the family’s Pets Take Away, said:
“I’m really proud of my brother. He’s always been very creative and now he’s got the chance to put his skills to the test in his very own shop and his customers are already highly praising his lovely work.
“As a family we wish him the best of luck with his new venture.”
The shop is open Monday-saturday and Tony also plans to trade on Sundays when the Totally Locally events happen in the town.
More information on the shop can be found on the Facebook page.