Introduction to this (my first ever) blog.
Are you looking to discover the most special independent boutiques in the UK? If you are, then you have come to the right place as I am too, and I am making it my mission this year to visit as many places in the UK as I can to discover as many of the incredible independent stores as I can find and share them here with you.
Who am I and why am I doing this?
I am Sophie and I own Cockatoo. Recently, I have started to research all of the small independent boutiques around the UK. The reason I have decided to do this is that for the past few years we have been wholesaling Cockatoo to many shops and businesses around the UK (and also around the world!) through the online wholesale platform called Faire. It's an incredible platform that has transformed our business, and the only downside is that you never get to meet your customers or get to know their shops as it's all done online... so every time I am going somewhere now, I try to stop in the towns/large villages that I pass to check out what shops are there and to visit any existing stockists so we can meet each other and put a face to the name.
I am also going to do specific road trips to areas where we don't already have stockists to find new shops that aren't online and might like to stock Cockatoo too. Having spent a lot of time online in the last couple of years googling the best boutiques in the UK I realised that it's very hard to find a comprehensive list of brilliant ones, and from doing my road trips I also realised that there are so many that don't come up on Google searches, that need to be discovered in person, so I have decided to make my own list, for myself but also for anyone else searching for fantastic boutiques in the UK so that you don't have to travel the length and breadth of the UK to find them yourself too! And also for the stockists themselves who work so hard to make their stores a success and who I know are always happy to be appreciated and discovered!
So here goes!! I am going to start with a stockist who has stocked Cockatoo for a couple of years now and who is pretty local to where we are based, and who I finally managed to visit last week when I was dropping off an order to her... and WOW what a shop and what an incredible person too!
SARAH STYLES
Near Hungerford, Berkshire
A gem of a gift and interiors shop which I wish I had discovered sooner. I'm not surprised that this beautiful shop (which sits next to the Cobbs Farm Shop, just off the A4 outside Hungerford), filled with colour and joy and unique finds, sourced from around the world, is a runaway success.
Sarah is first and foremost a very talented florist, but has also curated one of the most special gift and homeware shops I have ever been to. She has sourced many of her unique and stunning gifts and homeware on her travels, making it a shop where you'll discover pieces you won't find anywhere else. Because the two retail spaces coexist with the floristry side of the business, her shops also smell out of this world! A whirlwind of energy and warmth, Sarah has stunning taste and creativity, which make this boutique one of my top favourite finds.
https://sarahstylesflorist.com/