Last year, when we found out Flamingo Paperie was closing, I thought long and hard about the future of my card business. I took advantage of the stock sales, but with no other suppliers and limited options, I honestly thought my business would go too. A lot of the team members around me decided to close, and I was sad thinking I would be doing the same. I didn’t want it to close but wasn’t sure I had the energy to work through all the problems.
2024 brought ill health and loss to my family, which left my business languishing with a quiet website and a pile of stock as I took time off. It’s been a tough job to get going again, but I’ve never been one to give up on something I really love. One monthly market led to two, with a possible third to follow (we will see how that one goes!)
A regular income means my ‘closing down’ stock is reducing rapidly – a lovely problem to have – and I have a couple of suppliers lined up, but not enough funds to invest as I need to.
If you don’t follow me on TikTok, you won’t have heard that at each market we attend we try to ‘pay it forward’ by supporting the food producers. Their stock doesn’t pack away until next month, so they need to sell out of everything they produce to avoid waste. This means that although we have sold at markets, a proportion of that goes to other stall holders. As a result we are growing slowly, but need to refresh our stock for the next few markets.
I have a wishlist of humour cards, occasion cards, and craft kits, so if there is anything you were thinking of buying please do so. Alternatively you can share our website with anyone who needs to stock up again on cards from Flamingo Paperie or Phoenix Trading (yes I still have a few gems from those days).
I’m excited to make this business truly independent and profitable, meaning we can give even more back to other small business owners in North Yorkshire.
Cari xx