The little shop of wonders celebrating everything great about Gloucestershire
4 December 2023
Tucked away inside Stroud’s Five Valley shopping centre, there is a little shop of wonders that is celebrating everything that is great about Gloucestershire’s vibrant community of artists and crafty creatives.
Victoria R is a beautifully
quirky store selling handmade and independently owned beauty and homeware
accessories from inside Stroud’s premier shopping destination.
It is owned
by Victoria Rowley, who set up the business in 2020 when she was furloughed
from her previous job as a catering
manager at Gloucester Services.
Since then,
the shop has gone from strength to strength and she now has a growing loyal
customer base.
Victoria
said: “I hated being furloughed as I am a bit of a work-a-holic. I started
making crafty items and developed a real passion for it and that then led to me
opening the shop the day after one of the lockdowns lifted in 2021.
“Gloucestershire
has a rich heritage of makers and arts and crafts and that scene is growing,
and my shop is a real hub to celebrate everything that the community is doing.“
Victoria, a
mother of four boys who lives in Hunts Grove, comes from a long-tradition of
shopkeepers in her family. Her grandparents ran a wool shop and a menswear
store in Stroud for many years.
And Victoria
loves the family-friendly feel of Five Valleys.
She said: “There
is a really nice feeling of community spirit between the different traders. It
feels like we are all one big family.
“And I must say
Dransfield Properties (Five Valleys site owners) have been really supportive of
me in helping me to get up and running, so I am very thankful for that.”
A key part of Victoria’s business is her personal touch, and that is
extended to how she buys her products.
Every product in her store is hand sourced from sustainable independent
traders, many of which are local to Gloucestershire.
From Elderflower and Fern to EK Design, all of her stock comes from
personal contacts.
She sells items
that cost as little as 30p - wax heart melt candles – right up to pieces by
local artist Mary Grundy, that go for £300.
Alongside the
shop’s strong connection to Gloucestershire, Victoria also has items from
further a-field including candles from Denmark and harem and gypsy clothing
supplied by a family-run company in India.
Victoria said: “I have always liked good homemade products but
also items that are unique and quirky to the individual person.
“I love to walk
into a house and see items that have got that wow factor. And it is the same
with my shop, I want people to come in here and be wowed by what we have got
in-store.”
Victoria has compiled a list of five of her most popular top selling
items – all made right here in Gloucestershire – that would provide the perfect
and unique gift for your loved ones this Christmas.
1.Bath bombs
These little
beauties will help you to soothe all of your troubles away – and they even
change colour! Made by Sarah’s Scrumptious Soaps in Cinderford, they sell for
£5 each.
2. Aromatic
candles
These candles can
bring a relaxing aroma to any room in a variety of combinations including
cinnamon and orange, and rosemary and bay. Carefully crafted by Design By Day
based in Dursley, they cost £12 each.
3. Nudies
These cheeky nude
soy wax candles, lovingly referred to as her ‘nudies’ by Victoria Rowley, are
also proving to be very popular. Crafted by Victoria in-store, she has 20
different moulds to suit all different shapes and sizes. They sell for between
£8 and £25.
4. Light and
shade
Victoria also
makes her own lampshades in-store, ranging from floral and butterfly designs to
featuring people in everyday social settings. They range from £40 to £120.
5. Bejeweled
These delightful
designs are carefully crafted by a lady called Katherine at Moon and Made based
in Quedgeley. Customers can learn how Katherine produces the stunning jewellery
at one of her live workshops in-store. The next one is due in February next year. The items are predominantly
made from polymer clay and resin. They
sell for £16 in-store.
Victoria R can be
found inside Five Valleys shopping centre at the side of Sandersons Boutique
Store and is open Monday to Friday (9am to 5pm), Saturday (10am to 5pm) and
Sunday (11am to 4pm). For more information visit Victoria R
at Five Valleys Stroud - Retail shopping at Five Valleys, Stroud
For more
information about the shopping centre, events and special offers, visit Welcome to Five Valleys, Stroud -
Retail shopping at Five Valleys, Stroud (fivevalleysstroud.co.uk).
ENDS
Picture shows Victoria in her shop.
For further information, contact:
Public Relations Department, Dransfield Properties Ltd
Tel: 01226 360644
Email: admin@dransfield.co.uk