Newsroom Archive

Debbie has given up her part-time job to open N’Chanted as a pop up stall on Dawley Market thanks to a £2,000 Pride in Our High Street start-up trial grant.

She is taking her internet business venture, which has already captured the imagination online, to the next level with the launch.

Customers can expect to find healing crystals and stones as well as ornamental gifts, incense and burners at the market stall which will be open every Friday (8am-4pm) for the next 12 months.

Mother-of-six Debbie is hoping her quirky products will have a powerful presence on the high street and she can boost people’s mental health at the same time with a variety of soothing gems.

Debbie said: “I’ve always wanted to run my own business but I’ve never been able to do it due to time and work and family commitments.

“I was a part-time dinner lady in a primary school but during the lockdowns I wasn’t working my full hours because the school was only open to key workers and vulnerable children.

“It made me take a step back and decide I wanted to do something completely different but I just didn’t know where to start.

“My husband knew that I was passionate about these products and that’s the type of business I was interested in launching and he took me by surprise one day when he came in with different stock items and told me to go for it. 

“At first, I launched N’Chanted as a home-based business, promoting products online. Sales started to go well but I realised that although the business was attracting a lot of interest I needed to get out there on the high street in person.”

Debbie couldn’t afford to set up her own shop but when she saw the start-up trial grant she thought a market stall would be a great place to test out her business venture with customers face-to-face.

Debbie invested in a website and full ecommerce package to support her online business activity and has purchased £4,000 of stock.

She said: “With these types of products, particularly stones and crystals, customers like to touch and feel them and see them in person and selling products online can only go so far.

“I think people’s mental health has gone through the roof with the pandemic during this last couple of years so I think people are looking at different ways of boosting their health and wellbeing.

“For many people the products that I’m selling do make a difference – relieving their stress levels and anxiety and bringing a calmness to their lives which can only be a good thing.”

Debbie is also offering a click and collect for her orders so people can collect off the stall. 

She added: “I’m so grateful for this start-up trial grant which is giving me the chance to turn my business dream into a reality and have a regular presence in Dawley.

“I couldn’t have afforded the start-up costs on my own and I’m not in a position financially to run my own shop but that is my long term ambition.

“This is a great way to test the water by having the Dawley Market stall. I’m really excited about it and hope that local people really buy into what I’m trying to do.”  

Councillor Lee Carter (Lab), Telford & Wrekin Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, Regeneration and the High Street, said: “The pandemic has made people think differently about their career pathways and has encouraged many to explore a complete change of direction.

“A move into self-employment can be exciting but also challenging and this grant gives people the opportunity to test their business out with a high street pop-up.”

Councillor Andy Burford (Lab), Telford & Wrekin Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, Integration and Transformation, and Dawley and Aqueduct Ward Member, said: “Debbie is now able to pursue a lifelong ambition by launching her business at Dawley Market.

“We wish her every success with this new high street venture which will bring a range of exciting new holistic products to the town.”

You can find out more about the start-up trial grant and other grants for businesses through the Pride in Our High Street programme here.