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Heartfelt Thank You

The Guild Dumfries, and on behalf of our community of makers and volunteers, would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported our month-long Festive Pop Up Shop in the former Monsoon store in The Loreburne Shopping Centre from 28th November to 24th December. We are overjoyed with the public response and delighted to say that the 70 plus makers who took part in the project, have reported that the event far exceeded their expectations. The Pop Up Shop project helped them to recoup much of their lost revenue caused by Covid-19 lockdown and the loss of opportunities to participate in markets and arts events, with a whopping 3,526 individual sales transactions recorded!

 

" Just been and spent a small fortune! It’s brilliant, well done everyone. "

" The Festive Pop Up Shop was a very positive experience and an absolute pleasure to be part of. I can only say that seeing your products in such an uplifting, bright space alongside so many other gorgeous products cannot be anything other than mood enhancing. It was also so good to hear positive feedback about products and sales from Leah and Kirsten. The increased Christmas sales and overall success of the shop was also very impactful on positive well-being. "

The event also gave them the invaluable opportunity to showcase their desirable products in a prime site location with minimum outlay. This has helped many of the makers to reach new audiences and increase sales opportunities for the future. We wish to thank the queues of eager shoppers, who patiently waited their turn to explore all the delights on offer. The wonderful feedback we received as they embraced the Shop Local message and enjoyed the experience of buying thoughtful, unusual, and beautifully designed gifts for loved ones was truly heartwarming. Time and again we heard shoppers tell us that this was “exactly what Dumfries needs” and wishing we “could stay permanently”.

 

 

" This is such a beautiful shop and a breath of fresh air for Dumfries. I’ll certainly be back! "

PHOTO CREDIT | LEAH HALLIDAY

" If I could rate the whole event and experience higher I would, after such a difficult year I really didn't know what to expect in regards to volume of sales but the pop up exceeded all of my expectations, such talent and professionalism! The quality and diversity of products was fantastic, the layout was so open and welcoming and of course the staff were delightful! "

 

It has given us and our community of makers such a boost and shows that despite the gloomy headlines, retail is not dead; it just needs to be different. Thank you so much for supporting your local community, shopping small and making a big difference. We would also like to thank our incredible team of volunteers who helped us create such a visually stunning retail space, unpacked and labelled stock, provided excellent customer service and took care of everyone who came into the shop. We feel very grateful to have had 42 willing and enthusiastic volunteers involved in the project, who gave up over 500 hours of their time collectively, which we know is incredibly generous and we are extremely grateful. We could not have done this without them, and we extend a huge thank you to all our volunteers on behalf of all the makers you helped to support.

 

" Given the difficulties this year with COVID and most events being cancelled the festive pop up was a major boost to sales during December and very much welcomed. It was also great to discover a creative and thriving community that I didn’t know existed. I really hope it will lead to future opportunities. "

 

If you were one of the lovely people who came into our Festive Pop Up Shop, we’d love to hear from you. We would really be grateful if you could take the time to complete our online survey, so that you can tell us your experience, your thoughts and feedback. As The Guild look to bring a permanent retail space to Dumfries Town Centre, which may also include an eatery, workshops, event and exhibition space plus studios to rent, your answers will help to influence and inform our Feasibility Study. Just click the link below to complete our survey. Thank you all once again for your support and we look forward to (hopefully!) welcoming you to the first Dumfries Market Festival of 2021 on Saturday 13th March from 10am – 4pm. In the meantime, stay safe and healthy.

THE GUILD (DUMFRIES) C.I.C

Registered in Scotland as a Community Interest Company Limited by Guarantee | Company Number No | SC595249

Registered office | Solway House, Crichton Business Park, Bankend Road, Dumfries, DG1 4TA