Hello gang,
It's been a long time, once again, since I’ve had the time to update you with my shop shenanigans. And shenanigans they’ve been!
Like a mad woman (said Allan Prior - my dad), I opened a second shop in Bristol (BS5) to both test the waters of community shopping and also as a safety net, in case Cabot suddenly had to close. Forever the optimist, I wanted to see if they complemented each other, like big and little siblings looking out for one another.
The plan worked in so many ways, but caring for both shops (and the staff they hold) has been more than a lot to deal with. I’ve refused to let the backwards system - that supports large businesses with their ugly tax avoidance and planet-harming manufacturing - triumph over small, consciously and community-run businesses. However, it’s with a heavy heart that we can no longer keep fighting in Cabot.
I wasn’t expecting to tell you this now - tonight, at 10:12 p.m. on a Wednesday - but something is prompting me to do so.
Our business rates have gone up again, as have every single one of our overheads — from staff salaries to Wi-Fi, paper bags, and even the blimmin’ barcode stickers. And, let’s be honest, the boundaries of the customer pool that can afford handmade goods are now just a sliver. The crowd of people who appreciate craftsmanship is still huge, but our capacity to actually buy such goods has shrunk from filling a football field to just a tiny table tennis table - Not quite sure that was the most poignant analogy, but it’s there now :)
Also, with H&M Home (yuk), Oliver Bonas Home, and Primark (massive vom), with their craft-‘washing’ and mock handmade goods - our wobbly handmade ceramic cup for £30 can’t compete with their wobbly, machine-mass-produced cup for £3.
Quakers Friars is also undergoing development, and Cabot want us in the centre court when they open their new Arts and Culture Quarter. In the meantime, though, we’re trying to find a way to maintain a presence in the city centre without occupying such an enormous shop - one that was designed for Apple - who, let’s be honest, would prefer to take over every part of our digital and consumer lives (yep, me!) and dodge the huge hikes of occupying buildings, rather than try to survive in lil’ ol’ Cabot
I do have some interesting plans, but everything depends on our sales this Christmas - so count those pennies and double-check all your birthday cards! If every customer spent £5 with us, we could do some excellent things next year.
We’ll be doing a proper announcement about this soon, but I wanted to let you guys - the 5,562 people subscribed to my ramblings - know first. Thanks for sticking it out with me.
PRIOR will continue in BS5, but our home in Cabot will be changing in early 2026.
So this Christmas will be your last chance to experience PRIOR in our gorgeous shop in Cabot Circus. P.S. There was a whole load of other stuff I was going to tell you, but I’ll save that for next month.
Bye for now!
er - ok, one thing! We have a wishlist app embedded on our website. Go and check it out :)
Love,
Beck Prior xxx
