Nottingham business announces ‘great disappointment ‘ at closure of shop

A Nottingham shop known for its unique and eye-catching dog accessories such as leads, collars and bandanas announced it will be closing its shop on Freckingham Street in Sneinton Avenues. Wiff Waff Designs occupies two units in the Avenues but will be keeping the studio unit open.

As well as the studio, the online and Etsy shops will also remain open. Owner Georgie Thornton said that sadly, the decision to close was made towards the end of last year based on the lack of footfall. The shop, which she runs with husband Bruce, has now launched a 65 per cent sale off all accessories in the physical store and online.

“We’ve been here for five and a half years but the decision has been made because of the lack of footfall. The whole area is brilliant and I thought it would be a brilliant creative hub when we moved down here but then we had the pandemic and economic downturn,” Georgie said.

“The footfall isn't there so we can’t justify staying open. We are having to consolidate to keep the business going. Something had to go so we looked at it and it isn’t financially worth keeping the shop open. It’s a great disappointment but if we continue, the whole business may end up going as we would have to prop it up and support it.”

The decision to close was not an easy one to make but the couple spoke to their regular customers to let them know they would still be in the studio. The shop has an eye-catching array of brightly coloured accessories which are made in the adjoining studio.

“We are keeping the studio but we made this decision at the beginning of December. I spoke to regular customers who were wondering where to get their dog collars from because I do a lot of bespoke work,” she said.

“I make dog collars that don’t have extra bulk so it's the right size for them. Everyone is talking about the closing down sign on the door so we are saying we will still be here in the studio. You can come and see me for something specific so you can get in touch to arrange a visit to make sure I”m here.”

The couple visits different dog shows including the prestigious Crufts dog show which takes over the NEC every year in March. However, this year may be the last as Georgie highlighted that the intense work that conventions, shows and events like Crufts take can be gruelling.

“The decision with Crufts is not necessarily economic based but more health cased. My husband keeps saying that if he was working in a normal job, he would have retired by now. We only do big shows but we are thinking about doing more local ones which we haven't done before. Last year we did about sixteen different shows around the UK including the South Coast and Leeds.”

“It’s very physically demanding to do that as it takes six to seven hours to get set up on Friday as we have three gazebos. It’s a big gazebo and a lot of stock to set up. They are good and I’ll miss being out at the shows as they are good fun.”

Post- Crufts, the couple normally take a break but sadly, this year Covid meant they had to close the units and take time to recover. It also placed an extra strain on getting everything ready and packed away.

“I realised on Sunday but it’s such a tiring show as you are on the stand for 12 to 13 hours a day. You are living and breathing Crufts. You just get out of the shower at the end of the day, grab something to eat then go to bed because you are back on the stand at 7 am. On Monday, when we get back, I’m always shattered anyway because we’ve done it for years so we just thought we were tired,” she said.

“When it got to Wednesday, I thought this isn't normal so we did rest and unfortunately it was positive. Looking back on Sunday night around half nine in the NEC, I was so tired and felt so awful that I could have wept.”

Sneinton Avenues is known for its quirky and independent shops and is one of Nottingham’s most creative areas. Although the shop may be closing, the studio unit will remain open. It is unclear what will take the place of the second unit but it won’t be empty for long.