Summer's Calling Our Kid! Why We're Shutting up Shop for August...

So we've survived the school year. And now week 1 of the summer holidays is almost done. The sun is still shining (apparently that's about to change) and day by day, our shop regulars are popping in to say their goodbyes as they pack up and leave for their holidays. 

This week Kate had a radical thought. And it was one that centred around our business and what it means to us as working mums. And how we make running this little shop a worthwhile and manageable experience. Because we are all so very tired. And the holidays remind us that we too, are human. And maybe we might like to switch off too. 

We hear a lot about flexible working and how big companies need to wake up and find better ways of keeping their workforce happy and content. But what many forget is that it's the smallest businesses, the one man bands. The partnerships of mum's (like ours) who are under a relentless pressure to keep all balls juggling. With no holiday pay. No sick pay. No let-up on the daily grind of self-employment.

We're probably the worst bosses in the world. To ourselves.

So it's up to us. The little people. To make our businesses work the way we want them to. And sometimes that may mean taking a hit on your day rate if you freelance. Or missing out on daily takings if like us you have a physical business.

Someone said to me recently that if you can't make a business aimed at families, work for the families involved, then the world has gone mad. And they're right! So with this in mind we're shutting up shop for August. We're freeing ourselves up for one whole month of adventures. There will be holidays, camping, day trips and lazy mornings where we roll over and let the kids watch a screen for an hour (or two). There will be football in the park, ice lollies, playdates and cheeky afternoon prosecco.

We hope our regulars understand this decision and don't feel too cheated that we aren't going to be open as their daily pit stop. But hopefully the upshot of this extended closure will be new energy, new enthusiasm and lots of new surprises for the business as it enters year 3 as a physical shop.

The website will be fully operational and we've moved our remaining sale items online. We've removed all delivery charges for August and extended our returns policy so that you have 30 days to get any unwanted items back to us. Sally will be fulfilling all orders and we'll still be on email to deal with any enquiries. 

Our Kid closes for summer on Saturday 28th July and will re-open on Friday 24th August at 10am. Until then, thanks for listening and we hope you have a magical summer.