HUSBAND-AND-WIFE DUO GILES AND SARAH HALLIWELL OPENED THE DOORS OF THEIR GORGEOUS LOWER STREET HOME INTERIORS STORE DIsTINCTLy LIVING FIVE YEARS AGO, AFTER RELOCATING FROM LONDON. BY THE DART CAUGHT UP WITH THEM TO SEE HOW THEIR TIME HERE HAS PROGRESSED:
What brought you to Dartmouth? “We wanted to relocate from London. With our first child on the way, we wished to be somewhere more family friendly, where we could put family first away from the stresses of corporate life. We’d been thinking about setting up a business for many years and also wanted to relocate to the sunniest part of Britain – allegedly, that is in the South West! When we first spotted Dartmouth, we were coming from Kingswear on the lower ferry, on a sunny January day. It was like coming into Brigadoon, the land of the fairies – it felt so magical. We were instantly hooked and thought, “why have we never heard of this place?” We walked around and decided, there and then, to move here as the pull of Dartmouth was so strong. We bought a house two weeks later.” Sarah and Giles returned to London and promptly left their city jobs - Giles was a senior business manager for Disney and Sarah worked for Swiss Re insurance at the trendy ‘Gherkin’ building. They had their first child soon after moving to Dartmouth and Giles took a year off to stay home with Sarah and their baby daughter and renovate their new home. What made you open a home interiors shop? “Our original plan had been a B&B or self-catering accommodation but with the thought of a new baby on the way we wanted a business where we could close the door at the end of the day. In January 2008, we sat down and thought, ‘we need to start planning our business so we bought a stapler as our first business decision!’ We looked at what we were interested in, our passion and skills playing a key factor. As we’ve always renovated properties over the years and love interiors, whether a home, hotel or bar, a home interiors business seemed the ideal choice. We signed the lease for Distinctly Living in April and the door was opened in June.” How did you start the business? “We read a lot of books about starting up in business and did a lot of research – including spending time in Dartmouth looking at how many people were going into the shops, and what they were buying. We then started looking at products we wanted to stock and visited trade shows, coming home with
DISTINCTLY LIVING
truckloads of brochures and catalogues. “We spent a lot of time thinking about what we wanted the shop to sell and didn’t want to overlap with anyone else in the town.”
Tell us about your shop “Distinctly Living is very much a lifestyle shop, where our customers can gain inspiration. Items aren’t piled high but set out as in a home – tables laid out, items displayed on furniture etc. People often come in and say it’s very different, they haven’t seen a shop like this before. “We are a complete interiors, homewares and kitchen store.
We sell Neptune furniture, kitchens and interior furniture, and deliver to the whole of England and Wales. We offer a complete kitchen fitting solution, from work tops through to appliances and design and install the Neptune kitchen ranges of Chichester, Suffolk and Henley. We also offer a range of other interior services, including bespoke lighting and rugs and the Little Greene Paint range. Not only can our customers can come in and buy a tea towel, but they can also chat and order something else which is completely unique. “We’re always searching for things that are a bit unusual and of high quality. We stock a few name brands and also boutique items. We visit the trade shows across Europe, both buying and developing ideas. On the odd occasion when stock arrives that we do not consider to be of high enough quality, we will donate it to local charity shops – we never sell anything we would not love to have in our own home. The back-up plan being if it does not sell we are more than happy to take it home! What are your plans for the future? “Our future plans include revamping and strengthening our online presence; continuing to expand our kitchen design and fitting and continuing to source the most beautiful and unique home wares. “Oh and we also have a second child on the
way so more family fun time in Dartmouth too!” Visit Distinctly Living in person at 35 Lower street, Dartmouth, online at
www.distinctlyliving.co.uk or call 01803 832257.
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MY SHOP
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