What's on
From family support, fitness classes and learning to art exhibitions, festivals and talks, our activities are wide and far reaching.
Karine Gulliksen, owner of Nordic Nic Nac, writes a blog for us about how the past 18 months have been for her...
Time flies and I find myself wondering how long the pandemic has been going on for... A year? Two?
I’m currently in Norway where I have been for the past month. I finally managed to go over and visit my family who I had not seen for a year, including a long-awaited hiking trip in the Norwegian Mountains. Thanks to my laptop and apps, I can manage the shop from here whilst my shop assistants mind the shop, keep on top on stock counts and most importantly manage sales and customer service.
Looking through my Instagram posts, I find that in spring 2020 I was working from home and posting photographs from my garden of dresses and knitted accessories. I was focusing on making products and selling online, whilst also getting used to a new routine of running a shop from home. I took weekly trips into the South Bank and Gabriel’s Wharf to check on the shop and to process orders. The town was deserted and there I was, cycling in and observing an empty central London. It was eery; a scary and uncertain time.
The biggest challenge opening the shop up again was keeping a distance and making customers, and myself, feel safe. With signage and sanitisers, I found that people were sensible and often waited outside before coming in on busy days.
A year and a half later I’m proud to say that I’m still in business, but things have changed slightly. I have started selling Scandinavian vintage items such as books, candle holders, cups, plates, and fair isle jumpers. This has proven popular and now I have a new category on my website called Loppemarket, which means 'flea market' in Norwegian.
More new items are my scented candles from St. Eval in Cornwall. They are made using wind and solar power and they burn for hours leaving the room scented and cosy. As autumn approaches, I’m stocking up on new styles.
I have been designing a new item whilst I’ve been away that I’m introducing this autumn; a new hand knitted headband. It’s made with extra fine merino wool and comes in lots of colours and sizes.
Hope to see you at Nordic Nic Nac or on our online shop, soon!
Karine x