3Rs Rescue Restore & Reuse
The cost of living crisis is affecting all businesses. One client, 3Rs Rescue Restore & Reuse in the Cairngorms was running a sustainable business model until the impending cost of running her high street premises forced her to rethink her business model and close her premises.
However, the business has pivoted and with support from GrowBiz was successful with a funding application to the Cairngorms Community Led Vision fund that will see Joanne taking her workshops out into the community and working with community groups to make learning new skills affordable during the financial crises.
Getting Started
Joanne moved to the Highlands in 2007 from Glasgow and her love for restoring furniture started when she would spend weekends wandering around the local antique shops, junk shops and charity shops looking for bargains and things she could use in her own home and turn into something better.
Joanne went on to tell us:
On one such visit, I saw a lady in the Antique Shop "Bygone Days" as it was called doing some French Polishing. This intrigued me but it was put to the back of my mind.
Fast forward about 15 years and believe it or not I had a go at upholstering a chair, even putting some beading around it. Knowing it was far from perfect I had a look online for an upholstery course and found the Antique Furniture Restoration Course at Glasgow College of Building And Printing. Well, that changed my life, before I could say " don't do it, you'll never wear nail varnish again" I was off to college and started working part-time giving up my sensible 9-5.
Needless to say, I loved every minute. In 2006 I finished my course and yet another change decided to move to the Highlands. So sold up and moved here in January 2007 and had to look online how to light a coal fire as the cottage I moved into was basic to say the least - no central heating! I love adventure !!
The Enterprise Journey
So after moving to the Highlands Joanne started up Strathspey Repair & Restoration Service In Newtonmore which taught her a lot about running a business including what not to do and how a one-woman business such as hers could work going forward.
After a spell in Newtonmore as a restorer, she realised that she wasn't working quickly enough, not having the muscle or expensive tools held her back as well as spreading herself too thin as having the shop led to distractions. She decided at this point to look for other employment.
After a spell in offices and as a Care at Home Assistant for the NHS, Joanne again found her love for upholstery and re-started the upholstery workshops which quickly became successful and allowed Joanne to start delivering these full-time across the Highlands and led her back to Grantown on Spey where she opened the shop in March 2020 in time for the first lockdown.
Support
We then asked about her support with developing the business and the other challenges she has faced.
Q. How do you feel about the support you've had from GrowBiz?
It's been great, very approachable with lots of opportunities for support, learning and advice and local and relevant. It was Karen Martin who told me about the Cairngorms Trust and who helped me apply for a grant which I received – this will help my business to expand its range of classes and get to more people in the community.
Q. How has the pandemic affected your business/family/well-being?
The pandemic led my business to close and left me with no income. I thought I was going to lose the business. I was going through a really tough period with my family at the time and the pandemic made it worse leaving me thinking I was going to lose everything. To say my well-being was on a knife-edge is no understatement! Thankfully the government stepped up!
Q. How has the cost of living crisis impacted your business?
Yes very much so – I opened the shop to expand on my workshops and was poised to do very well. Covid had a huge impact but I survived with the help of grants and taking on commissions. I could see early on this year 2022 things took a downward turn, compared to the year before even coming out of lockdowns and kept my eye on the situation. The impetus of the workshops dropped due to Covid too and then due to the cost of living crisis. Coming to a workshop is a luxury at the end of the day. I decided to give up the shop as I was barely breaking even.
Looking to the future
Joanne remains focused on the future with plans for more workshops. “I am continuing with my workshops and have been awarded a grant from the Cairngorm Trusts Community Led Vision Fund to run a series of upholstery and sewing workshops throughout the National Park Area to teach people who may not normally access such workshops due to location or income.
The workshops in Dingwall are well attended now and I aim to do sewing workshops there too. I also hope to find a suitable long-term venue in the cairngorms area too.”
Joanne is now focusing on collaboration by providing workshops through community groups across the Cairngorms to help with improving people’s mental health by making the upholstery workshops accessible to a wide range of people.
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