Jenny Medhurst's 26th Christmas Traidcraft shop in Middlesbrough has beaten all records, with takings totalling nearly £34,000 - £2,500 more than 2010!
Jenny says "It's difficult to compare apples and pears, with milder weather this year, but we were pleased with our takings in the light of the financial meltdown, and the prospective loss of so many jobs."
She was also gratified by the appreciative comments people made, who obviously loved the different atmosphere in the shop and saw it as a complete contrast to the commercialism and hard sell elsewhere on the High Street. One customer said it was 'the best shop in the world!', and another that it was 'therapeutic'.
We're told that the little leaping snake boxes from Tearcraft still got all the grown ups giggling, but that it was the recycled products which flew off the shelves, especially a pot of made of recycled magazines from Vietnam - described by one customer as the coolest thing she had ever seen.
As in previous years, Northern Synod helped Jenny by providing a start-up loan to purchase stock, and staff at our synod office gave some helpful advice too. "Thanks so much for all your help with the loan each year - and this year for help getting insurance" says Jenny, adding "Without such a wonderful team of helpers and supporters this shop couldn't be done!"