Introduce yourself and your store.
Hi, I am Stuart and with the help of Lisa my wife and our fantastic team we run Set.
How has Covid changed your business?
Being in Leicester City centre we have had 3 lockdowns now, in fact we are front runners in the lockdown stakes. As you can imagine it’s been pretty devastating to the business, but on the plus side my garden looks really really tidy.
Is there a story behind the name?
When I opened I thought we would have customers buying sets of things, cutlery, china that sort of thing, hence the name.
How long have you been doing this?
Soooo long, 24 years now.
Best moment of store life so far?
Lots of good ones, but I think my favourite was Lisa telling Tom from Kasabian that if he was a really famous pop star, like Simon Le Bon, then she would know who he was, which in fairness he took very well!
How did you come across Text From A Friend?
Top drawer I think.
What's your favourite Text From A Friend product?
Anything with gratuitous swearing is fine by me.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I haven’t yet and have no plans to grow up.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Do it sooner rather than later.
When you get time off, what do you do?
Play with my old classic cars, visiting sites of unloved mid century architecture, day out in Harlow anybody? Thought not. And family stuff.
Favourite city/destination to visit?
Polenca in Majorca.
What inspires you to buy a maker's product?
It just has to have a spark that makes me love it and then hopefully the customers will to. One that sells over and over again. In truth we are very lucky and have a fantastic portfolio of suppliers.
What do you love most about having the store?
You wouldn’t want a real 9 to 5 job would you.
Future plans?
To become a grandparent, come on you two get on with it, and maybe retirement!
Top tips for visitors to your city?
Keep it independent and seek out all the lovely local shops, those big multi nationals will survive without your money.
Find Set:
Website: Set
Instagram: @setleicester
Facebook: SetLeicester
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