76 A one-stop craft shop Donna McKean Smith owns Riverside Crafts in Market Deeping. Here we learn more about her retail venture Tell us a bit about Riverside Crafts, when did it open and by who? It was founded in 2002 by myself! Riverside Crafts is the craft side of our business, offering papercraft, soft crafts, art materials and more (Riverside Beads is the beads side). Tell us a bit about your location! We’re a bricks and mortar store based in Market Deeping, Peterborough. We sit on the border of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. You also run an e-commerce business when did this start and what made you take the business online? We’ve had a website for as long as I can remember, it’s a very important window for our shop and also a chance for customers who can’t visit us to buy too. How has business been over the last 12 months? The second half of 2024 saw an increase in footfall to the shop and our workshops became busier too. Have you seen a boom in the craft industry recently/ a new type of customer? The landscape of retail has changed in recent years, we’re grateful to have been established for nearly 23 years with a wide range of customers. Tell us a bit about what you stock? We stock everything you could imagine for crafting and with our sister company Riverside Beads in the same shop as us, we have everything for beading too. What brands do you currently stock? Are you looking for any new products/ licenses or styles? We love to support small craft brands along with some of the larger suppliers too. There’s too many to list, but all are a valuable part of our choice for customers. What is selling particularly well at present? Craft and bead supplies that can be used for different projects such as home décor or the latest trend on TikTok!
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