Celebrating 8 years as an independent business
From market stall to independent, bricks and mortar high street shop, we revisit the brands story
it's our birthday week! We're joyously celebrating 8 wonderful years as an in independent homewares brand, and we couldn't have done it without you! This is no small feat and it's all thanks to your support.
Some of you have been with us from the beginning and some of you have found us more recently. As you probably know if you shop with us already, we are currently residing in a pretty big corner unit at 217A North Street, nestled in the heart of the suburb of Bedminster, Bristol. But Mon Pote did not begin as a bricks and mortar!
Started by Anna in early 2015 as an online homeware shop, Mon Pote means "my mate" in French. The name was chosen to reflect the intention to create a friendly homeware boutique where people living busy lives could shop beautiful, unique homeware in one place, with an affordable budget.
The first year was spent online trading from my home, seeking out the products that I hoped reflected the ethos. Online trading was tough at first with no experience and little marketing budget, although social media apps like Facebook and Instagram really helped to spread the word. I also wanted to meet customers in person so I packed up my stock and traded at markets in Bristol: the Harbourside and the Tobacco Factory Sunday Market, and further afield at the Frome Independent. Some of the customers who shop with us today met me at those markets, all those years ago.
I always had a dream of owning my own shop, and I particularly coveted a derelict unit with huge window on a corner of North Street Green, so close to where I live. It feels like fate intervened when, in November 2015, a little "to let" card appeared in the window of that very same shop and I rang the number straight away. I wasn't allowed to take the shop on until March 2016 and gave myself three weeks between signing the lease and opening on 2 April 2016.
The little shop was a dream come true, a place to display products but absolutely tiny and with no storage but I loved it all the same. I tried to offer as wide a range of products as I could without overfilling the space, and overcame the challenge of the lack of space and storage often restocking the shop from my Big Yellow Storage unit in the evenings or weekend mornings. All the hard work paid off, when our current gorgeous big shop came up for rent in October 2019, I was ready to take it on and here we are today!
I know I should say how tough its been over the last 8 years in retail navigating Brexit, Covid and the Cost of Living Crisis not to mention the shift on the UK high street but I can honestly say I have loved every minute and none of that has phased me. Our amazing, amazing customers have just supported the shop every step of the way and kept supporting despite all of these events. My mind is still blown by all the people who walk through the door every day, day in day out.
It's now been almost four years since the business relocated to 217 North Street from it's original home at 177 making it a whopping 8 years on the British high street. We'd love to extend our heartfelt thanks and include you in our celebrations! This Saturday, April 26th, join us for a fun-filled day and enjoy a special birthday discount on all your purchases - both online and in store! PLUS Our in-store customers will be treated to some delicious FREE CAKE during their shopping spree!
