The owners of an independent boutique shop in Hucknall, have said that without the support of the local community, they may not be able to trade for much longer.

The Bee's Knees Preloved Boutique on Watnall Road, run by mother and daughter Jane and Emma Webster has faced a number of challenges since opening in 2020.

Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News, Emma said: "We'd always talked about opening a shop but it was just finding the opportunity to do it. And then the lady that had the shop here previously, she'd had it for ten years and she was retiring so we actually got in there and put a deposit down way before we opened."

The pair received the keys on 4 March, unaware that just a couple of weeks later the country would be plunged into lockdown following the arrival and rapid spread of Coronavirus on our shores.

The plan hadn't been to open immediately as the shop required crucial maintenance. However, as Jane points out the lockdown meant: "We couldn't even come into the shop and do anything."

"The shop needed doing up because nothing had been done for so many years. The landlord charged us full rent, the ceiling fell down three times, he gave us a bill for electrical work of over £1500. We have new landlords now though & they are lovely & so helpful!

Emma concedes: "We've been up against it from the very start. In hindsight we perhaps wouldn't have done it (opened a shop) in a pandemic.

"We wanted to offer something that was a little bit different for the area. I know you've got normal charity shops and we do help charity but we're not a charity shop as such; we wanted to help as many people as possible.

"We've got the chain store seconds, samples and store returns but then we have the pre-loved things as well and also the gifty bits because there isn't anywhere as such to buy gifty bits from in Hucknall, not something that's a little bit different anyway"

The shop accepts donations of clothes and the majority of these are split between Sharewear Clothing Scheme, who help people in clothing poverty, and The Salvation Army in Hucknall.

The rest of the donations are kept back and sold but the money made from the sales goes towards supporting a good cause. So far through this scheme the shop has bought toys for the cleft palate ward at the QMC, and sensory books for Footprints in Sneinton, an educational centre for children with additional needs.

Their next cause voted for by their 2000 followers on Facebook is the Hucknall Hope Lea Project.

However, whilst online engagement has been good and the shop has been inundated with donations, the number of visiting customers has remained low since the pandemic restrictions were lifted.

Emma said: "The footfall on this road isn't what it used to be, not a lot of people know we're here. We've got over 2000 followers on Facebook, we're on Instagram, we've just recently opened a Vinted shop. We just need people to find us and see what we have to offer. We do free local delivery in Hucknall & people can click and collect, they can pay online. We can drop off free of charge in Hucknall, we also post items out and by doing this we have reached other regions.

"We've had so many donations, some lovely things but when people bring their donations, we would love them to have a little look round. In order to continue as a donation drop off and to help good causes like we have been doing we also need people to support us as a local business and consider shopping local. Without sales we won't be able to survive."

Asked about the sort of clothes and other items they stock, Emma added: "There's lots of chain store seconds (Next, M&S etc) and then samples and high street store return. We have some wholesale suppliers that we get those items from. A lot of the items on our rails you'll find will have cut labels because you're not allowed to sell them with labels in if they're store returns or seconds.

"We mix the new & preloved together on the rails. Whether people spend a pound or ten pounds we wrap everything pretty in tissue so people come out here feeling special. We just wanted to do something a little bit different. It is a bit like an Aladdin's cave in here, it can be a bit overwhelming for people sometimes but we're trying to cater for all budgets and tastes. We have things from as little as 99 pence and I think the most expensive thing we've got is £49.99 and that's for a dress that should retail for £225!

Jane added: "We're just trying to do some good. We do a lot behind the scenes. It has been hard. We've enjoyed working together. We try and do an eye-catching window; each time we do a new window we have nice comments and new people come in."

Essentially, this warm, friendly, community orientated venture which has done so much for others in such a short space of time needs Hucknall to give it the same treatment.

For further information visit their Facebook page by clicking here or the shop itself which is based at 25 Watnall Road and is open Tuesday to Friday 9:30-4:30 and from 9:30 to 1:00 on a Saturday.