Member Article

Children’s department store sets Christmas tills ringing

Budding young entrepreneurs made £400 when they opened their very own department store for the day in a Northumberland shopping centre selling their handmade products to Christmas shoppers.

Chocolates, Victorian-style gifts, hand carved wooden animals and healthy food and recipe cards were snapped up by bargain hunters at the Skills to Shine Department Store – all the handiwork of Northumberland school pupils who were shopkeepers for the day.

They spent six weeks perfecting a host of skills to allow them to craft their own exclusive products which went on sale in their pop-up shop in Blyth’s Keel Row Shopping Centre.

Not-for-profit social enterprise Skills to Shine took the idea to three local schools as part of its work to give young people the hands-on knowledge they need to succeed in whatever career path they choose.

The children from Bedlingtonshire High, Guide Post Middle and Ashington High Schools were mentored by local businesses to give them the skills to make their own confectionery, gifts, carvings and marketing materials to go on sale in the shop – with the schools keeping the profits they made at the tills.

Owen Southern, 14, and his friend Ethan Grey, 13, were amongst a group of 11 Bedlingtonshire High School pupils who sold their own chocolates after many hours spent learning the craft with business mentors at chocolatiers Kenspeckle in Lynemouth and Gareth James Chocolatiers in Tynemouth.

“When I’m older I want to be a businessman, me and Ethan have said in future that we wouldn’t mind working together, partners in something like a joinery business,” said Owen.

Lindsey Dunn, Skills to Shine managing director, said: “Overall the three schools turned over £400 on the day - the response we had from the public was terrific and the children showed wonderful skills in making the products and in their service to customers.

“One of the main comments we picked up was that it was a long day to work from 8.30 until 2.30, so the children realised what it is like to work and what their parents do everyday.”

The use of the pop-up shop was donated by The Northumberland Estates.

Skills to Shine works with young people in the classroom, to give them the knowledge and skills they need to shine in whatever career path they choose.

The pop-up shop is part of Skills to Shine’s Enterprise Project, supported by £275,000 worth of Big Lottery funding, working with young people aged 11-16 to increase their aspirations, motivation and employability skills.

The businesses lending their expertise for the day were: Keel Row Shopping Centre, Blyth, Kenspeckle chocolatiers, Lynemouth, Gareth James Chocolatiers, Tynemouth, We Are Decide of Gosforth, Northumbria University, Dough Works, North Shields, professional designer Paul Stephenson, Beamish Museum, Gosforth Nature Reserve, Northumbria Natural History Society and Square Peg Joinery of Ashington.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gordon Arnott .