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New gift shop and tea room opens in Knowle
A new gift shop that is also a vintage-themed tea room has opened in Knowle.
Gifts For You is run by Samantha Vile who, after a year of selling gifts online, took the leap to open her own shop.
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The 33-year-old had been working in the office of her dad’s Knowle West-based roofing company for 12 years when she decided it was time for a career change.
“I was working full-time with two children, and I was working all hours of the night to try to fulfil the orders that I had as well,” says Samantha, who’s originally from Knowle West but now lives in Felton. “I just couldn’t do it all; it was totally crazy.”
“I love making pretty gifts,” she adds. “So I thought that this is the time to try and make a go of it, which is what I’ve done.”
Samantha left her dad’s company and transformed an old office on Redcatch Road into what is now Gifts For You.
Samantha Vile’s new shop in Knowle sells gifts for every occasion. Photo by Charlie Watts
The shop is around the corner from the Tesco Express on Axbridge Road and faces the side of the St Saviour’s House chapel. Its shelves are packed with gifts, including bath bombs, soaps and candles.
The shop is also somewhere to grab a tea or coffee, and sells toasties, sandwiches and rolls, alongside homemade cakes. The coronavirus restrictions mean that it is only open for takeaways at the moment.
Gifts For You is a gift shop that doubles as a tea room. Photo by Charlie Watts
Samantha is hoping that Gifts For You, which also sells baby gifts, will have a family-friendly feel to it.
“We want it to be somewhere where mums and dads can come and feel safe with their children; somewhere where older people can come and meet each other for an afternoon tea,” she says.
“One of the mums from the local school came past and said that we’re in a perfect location and that we’re going to make a lot of people happy – that they’ve got somewhere to go for a professional cup of tea and an old-fashioned cake.”
Gifts For You, 245 Redcatch Road, Knowle, BS4 2HQ
07500705215
Charlie Watts is reporting on Knowle as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a pilot project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
Main photo by Charlie Watts
Read more: 1950s American-style cafe and bakery opens in Knowle
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