heelswheelsanddogs
Aug 2023
5
Gem of a gift shop, all on one level.
What I love most about @heartinthecraft is the owners. Extremely friendly and empathetic towards individual needs, more than happy to bring items to you for inspection, whilst you sit on the ideally situated stool in front of the till. There is a huge array of items to suit all tastes, the shelves are laden with all sorts of delightful finds. All their stock is produced by local artists that they know and have a relationship with, so buying here is supporting more than just a local shop but also local art industries and they will try to source more personalised items for you from their contacts if they don’t have what you want in stock. This is the ideal place to find the perfect sentimental gift.
Whilst access from the street is level for wheelchairs and the door is quite wide, I was worried about whether I would get around the central display cabinet. However my fear was misfounded, as I got around there in my self-propelled wheelchair without a problem, and I was also able to enter the small gallery at the rear of the shop without issue. For those of us blessed with assistance dogs, they will be welcomed with open arms, even ones who are training like mine, and it was one of the first shops that Morse visited as part of his training.
I regularly pop in just to have a look at the beautiful stock, and I am always made welcome and put at ease. Once you have been in a couple of times, you aren’t just a customer, you become an extension of the shop and are treated like a cherished fitting. With my PTSD, if I ever felt I needed somewhere to go if I was having a crisis whilst in town, this would be it. I know that I would be helped to feel safe again, and could stay there as long as I needed till I felt able to leave. How many places can you say that about?
What I love most about @heartinthecraft is the owners. Extremely friendly and empathetic towards individual needs, more than happy to bring items to you for inspection, whilst you sit on the ideally situated stool in front of the till. There is a huge array of items to suit all tastes, the shelves are laden with all sorts of delightful finds. All their stock is produced by local artists that they know and have a relationship with, so buying here is supporting more than just a local shop but also local art industries and they will try to source more personalised items for you from their contacts if they don’t have what you want in stock. This is the ideal place to find the perfect sentimental gift.
Whilst access from the street is level for wheelchairs and the door is quite wide, I was worried about whether I would get around the central display cabinet. However my fear was misfounded, as I got around there in my self-propelled wheelchair without a problem, and I was also able to enter the small gallery at the rear of the shop without issue. For those of us blessed with assistance dogs, they will be welcomed with open arms, even ones who are training like mine, and it was one of the first shops that Morse visited as part of his training.
I regularly pop in just to have a look at the beautiful stock, and I am always made welcome and put at ease. Once you have been in a couple of times, you aren’t just a customer, you become an extension of the shop and are treated like a cherished fitting. With my PTSD, if I ever felt I needed somewhere to go if I was having a crisis whilst in town, this would be it. I know that I would be helped to feel safe again, and could stay there as long as I needed till I felt able to leave. How many places can you say that about?
