A new lifestyle shop, Lively, has opened today in the High Street, with Stone local James Kilroe and his wife Russelle the duo behind it.
James has been a manager for DHL over 15years, whilst Russelle was a cake designer for 8 years running her own business Russelle Cake Design before she joined TJX Europe, company that owns TKmaxx and Homesense.
Russelle told A Little Bit of Stone: “During my time with TJX, I learnt so much about merchandising and how important to run a business that’s so agile when it comes to trends.
“The desire to open up my own shop has always been a long time dream. Finding the perfect products that reflects our personality and style is always so exciting. We both worked really hard to save up to be able to afford our first shop. After what happened with the pandemic, so many beautiful souls we lost, we realised that life is really is a gift, and we wanted to make sure that we are making our dreams a reality.”
The business is a lifestyle shop, you’ll find plants, home furnishing all the way to accessories. The duo has worked with many British artisans as well as many eco friendly companies to maintain their business ethos; being committed to reduce the impact to the planet by reducing waste and re using recycled materials. Most of the products are handmade and made sustainably without comprising the style and quality.
Russelle continued: “We decided to choose Stone over so many places we visited because it feels like home, James grew up in Stone and we love the area, the people are friendly and the town is looked after. We came across the property by surprise, after viewing so many, as soon as I viewed the unit, I knew its where I want the business to be. I have envisioned how I wanted it and it came to life after a month of shop fitting.
“We’ve had lots of warm welcome from other businesses across town and we are so overwhelmed with the support we’ve had so far. We are so excited to collaborate with so many businesses. We truly believe that partnership through collaboration is a key to success.”
Take a look at the gallery below for a taste of what you’ll find visiting the shop. Good luck to Russelle & James in their venture!
