Specialist shop celebrates decade of success

An independent Shrewsbury shop is celebrating a decade of success - and has announced an expansion as it looks forward to its next 10 years in business.

Write Here in the High Street was launched in October 2004 as a gift and stationery retailer and has grown into one of the country’s leading pen specialists.

John Hall, who is now a prominent figure in Shrewsbury’s retail sector, said that he had enjoyed his decade in business in the town.

“Write Here now employs a team of seven full and part-time members of staff and we have built up a very loyal following of customers from the town and throughout Shropshire.

“People also travel from across England and Wales to buy pens from us as we have become one of the country’s experts in this area and our website sells to enthusiasts throughout the world,” he said.

John said that to mark its 10th anniversary the shop, which is a previous winner of an independent ‘gift shop of the year’ award, had expanded into artists’ materials and was now one of only a few independent retailers selling UK-made paints.

“There are lots of good artists in Shropshire so we thought we would meet the demand for high quality drawing and painting products and this new range is proving very popular,” he added.
 
Write Here organises regular events such as pen evenings, competitions, charity donations and art sessions, and John Hall sits on the board of the town’s the Business Improvement District.