Katy at the Manor Shop

GO TO MY SHOP HERE

My working life was spent in retail. I was a department manager in a chain of old fashioned Department Stores called Beatties, from the age of 19. I loved this job and I was very good at it. It was before the days of centralised buying and stock control. I hired staff, paid the bills, controlled the stock levels and designed how the departments looked, much like running your own shop. It was hard work, poorly paid and had long unsociable hours, but I thrived in that environment. It was creative, strategic, constantly changing and I loved it! At the age of 24 I got married and we moved to Sydney, Australia for two years with my husband’s job. I decided I would rather not work weekends as we wanted to travel and see the country. I managed to get a job as an assistant buyer for a chain of stores called Best and Less, very different from an English department store, Australians love a cut price retail establishment (well they did then) it was a bit like Primark. This opened my eyes to how similar retail is, whatever level of quality or price point, if you have what the customers want at the right price it works.

I’ve always been creative, making my home better on a budget became a real obsession after I had children. I have done all the decorating and light DIY at home since owning my first house. Looking for bargains that look like treasure, something a bit different. I never want people to walk into my house or garden and know where something is from. Consequently no room in my house is ever finished, I’m always looking for something to finish that shelf, or the perfect painting to put on the bare wall!

My instagram account developed from me documenting my home decorating and gardening exploits. People were interested in what I was doing and how I was doing it. My photographic skills improved, I started my blog (that you are reading now) forcing me to improve my writing skills and my technical know how. So I’ve decided to go back to my roots, combining my instagram account with an online store ‘Katyatthemanorshop’ selling a carefully chosen selection of home and garden products, that I have bought for my home but also want to make available to you. This will be a constantly evolving venture, I will be selling decorative items, items to make a creative project that I have been working on, Christmas decorations etc. Everything will be selected by me, it will be used and displayed in my home. I hope you like it and enjoy the new dimension this brings to my account……. let me know! Xx

GO TO MY SHOP HERE