My name is Mandy Paul I am the owner of Buttons & Bows - a haberdashery here in Penzance, Cornwall. The business was originally opened on 16th August in Knights Court, Causewayhead by Barbra Quick; on 30th June 2004, the business opened in Bread Street with Sheena James in charge; on 7 December 2021, I took over the shop, moving it to it current location, 3 Stewerts Building, Morrab Road, opening our doors on Monday 13th December 2021.
My background in business started in December 2014, when I began Kernow Knitting, hand knitting CE/UKCA tested toys supplying them to shops around Cornwall & taking them to craft fairs.
When it was announced in May 2021 that Buttons & Bows would be closing, I thought it was a shame the town would be loosing a small business & ended up buying it!
I have 2 adult sons - my younger son works & lives further up the line; my eldest son Duncan, works with me 2 days a week at the moment, spending the past year developing the online presence of the business.
For the future, we are looking to develop the knitting/crochet department - something we introduced in July 2021; also look at how we can become more environmentally friendly - we’ve started by having paper bags instead of plastic, no longer carrying polystyrene shapes, have our cardboard collected for recycling & introducing products such as the Wendy Knits Recycled Wool, made from recycled plastic bottles.