Before I created this business, (and off the back of a property crash, a recession, a newborn baby and a relationship breakdown all at the same time), I'd had what can only be described as a complete 'life crash'.
I was a bankrupt, single Mum, on benefits, eating from the food bank.
Not always the usual place anyone thinks 'I'm gonna start a business' - I'll give you that.
But with a tiny spark of sheer bloodymindedness in my belly, a whole dose of 'it can't get much worse' and a butt-tonne of business ignorance (but lots of praying to magical business fairies!), Dixie Dot was born.
Because of where I've come from it was really important to me that Dixie Dot represented absolute value for money, that is was accessible to almost everyone, and that customers didn't pay through the nose to come and have a couple of hours of fun.
7 years later and it's still just as important that we offer these core things to our customers. We pride ourselves on not rinsing customers for every last penny.
Of course, over that time it's been a rollercoaster and a half for us all.
Who could have predicted the global pandemic and the immense fallout we'd all experience from that? (I was one of the Excluded that Rishi DIDN'T support through it, being the director of a limited company, we were all shafted and he didn't think we required any money to live on while our businesses were closed... but don't get me started....!)The ramifications on every family are still here..... throw in more recession, a tanked economy, energy price hikes, a cost of living crisis and we are all, at the very least, watching where the pennies are going.
I didn't raise any of our prices through all of that.
While every other business announced that 'due to increasing costs....' blah blah.... Dixie Dot was freezing theirs.
That was about 2 and a half years ago,
Since then the team has grown, the electricity bill has REALLY grown and the overall costs of running a business have soared.
Yawn.
You've heard it a million times.
But to put it into perspective, pottery that I was buying to sell for £5 has increased so much I'd now need to sell it at £17.50. That makes what was the £15 pottery at almost £40.
Ain't nobody buyin' that!
So, what do we do?
Well, I refuse to budge on Dixie Dot being a good place to spend your money and have a good time.
I refuse to blanket-increase all our prices.
I refuse to cut staff, switch off the lights and fire the kiln less.
In fact what I want to do is increase staff, leave the lights on and fire the kilns even more.
Yep. More.
And to do that I need YOU.
I need YOU to be conscious about where you spend your money.
Yes, Amazon is easy and your gift will be here tomorrow - a Dixie Dot Gift card is instant and you get it in seconds. You can even get it emailed straight to wherever it's going if you want.
Yes, Costa Coffee is popular, and they have a drive through, and you look cool wandering about with it in your hand. Please, don't turn up here with your own drinks and snacks. By ordering OUR drinks and snacks when you are here you are actually SAVING money, keeping us in business and paying our staff mortgages.
Yes, a million other places host birthday parties, but do the kids get something to keep at the end of it? Will they think about your child's 7th birthday party in three years time when there are no reminders and it's long forgotten, or will they pick up the pottery puppy that they painted bright orange with green spots and say 'I painted this at Zoe's party'?
Yes, going out for hen night cocktails in a posh bar is instagrammable and makes a lovely TikTok reel - but can everyone afford it? Does everyone drink cocktails? Do the 'olds' even wanna go? Are people actually seeking social time with their friends and family where they can relax and talk, rather than a fleeting photo opportunity and a headache the next day? At Dixie Dot you can actually do both and keep everyone happy!
If you've made it this far you've done well - I know that lots of text isn't the done thing anymore, people just don't want to be arsed reading it (If you've made it leave me a comment below, even if it's a completely random word!!)
But what I am taking a long, long time to say is this:
I don't want to increase prices because we are forced to. I want to keep them reasonable for many more people.
I want to remain true to my values I had before opening.
Some things will just have to change but I will keep them as minimal as possible.
And to avoid any massive price hikes we need the 'many more people' to visit us.
So, please, PLEASE:
share our socials
tell your friends we exist
invite them to a workshop
consider Dixie Dot for your works Christmas Do
book a birthday party
paint Granny something special for her birthday
Have a surprise baby shower
Ask your wedding guests to paint you a dinner service
Order a take away, 'Paint at home' kit for your weekend
Come and paint on your day off work - you deserve some 'you' time!
There are many ways you can help that don't cost a thing, but at least you know, when you do come that we won't rinse you for every last penny.
Because Dixie Dot has been creating happy hearts since 2017 and we don't intend to make them sad at any point in the future!
Thanks for reading - I hope you made a brew before you started!
Looking forward to seeing you soon
Love
Trace
& the Dixie Dot Team xxx
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