Branding Shoot in Sale with Claire of Shine gift shop

Although a big change in pace from chasing little people around playgrounds or photographing tiny baby toes, branding photoshoots are still a lot of fun!

I was really chuffed to be invited along by Claire from Shine gift shop in Sale to capture some photos to help promote her business as it moves into an exciting new chapter.

 

 

Claire’s shop is located right at the heart of Sale, next to the town hall in Emporium M33 and also operates online. It was formally known as Hall and Hines but has just moved into a new phase with Claire no longer working alongside a partner so was the perfect time for some new pictures.

 

 

Claire’s shop is a real feature in Sale and it was brilliant being able to photograph Claire in there surrounded by tons of beautiful (and highly photogenic!) products, including some made by Claire herself. When passing by I often see her busily working on her sewing machine or chatting to customers and really wanted to capture the creativity and warmth that shines out of her.

 

 

As a really active part of the Sale community it was also important to get some pictures of Claire out and about in the town centre so we headed down to the canal for a few portraits and then a cup of tea in Sale Food Hall…all in all a really fun few hours!

 

 

Claire was kind enough to answer a few of my questions so you can read a little bit more about her and her business…

Your name 

Claire Hines

Your Business Name

Shine (formerly Hall and Hines)

What do you do?

I sell gifts from my shop in Sale and online. I make purses and bags from cork and I work with local designers and makers to sell their lovely cards, jewellery, candles and more.

 

 

How are you different?! 

I try to stock things which I would like to receive or which I would send to a friend. I try not to stock things which are easily available elsewhere and I usually work with small businesses who don’t supply too many others. I don’t want to clutter people’s homes, I want them to really love the items they buy.

What three words would you use to describe your business? 

Friendly, creative, considered.

 

 

How do your days look?

The shop opens at 10am so before that I’m usually rushing around making a salad to take for lunch and getting my boys off to school. As soon as I walk into the shop I get some good music on and light one of the lovely candles. The shop usually needs a little tidy and restock and that can take anything from 5 minutes to a couple of hours!

The rest of the day is spent serving customers, chatting to the other business owners within Emporium M33 and trying to get on with any other jobs that I’ve lined up for myself. Jobs can vary from creating window displays, unpacking new stock or sewing. I take my sewing machine to work and customers are always interested to see the making process.

I usually leave the shop around 4pm so that I can see the boys before they go off dancing or cycling or whatever they’re doing that day. The shop is open until 5pm but Olivia and Scott are on the main till for that last hour or so. Then it’s time to ferry the boys around, cook tea, watch some TV, do a bit of reading and bed!

 

 

What do you enjoy most about what you do? 

Meeting people. Whether it’s customers who are looking for a little something special or other business owners who are trying to navigate the retail world. We get into some really interesting chats and I love hearing people’s stories.

 

 

How did you come up with the name for your company? 

I’m in the process of changing my name from Hall & Hines now that it’s just me on my own. I wanted something new that had some links to the original and also reflected positivity. I’ve always like the fact that Hines is an anagram of Shine and when we were naming our eldest we knew we wanted it to start with an S. A friend of mine suggested Shine and I knew straight away that it was perfect.

How many employees do you have? 

None but I work closely with the team at Emporium M33 and they help my customers when I can’t be there. Originally the business was me and my friend and jeweller Laura Hall but Laura has decided to step away from the business so now I’m going it alone.

 

 

What made you choose your company’s location? 

It was always about Sale! When we first had our children we used to pound the streets, chatting and moaning about how little sleep we’d had. We were always looking for a birthday card to send to someone or a little gift or a place to have a nice cup of tea and it was so frustrating that we couldn’t find any of those things. It became a dream to have a shop in Sale. Once Laura and I started working together, we tried to work out how we could do it but still be around if the children were ill or some other emergency came up. Emporium M33 was the perfect solution.

 

 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? (Business or otherwise!) 

This too shall pass.

What are you most grateful for? 

My health, without a shadow of a doubt. We take it for granted every day!

Where do you find inspiration? 

I love looking at what people are making and I love getting out into nature.

 

 

What do you do for fun? 

I’ve recently learnt how to do marbling which I absolutely love! I listen to a lot of podcasts, I read and I get together with my friends whenever I can.

Hopes for the future? 

My main focus at the moment is just to keep going and to come to terms with running the business on my own. I’d love to build the business but for now I’m just going to appreciate what I have.

 

 

What’s the one tune that will always get you on the dance floor? 

Ooh what a good question! It doesn’t take much to get me on the dance floor to be honest but Superstition by Stevie Wonder always works.

 

 

Thanks Claire!

You can find Claire and her lovely products in Sale town centre at Emporium M33 or online at Shine

 

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