Sam Morley and Astrid Saunders are the dynamic duo behind Southbourne’s new Party Boutique UK. The event decoration and planning business has recently celebrated its first birthday and has already made a big impact. Sustainability and community are at the heart of this boutique, giving it a unique and ethical feel that draws in customers from near and far. Here, Sam and Astrid explain the journey of Party Boutique UK – why it came about, why sustainability is so important and how they have coped with the challenges of their first year in business.
Sam Morley, Marketing & Communications Adviser, has been with the company since it started back in July 2020: “Party Boutique UK was born after Peeks, a long-standing party business in the local area, closed. Several members of staff from the previous business came together, gathering a few extra people along the way, to form a new company. But we thought why not do it a little differently, on a smaller scale and much more sustainably.”
The drive to be green is certainly something that Astrid Saunders, Managing Director, is passionate about, continuing: “We all knew that the party and events industry hasn’t always been the most sustainable and we wanted to do better. It’s always easier to start with sustainable options and systems in place from the get-go rather than trying to add them in later, so we started as we meant to go on. We’ve reduced all our single-use plastic where possible and you wouldn’t believe the amazing things we’ve been able to create with paper instead, like our fantastic bat wall display we made for Halloween, and really sweet paper trinket boxes for wedding favours. We’ve found that when you have great, quality products on the shelves that just happen to be sustainable, people don’t really ask for the plastic alternatives. Similarly, many people don’t realise there are so many green alternatives to traditional decorations so don’t think to look for a more sustainable option. That’s why we see it as our responsibility to offer our customers green options and educate them on how they can have beautiful and sustainable events.
“So, for example, we give every customer a card explaining how to dispose of our biodegradable balloons so they don’t cause any damage to the environment. Then, for our foil balloons, we offer a refill service so customers can bring them back to us for their next event and we’ll blow them up again. One thing we are quite strict about is that we never offer balloon releases. It’s not ok to throw litter on the street or on the beach or in your neighbour’s garden, and that is pretty much exactly what happens with a balloon release. If you woke up with 20 burst balloons in your front garden, you’d be furious, and on top of that discarded balloons can cause real damage to the environment. We’re currently working on alternatives to balloon releases, like using bubbles or shaped foam, so people can enjoy the same type of spectacle but in an eco-friendly way.”
Sustainability isn’t the only thing the Party Boutique UK team feel strongly about, as Sam explains: “We really care about our community, and here in Southbourne, the feeling of community spirit is so strong, which is lovely. So, we would never dream of throwing a load of balloons along the high street because we love our area and want to protect it, that’s another reason we don’t like balloon releases. Hopefully, more and more people are starting to feel the same way about their local areas too.
“We’ve definitely noticed a real surge in community spirit with an increase in people shopping locally over the past year. People shopping locally certainly made a real difference to us because it’s been fairly tricky at times starting a business during a pandemic. With events and gatherings put on pause, as well as lockdowns shutting our shop, things were a bit tough. But we made it through and if we can handle a first year like that, I think we can handle anything! So, now more than ever we think it’s important to do what we can to encourage people to continue shopping locally and taking care of their community.”
The team aren’t shying away from their responsibility in representing small businesses well, as Astrid explains: “Part of the responsibility for encouraging people to shop locally is on us and other local businesses . We know that when people come to us, they’re entrusting us to make their event really special. So, we make it our mission to prove to them they’ve made a good choice. It’s everything from the experience they have in the store to the quality of our products to how their event looks on the day. That’s why as a team we’ve adopted an almost ‘never say no’ approach: we try and say yes to any customer request, no matter how big or small. For example, we recently had a customer come to us on Friday night asking for decorations for a wedding on the Saturday morning because her previous decorators had pulled out. We prepared over £1,000 worth of balloons in under 24 hours! The look on her face when she saw the decorations was absolutely worth the quick turnaround.
Our approach has meant we’ve got to work on quite a few quirky themes, which is always great fun! Recently we had a request for golden ducks as decoration. So, we spent hours spray painting rubber ducks gold and incorporating them into the décor through balloons and displays. It was really whacky but one of my favourite projects for sure!”
To see Party Boutique UK’s work for yourselves, visit Instagram and head to @partyboutiqueuk. Alternatively, visit their website: https://www.partyboutiqueuk.com.
