Earlier in the year, we made the exciting move into our very own studio at Portview Trade Centre located in the heart of east Belfast. Having operated Storybox out of a converted spare room for the past couple of years, the move into a dedicated space was very much welcomed and feels like a huge milestone for us to get to this point.
We can now work (with much more arm room!) to take Storybox to the next level and continue our purpose of supplying the best ethical, social, and local gifts both online and through our corporate gifting offering. What better place to do that in that in the iconic Portview Trade Centre. A building seeped with economic history having once been home to the world’s biggest flax row spinning mill. A powerhouse of its generation and ahead of its time with its employment of women for that era.
Now rejuvenated into a dedicated space for a variety of local businesses to thrive, innovate and grow. I'm looking forward to picking up more on the history of Portview which I’ll share in the coming months, in the meantime here’s an interesting website that shares a little more about the stories behind the building.
The new space at Portview will provide us with the extra room we need to expand our product lines and offer even more unique and sustainable gift options to our customers. We are already starting to launch some new collaborations and gifting ideas, and are gradually introducing a ‘products with purpose’ range allowing customers to purchase certain goods individually as well as part of a gift box.
As part of our social enterprise model, we will continue to donate surplus profits to mental health charities. This is a cause that is very important to us, and we are proud to do our part in supporting those in need.
The new location also means that we can better serve our customers with a more accessible and convenient location to host open studio days in the future where customers can call in, have a cuppa, hear some product stories, and browse the range in person. We hope to collaborate with other businesses located within Portview as a way to work together to bring footfall into some of the Portview units and showcase the wide variety of businesses located within the site.
OPEN STUDIO DAY THIS SATURDAY!
In fact, we will be hosting a Storybox Studio Open Day on Saturday 11th March 2023. A welcome event taking place especially on the week of International Women's Day 2023 to let you see our physical new space and visit some other amazing female founded business located here at Portview.
We are incredibly grateful to our customers and supporters for helping us reach this exciting new chapter. Without your support, we would not have been able to make this move. We look forward to continuing to provide you with the best ethical, social, and local gifts and products while making a positive impact on our community.
Thank you for your continued support, and we hope to see you at our special open day this Saturday!
Storybox Open Studio Day
- Saturday, 11th March 2023
- 10am-2pm
- Joined by Innocent Chaos (Faux Flowers), Lavender Line (Print Photography) and Studio A114 (Vegan Hair Products)
- Studio A111, Portview Trade Centre, 310 Newtownards Road, Belfast, BT4 1HE
- Mimosas, coffee and traybakes on arrival
- 10% off all products in store
- Lots of gift ideas for Mother's Day and other special occasions
If you have any enquiries or would like to hear more, contact Rachel at storyboxni@gmail.com.