Small Stuff Sheffield: Popular toy and book shop closes after five years blaming imminent energy bills rise

Small Stuff opened on Crookes Road, Crookes, in 2017, and had survived the global coronavirus pandemic to continue trading up until now. But owner Helen Stirling Baker said the last straw had been the imminent rise in energy bills, with Government support set to end.

Before moving into her permanent shop, Helen had run her business by selling as a pop-up shop as and when. Now she plans to sell online instead of from shop premises.

The shop, which closed down at the end of Saturday (February 25), sold ethically made toys, and also sold books including work by local children’s authors including Lydia Monks.

Helen said: “It was a quick decision that I made three weeks ago. Just since Covid, there’s been problems since Brexit, supply chain issues, but really it’s footfall. At the moment I think everyone’s a bit strapped for cash.

“We’ve probably had the worst Christmas that we’ve ever had on Crookes, in this store at least anyway. It just seems like the right decision at the moment, to take new opportunities and go online.

“We’re going to drive online as much as we can, and try to go back to being global, which we haven’t done for a very long time, since pre-Brexit. But we’ll continue to try and do pop-up shops when we can, but the physical shop will be closing.”

She said she would miss her shop more than anything. “I absolutely love this community. I grew up in Crosspool, I live in Crookes, and I’ve grown up with people’s children.”

She said the final straw was the cost of everything. She added: “Obviously the energy support that we were receiving, that all stops in March, and I think that was the final blow. We just can’t afford to be on the high street any more.”

Small Stuff had won a string of awards since it first opened, including The Progressive Preschool Awards 2021’s Best Independent Gift Retailer, the Indie Retail Best Small Shops 2020’s award for the most innovative business during COVID-19, and the Sheffield Star Small Business Awards 2019’s New Business award. It will now trade online at www.smallstuff.co.uk.