In amongst the beautiful and eclectic Brighton streets known as North Laine, you'll find the super quirky and oh-so-Brighton cards and gifts shop that is Malarkey Cards, located on Bond Street nestled between Costa and the backstage door of the famous Theatre Royal.
We catch up with them to find out how lockdown life is going for them and for their store.
Please tell us about your business and what you offer? We are Malarkey in Bond Street malarkeycards.com and we sell greetings cards, gifts and wrapping paper
How long have you been based in Brighton? The shop has been here for 20 years .. or thereabouts. I took over 5 years ago
What challenges has your business faced since we went into lockdown? Pfft ... well, there are 4 of us ... 3 are now on furlough and on full wages, so I’m doing all the web stuff, book work, etc etc .. I’m gloved and masked up and come in everyday on my bike to fulfil orders which are thankfully plentiful thanks to our amazing customers and sites like Support Local.
Would you say that the Support Local Facebook group and Brighton Quarantine website have been a help to your business? MASSIVELY
What advice would you give to anyone who is struggling right now? It’s difficult to know what to say isn’t it. I don’t want to say anything patronising like stay busy or this thing really isn’t going to last forever .. we all handle things in different ways, so loaf about if you want, and don’t feel guilty about it. Get busy if you want ... phone friends and family or keep to yourself if you don’t feel like talking to anyone. Whatever you do, don’t give yourself a hard time.
What happy song makes you dance in your kitchen?! Buzzcocks.. Boredom
Anything further you'd like to tell us? I just want to give a shout out to all the Malarkey staff .. Julie, Karina, and Ella. Take care, stay well, and man do I look forward to seeing you all again. Also massive thanks to our customers who are supporting us right now through the site .. malarkeycards.com
Why not communicate with your nearest and dearest and take advantage of communicating the old fashioned way? How lovely would it be to receive a handwritten card through the post for no other reason than just to say I'm thinking of you? :)
If you would like to feature in our Support Local blog series, email me at jo@co-women.org