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With Christmas fast approaching, Abra Dunsby rounds up some fantastic gifts and affordable festive items to add to your list this year – all from businesses recently created by smart-thinking travel professionals
If you’re wondering what to get your loved ones for Christmas this year, or you’re looking to spruce up your own home with some festive cheer, why not consider purchasing a few items from travel professionals who have started up small businesses this year to help get them through the crisis?
From Christmas tree baubles to handmade cushion covers, not only are the items affordable, they’ll also help you to support others in the travel industry during these difficult times.
Here, we catch up with some of the many travel professionals who have started small ventures since the pandemic to hear where they got their inspiration from and find out about their fantastic products.
Lesley Dean Springett is a homeworker for Your Holiday Booking who has turned a passion for upcycling furniture into a business
“After spending March and April cancelling people’s holidays, business slowed down in May and I thought ‘now what can I do?’
“I bought a bike for £1 and upcycled it, turning it into an ornament for my garden. It looked great so I started buying furniture for less than £10 on Facebay and selling it, and people are now asking me if they can drop furniture outside my house for me to pick up and upcycle for them.
“I find upcycling calming and therapeutic – I like seeing the transformation and get satisfaction from it.
“I’ve always been quite crafty. I’d make decorations for my stands at weddings shows, such as painted wine crates or decorated old globes.
“I’ve upcycled and sold things such as a geometric table and a cabinet, which I smartened up with wallpaper and paint, and by removing the glass from the doors and adding chicken wire.
“I’m hoping the upcycling business will also generate new business for me as a homeworker. I always give clients a leaflet when they collect their item or I drop it off.
“This new venture has been a saviour for my mental health – it’s something I can sit down and do and switch off from the nightmare going on around us.
“People don’t have the finances to buy a whole new piece of furniture right now but these items are affordable for Christmas – the cabinet I made sold for £30, for example.
“Lockdown has affected the upcycling business, but since most of my clients are local, we can still take payment online and arrange a pick-up time and have the item waiting outside for them at the agreed time, or we can wait until lockdown is over for collection for anyone who commissions work.
“Even if things go back to normal in travel, I’ll keep this business up as a side project – I enjoy it and it’s something I can put my personality into.”
Prices start from £30 for a cabinet. facebook.com/thecraftyvintagemix
Gary Grieve, founder and owner of Capela Training, started African soft furnishings company Savannah Village
“To fill the gap until travel bounces back and businesses start training their staff once again, I’ve founded Savannah Village, an e-commerce business selling African soft furnishings, all handmade by rural women artisans in Zimbabwe.
“My sister-in-law, Emmie Wade, runs a charity out there to support and financially empower rural women.
“Savannah Village sells vibrant African homeware handmade by the women trained by Emmie’s charity, and offers them support – the women mainly sell the items at Victoria Falls but they’re not getting sales from tourists now due to Covid.
“The items went on sale on a dedicated website on 20 October. All of them would make bright and colourful gifts for Christmas – they include tableware such as placemats, coasters and tablecloths, as well as cushion covers and patchwork quilts.
“I’ve promoted the new brand on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook and there’s been a great response so far.
“It’s helping me stay sane and means I have some money rolling in. I realised that people were buying more stuff online since the pandemic and that doing so is fairly Covid- and recession-proof. It can fill the gap and keep me ticking along in the meantime.”
Prices start from £12.95 for a set of four coasters. The company is offering a 15% discount to anyone using the code TRAVEL15 until 7 December. savannahvillage.co.uk
Alison Nay, travel consultant at East of England Co-op Travel in Maldon, Essex, started perfume business Beauty EsScents
“At the end of May a friend of mine had an online perfume party, which I attended. When I received my order she’d included a card that said ‘if you want extra money, join the company’.
“I needed to use my brain – I’d been home-schooling my daughter while on furlough since March but it wasn’t enough, so I joined the company [FM Fragrances].
“It’s a cruelty-free perfume and aftershave company that uses the same fragrance notes as high street and designer brands at a fraction of the cost.
“I named my franchise Beauty EsSents and created a Facebook group for it, and people enquire on there. Since then I’ve recruited people to join and now have my own team. It’s kept my mind active and me busy. The money is a bonus.
“I’ve been taken off furlough this month and will carry on with my perfume business on the side. It doesn’t take up too much time; you can schedule the Facebook posts in your lunch break. I’m hopeful it will do well over Christmas – the buying has already started already.
“Seeing so many other travel agents who have set up side businesses since the pandemic started has shown that we’re a resilient breed who know we have to adapt. We’ve had so many things to deal with in the past, from ash clouds to other pandemics – we just bounce back.”
Perfume prices start from £14.90. facebook.com
Cathie O’Dea retired in September after 48 years as a travel agent, and began her new handicrafts business The Baubleist
“I started the business last year, which I first named The Arty Place, selling greetings cards and framed prints. Before Christmas last year I needed something Christmassy to put on my Arty Place stall, so I had the idea of putting my new Christmas designs on cards and also inside a bauble.
“My friends started suggesting personalised baubles they wanted, such as football team-themed baubles and ones with photographs of loved ones inside.
“I decided the baubles could work as gifts all year round and starting filling them with a range of different colours and designs to suit different occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries and new homes.
“During lockdown, I renamed the business The Baubleist. As well as making baubles, I make framed collages. Each bauble and collage is personalised, for example with colours the client likes. I recently made a collage of Portobello Road and painted the client’s name on one of the shop fronts.
“I left Travel Counsellors in September after 14 years. It’s great to be able to put my focus into something again – every day I wake up with new ideas for The Baubleist.
“It’s nice to make people happy again and offer something bespoke – it’s not too different from travel in that way, really.”
Baubles start from £5 plus postage; greeting cards start from £7. thebaubleist.com
Liz Beaty, director at The Travel Team in Brampton, Carlisle, has launched an online Christmas shop
“I initially created a pop-up Christmas shop in-store on 19 October, using the downstairs of the shop and keeping the upstairs for travel appointments.
“Since the national lockdown, I’ve been selling items on Facebook and can deliver to people who live locally. I’ve also created a website. When the pop-up first opened it brought people into the store, including people who haven’t booked holidays with us before, so I’m hopeful it will bring the agency some new business.
“It’s been a nice distraction to sell something – when all you’re doing is refunding and changing holidays, it’s a bit doom and gloom. Selling gives me a real buzz.
“In the first week of opening, we made 50 sales, some from old customers, some new. We’re selling everything from unusual baubles to handmade wreaths, snowmen made from logs of wood and LED Christmas trees.
“Doing something creative is a nice distraction. It’s great to also have a little bit of income.
“We’ve had quite a positive response to the shop, including in the press – my daughter works in PR and marketing and wrote a press release, which resulted in coverage in the local paper and in Carlisle Living magazine, and I was even interviewed about it on Radio Cumbria.
“We’ve been promoting the shop on Facebook with pictures and live videos – one post resulted in six sets of fairy lights being sold.
“I’ve noticed lots of people are diversifying in travel right now because of Covid – there’s no stigma in doing that, it’s about survival. I think it gives a positive message about yourself and that you’re adaptable.
“I’m trying to think positively about the future too. People will want to go on holiday once things have settled down. It might take a while to get back to where we were, but when travel does come back, we want to be here and ready for it.”
Prices start from £4.50 for tree decorations. holidaysandhollydays.co.uk
