How we started Spiffy...
A lot of people ask us how Spiffy came to be, so I thought I'd tell you our story. 😃
Both Shaun and I have struggled with mental health problems in the past, in the form of anxiety and depression, and both of us were left a bit high and dry when it came to support. We experienced it at a time when mental health wasn't really spoken about as openly as it is now so we had to almost fend for ourselves. However we got through it, and by the time we met each other, we'd come out the other side and had made positive steps forward.
Shaun had trained as a Primary School Teacher and saw first-hand the pressure kids are under these days, and he himself experienced the overwhelming stress of the teaching profession. Meanwhile I spent a number of years feeling a bit aimless, until I trained as a coach and counsellor, as I really enjoyed connecting with people and supporting them to make positive change in their lives.
Two years ago we were both feeling a bit uninspired in our lives. I had been in the same job for 10 years, and Shaun was struggling to get full-time work so Shaun made the slightly baffling suggestion of opening a shop! I was terrified as I had absolutely zero experience other than being on the other side of the counter, however shop-life is in Shaun's blood, so we pooled our resources, took a punt and created Spiffy.
We opened in Sept 2017, a little bit confused, a little bit nervous, but we just knew we wanted to help people live a better life and offer something that we would have valued when we were struggling. We've learnt a lot, changed a lot and grown a lot, and your support and encouragement has been invaluable.
If Spiffy has taught me anything it's that we just need to go for it. We're all a work-in-progress, and if you make a mistake, it's all part of the journey. We're not perfect, we don't want to be and we don't need to be. We're just going to keep doing our best, do what we can, and that's more than enough. 😃