A number of businesses in Gloucestershire had to close their doors amid lockdown but one couple are hoping to open their new shop in Gloucester in just 14 days.
Libby Austin-Foley and her wife Toni, who live in Cheltenham, own holistic shop Idun Spirit in Gloucester and are set to open their store in Westgate Street next month.
Libby explained: "We were in the Eastgate Indoor Market before all of this happened and we agreed to move to Westgate Street in February and of course we couldn’t change our minds."
The couple got the keys to the new shop in February - on Libby's birthday - and are hoping to open the doors to the new venue in Westgate Street on Monday, June 1 - the couple's sixth wedding anniversary - provided they're able to under government guidelines.
However it hasn't been plain sailing with the couple having to complete the move on their own, what's worse is they haven't had any access to financial support.
Libby explained: "So we had to move while lockdown was going on and we’ve also slipped through every single net as possible in terms of financial support because of dates.
"It’s been so much harder because we’re not allowed to get any help from anybody, we’ve had to paint the whole thing and getting to B&Q was a complete nightmare to start with. Deliveries and stuff have been different because the drivers turn up at the shop so we either miss them. It’s definitely a lot harder and we can’t get our friends to help."
Libby added: "I think if we can get through this we can get through anything."
The shop, which Libby explains 'sells lots of spiritual stuff including singing bowls and tarot cards' will feature a treatment room in the upstairs of the new venue - however she's unsure of when customers will be able to use this given the current climate.
Libby went on to say: "People are going to need this when we’re out of lockdown because it’s good for their mental health. We’re more than just a shop we speak to all our customers and give them guidance and chat to them and we have quite a few that are single people that just want someone to chat to and we spend hours chatting to them."
She went on to explain that thankfully they have still been able to keep in touch with people: "We set up a group on our Facebook page called Power of Positivity and we check in our customers on there so keeps people going." You can find the group on Facebook here.
Idun Spirit is set to open on Monday, June 1 at 9am - depending on government guidance - and once the shop does open, Libby explained that social distancing measures will be implemented including marking out zones and putting screens up.
