Spotlight on Same As It Never Was

Same As it Never Was is a local family business selling a mixture of new items, gifts, crafts, vintage and preloved.

We spoke with owner Joanne Harrison and here’s what she has to share.


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How would you describe Same As It Never Was in a line or two?
Same As It Never Was is a little bit of everything in one place so we like to think there is something for everyone in our little treasure trove 🙂

 

What was the inspiration behind starting Same As It Never Was?
We’ve always run our businesses as a family so everyone is always involved in some way but this shop was a venture me and my daughter Amy started, as Amy was the crafter and made some beautiful jewellery and other items. I write and do personalised poems for people along with pre-written ones in frames with photos etc. so between us we wanted something a little different with a great mixture of items.

Sadly it wasn’t to be and we never got to do it together as Amy was diagnosed at 37 with cervical cancer in 2017 and became poorly very quickly and my world collapsed in October 2018 when Amy passed away.

It was a very difficult decision as to whether we carried on after this but I knew in my heart that’s it what she would have wanted and in all honesty, it’s given me a focus and a purpose through the darkest of times and people have been lovely.

What was Same As It Never Was like in the early days?
We started out with our shop on Regent Road in Morecambe and worked hard at doing it all up and built a lovely quirky little shop and people were loving it but unfortunately, on the 25th August 2020 there was a bad accident and the main shop floor fell through into the cellar like a large sinkhole. We got out with a few injuries and we were very lucky but the trauma of it all was quite bad and hit us hard. We also had to contend with the fact we lost the shop as after the structural report we weren’t allowed back in as it’s considered too dangerous.

Again this left us with the big decision, do we carry on?

We’d lost a lot of stock and shelving etc. so it was a tough one and also mentally exhausting, but I didn’t want to give up as we’d worked so hard to get here and it meant so much to me that there was so much of Amy in it all, so we started looking again to start over.

We have some wonderful friends who wanted to help and Paul Bury from the Lothersdale Hotel knew our story and knew we were looking and put us in touch with someone who contacted the shop owner for us where we are now at Euston Road and he’s been amazing with us and really helped us out. We’ve had a lot of hard work, late nights and long weekends as there was a lot to do but it’s all been worth it. They say everything happens for a reason, which I’ve questioned a lot! But I think this is where we’re meant to be. We’re ready for opening and had a fantastic response and lots of interest so we’re keeping everything crossed and I think Amy will be proud.

During the lockdown, while working on the shop I’ve also created “Amy’s Inspiration Collection” with the help of a wonderful artist friend Sandra Emmel and a fantastic company who have helped so much with all the supply and printing of the mugs, bags, cushions, notebooks and pins which are being sold as a bespoke collection of a Guardian Angel Print done especially for us with different verses I’ve written for each item. Some money from each sale will be donated to The Rosemere Cancer Centre and Ribblesdale Cancer Ward who were amazing with us, so we thought it would be great to do something in Amy’s name which will help a great cause and which is very close to our hearts.

What are you excited about in the months and years ahead?
We are hoping the shop takes off and people love it and we’re hoping to bring in more local crafts in the future and also maybe do craft evenings/afternoons a couple of times a week. We’ve got a good mix of items in at the moment ranging from new items/gifts/ornaments, crafts, vintage and Preloved. We just love to keep things a bit quirky as that’s what Amy loved. Anything that would make you smile and brighten your day

We’re looking forward to growing and meeting new people and helping to give some of the wonderful local crafters and artists a platform to showcase their work and give the public something different and sometimes unique to come and buy.

 



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