Kathy Dyton, director, Pearl & Queenie
Kathy Dyton opened her Hastings jewellery store only two years ago, but the combination of hard work during difficult trading times and her support for and from a variety of jewellery designers and brands that has made her store – Pearl & Queenie – a destination boutique.
“We give excellent customer service in a personable way,” she says. “Yes, we have a beautiful and exciting shop, yes we have excellent jewellery, we do Facebook, Twitter, newsletters and parties, but our customers have told us the reason they like coming back is because of me and my staff– we enjoy going that extra mile.”
Pearl & Queenie’s jewellery offer truly has something for everyone, catering for budgets from £12 to £2,000. “It might be plastic, precious, leather, wood or costume, but all the jewellery we sell has personality,” she quips.
And it seems that the shop also caters for all age groups and Kathy says she has been surprised to sell Tatty Devine and Momocreatura jewellery to ladies in their 60s. She also puts her eclectic customer base down to her location in Hastings. “They’re ace, brilliantly bonkers and bohemian; I wouldn’t know where to start with the stories I could tell,” she laughs.
This year Kathy has been involved in breaking a Guinness World Record as thousands of people came together for Hasting’s annual Pirate Day. With some help from Tatty Devine, Kathy dressed the store with a pirate theme sold jewellery from an ice cream van outside the shop.
Looking forward, Kathy wants to grow the business, and is considering opening some concessions or pop-up shops, but says her biggest achievement this year was giving birth to her son Arthur, and she praises her husband Tom for his support with the shop during this critical time in her life. “He is my rock,” she says.
