Q&A with Gemini Gifts

Gemini Gifts are an online gift store specialising in family products. What made you take the plunge and open your business?

The plan was to open a shop within Derby however, we decided to start Gemini Gifts online to see how well it would do and to truly assess if it was worth opening a shop. As Kimberley was on maternity leave she felt she had time then to create the website and so we took the plunge and opened Gemini Gifts.

How has it been setting up a business with your twin sister? Are there pros and cons to having such a close relationship in business?

Honestly, setting up a business is very hard not being technical and designing the website was one of the most stressful parts. Further this to then choosing products, brands and also trying to design our own products too. The pros of working together are we can be very honest with each other and we both know each others strengths and build on this for the company. Lauren is very modern in her choice of products and Kimberley is very traditional and this can be a con when deciding on products and our designs as we are a little online shop we are unable to have both designs or products all the time. However, we do feel this adds a different element to our shop as we stock various style products.

The business is run alongside your careers. What are the challenges of this and what do you do as your day jobs?

We set aside one day a week to be together and work on Gemini Gifts. At the moment this is Friday but again balancing jobs and children we have to be flexible with this day but, also mindful we put enough time in to do as much as we can whilst also working in the evenings on our separate jobs for Gemini Gifts. Therefore, we have to find the right balance of time working on Gemini Gifts whilst working our main jobs as a Social Worker and Baby Sensory Leader and having family time. This can be very difficult as apart from the evenings (when the little ones are usually asleep) we have at least two children with us when working together on a Friday as Kimberley's little ones are not in education.

What are your current favourite baby brands?

Not looking at the lovely brands we stock in our shop we would say Scamp and Dude! We love the reasons behind this brand and her prints and the quality of her clothes is at such a high standard. We also have the great pleasure of working alongside some other local brands at various events and we could name so many but, we love Betty Dreams. Nicola creates the most wonderful items for babies and decor for the little ones bedroom. Kimberley bought several items for her little ones and the quality is beautiful and all items are handmade which makes it so much more stunning.

You are keen to source products from small businesses as well as wholesalers. Why do you think small businesses are so important in the current age?

We believe there is more passion in smaller businesses as they want to sell high quality products that are designed and/or made by them and this is what people are currently sourcing for a gift for someone special. 

Do you tend to sell your products at fairs and where can our readers see you in the future?

We sell our products at the events we go to and online. Our first ever event was Mama Meet and Market created by the lovely Ainsley Gray and what a great start it was for Gemini Gifts! We have been extremely lucky and attended her Derby and Birmingham events and will be back at these events for Christmas. We will be at The Artisan Baby Co for their Christmas event and we are sure it will be another lovely show as Gemma and Claire put a lot of time into their events. We are back at Shottle Hall Christmas event which is two days this year which is extra special as Kimberley got married at this venue.

Why do you think social media is such an important tool for fledgling businesses?

We think Instagram is the best platform for us we get to meet so many other smaller businesses and therefore, work with others to showcase our products and share our page to other followers. Instagram allows customers to see our faces behind our brand and we think this is hugely important as you can see all the hard work put into Gemini Gifts through our stories and posts.Therefore, the customer gets to relate to us by seeing our face and they overall feel that you're buying something special whilst supporting our dream of our online shop. 

What are your favourite Christmas products for this year?

Lauren loves our personalised stocking and her favourite is the grey stocking with Silver glitter text. Kimberley loves our new t-shirt she designed with the text saying "Play Forever Nap NEVER" on as her little girl Ada doesn't nap for long.  

What do you think will be the biggest trends in children's clothing and toys in 2020?

This is a tough question... anything personalised! We love matching tops for little ones for the parents and think this trend will get bigger.

As you know, this blog is called Alt Mummy. What would be your one ‘alternative’ bit of advice to any new mum?

We think Mummy’s put so much pressure on themselves at the start of their journey into motherhood. Trying to know all the answers to your questions whilst making the decision on how to feed their baby (if they have a choice), what is best for their baby etc... Every experience is unique and just remember to ask for help, support and advice from family or professionals and that by asking for help and support will enable you to be the best mummy to your little one. Also sleep when ever you can at the start and rest when you can (leave the house work!). 

For me and Lauren we love drinking a hot drink and eating hot food and we dislike drinking a warm cup of tea and/or eating cold food. We all know especially at the start of being a new Mummy this happens a lot. It might seem daft to others but, we knew this for each other and when visiting each other when we had our little ones, we would always try to make sure the new mummy had at least one hot cup of tea! So our advice is ask for support for one little thing like having a hot drink; we know this can make a different to your day no matter how small this is.  

Browse the gorgeous items available at Gemini Gifts here https://www.geminigiftsshop.co.uk/ Use code ALT10 to get 10% off at checkout online till 18/1/2020.