When you walk into Sweet Shop Sweeties you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd stumbled into some sort of exotic land. The enchanting, brightly lit goodies store, based in Kingsway, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, is tucked away down a jitty on the street, but once you find it you won't want to leave.
Full of balloons and more than 400 sweets, the store accommodates for birthday parties, weddings and a range of other events. Owner Natalie Robinson, who opened the shop in January, has drawn inspiration from sweet shops she has visited around the world, including Dubai, Portugal and Spain.
She says that she wants people visiting the store to "feel like a little kid." With an incredible range of choices on offer, the only problem you're going to face if you visit Sweet Shop Sweeties is what to buy, with vegetarian and halal options also available to choose from.
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Speaking about her new business, Natalie said: "I never wanted a sweet shop that was on the high street because I think you see them quite a lot, I wanted something where people had to come and find us - like a little hidden gem basically. You come down a little alleyway and then there's balloons and there's hundreds of sweets and you walk in and I wanted that wow factor where people go 'oh my gosh.'
"There's a big bar and there's sweets on the back and waffles and milkshakes; kind of like a kiddie heaven and an adult - it's for everybody. We do kids parties, adult parties, weddings, we've done some bits for Ann Summers nights, we're so random and we can accommodate for any budget and any event!
"If a kid comes and says they want a princess party we've got tiara's, we've got pink princesses, we've got unicorns - we'll make them up to anything. I want everyone to walk in and feel like a little kid."
Natalie gets her goodies from a supplier called Hancock's in Sheffield, saying that she wanted "quirky" sweets instead of going down the American route. She hopes that her store can "brighten up" Kirkby-in-Ashfield town centre.
"I have gone for the quirky sweets, so we've got chicken feet and brains - I wanted to go for quirky rather than something you can go to Morrison's and buy. I can get anything so if it isn't here and you wanted it I could go and get it.
"I think everybody has massively felt a pinch but it has been really good business. My only thing is that I've hid ourselves a little too well! So it's just making sure people know that we are here because you kind of have to walk down a bit of a jitty to get here.
"What's good about us is that there is no minimum spend, you come in and if a family is struggling but they still want to treat their kid, come in with 5p and get a giant banana! We've got a lot of shows and events booked in for the summer, so we're doing dog shows and summer fetes and that is where our main business will be and this would hopefully just be mainly a hub to do birthday parties and stuff.
"It could always be better of course.
"I have been to a lot of places around the world. I've been to sweet shops in Dubai, Portugal, Spain, and I just wanted to encompass everything that I'd seen in other places and bring it somewhere that probably needed a bit of brightening up and somewhere that people can come and say 'oh wow, you'd see this on your holiday rather than down the road.'"
