When Jodie Tanner opened her own small business near her home in the Vale of Glamorgan she insisted it was just a hobby. The mother-of-two from Barry set up the Queen B Boutique in Penarth after her 25 years of banking had turned stale, and nothing could have prepared her for what was to come.
“I’ve lived my life for people and to please others, and my job turned into a box-ticking exercise,” she told WalesOnline from inside her first ever store in the town’s Stanwell Road, which is currently recovering from a large fire caused by alleged arson last month. She has no idea when it will be back to normal, but it’s telling of her character that even while recovering from a pandemic and a fire, she’s announced plans to open her biggest store yet at St David’s shopping centre in Cardiff in the next month.
In Jodie’s second Penarth store just next door, it is immediately apparent how many staff there are for such a small shop. “We’re overstaffed, yes,” she laughed. “That’s because of the fire. They’d be in both stores usually. I couldn’t tell them they weren’t getting their full hours and full pay though, I couldn’t do that to anyone. They’ve supported me in making this business what it is and have been amazingly loyal.”
