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Article: Sustainable Shopping in Oxford - It’s Our Shop Birthday!

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Sustainable Shopping in Oxford - It’s Our Shop Birthday!
Business For Good

Sustainable Shopping in Oxford - It’s Our Shop Birthday!

We can’t quite believe it’s been 3 years since we first opened our shop! That time has flown by, so we wanted to take a look back at our journey from sustainable underwear pop-up to Covered Market favourite in this week’s blog. 
Whilst it feels like only yesterday that we were getting started on putting our first pop-up store together, we’ve managed to grow so much in this time. Whether you’ve been there from the beginning, or you're just getting to know Y.O.U, take a peek behind the scenes of the shop’s best moments.

Popping Up In Oxford

In 2021, 3 years after CEO and Founder Sarah first started Y.O.U Underwear, we entered a competition to win a coveted space in Oxford’s Covered Market to host a pop-up shop. Out of hundreds of local businesses, we won! 
Photo showing a woman smiling and standing just inside a shop door with her foot on the step. She is holding a large red novelty key.
This was a great opportunity to give you all the chance to see Y.O.U’s products in person and to connect with the vibrant community of Oxford small businesses. Sarah and the team headed down to open up the space and start putting a shop together!
Two photos together with the left hand one showing a shop wall with hangers on it. Some of the hangers have men's boxers on them and some are empty. The photo on the right shows the inside of the shop and its empty walls. There are lots of cardboard boxes and fixtures on the tiled floor.
In November 2021, Y.O.U’s doors were opened! And (with face masks on) we welcomed many of you into the new space.
Two photos next to each other. The left one shows three women standing together wearing black Y.O.U embroidered aprons and black face masks. They are posing in front of a shop wall with lots of different colourful underwear hanging from it. The right hand photo shows the same wall and we can see two rows on men's boxers hanging from it.

The pop-up was a great success, and we absolutely loved being able to get to know our customers in a physical space. Lots of you dropped in for a browse and a chat, and we were able to learn a bit more about what exactly everyone wants from their sustainable underwear!

After a busy Christmas period, sales in the new year slowed down as new lockdown measures came into effect in January 2022. This gave us a bit of time to reflect on the success of the pop-up and work on plans for a more permanent space…

Photo showing a woman from the waist up standing inside a shop. She has removed her face mask and is smiling. The wall behind her has brightly coloured pants hanging from it.

Moving Again!

Post lockdown, the Oxford Covered Market and its Traders had been through a lot, and much had changed by Summer 2022. At this stage, we were offered a more permanent shop space in a more central location where you can find us now.

Two photos next to each other. The left hand one shows a black chalkboard with a white Y.O.U logo at the top and a notice saying "We are Moving" with information on the new shop location. The right hand one shows the interior of a shop space with lots of boxes and wrapped up fixtures on the floor.

The set-up process started again, only this time in a bigger space and with more possibilities of making it our own!

We’ve always said this is a family business and this was certainly true with the shop, where Sarah’s parents were a huge help in getting it ready, from cleaning and painting, to even making our main door sign! Three portrait photos alongside each other. The left hand one shows a man in a blue shirt standing on a step ladder and reaching up to paint a wall with a roller. The middle one shows a woman standing on a chair next to a wall and turning around to the camera holding up a paintbrush and a roller. The right hand one shows a black chalkboard with "Coming Soon" written in blue and a description of the shop products with underwear illustrations.

Making our beautiful sign…

Two photos next to each other. The left hand one shows the front of a shop with a glass door with black border. Above the door is a sign reading "Y.O.U Underwear" in white lettering. The right hand image shows a man leaning over a workbench and holding a ruler next to white wooden lettering on a black background.

We are open!

Two photos next to each other, the one on the left shows the side of a shop and we can see the lights on inside and products in the windows. The right hand photo shows the front of the shop from outside where we can see the open glass doors and the front windows with underwear and the Y.O.U logo hanging in them.

And with a bit more space this time around, we were able to stock up on some more of our favourite brands, like Neve's Bees, Charlotte Spencer, and Eco-Living, as well as working with some new ones! 

You can see more of the brands and products we stock on Our Shop page here.

Two photos next to each other. The one one the left shows the inside of a shop with two women browsing next to each other. In the shop we can see a cart in the middle with a candle display on it and more shelves in the background with underwear on them. The right hand photo shows a corner of the shop with a display of a range of eco cleaning and house products and a table containing bowls with soaps in.

Fully Fledged Shop

Since moving into our new space, we have gone from strength to strength, adding new touches and new brands, as well as our own new products, such as our super soft pyjama bottoms and more supportive bras…

Photo showing a woman standing in a shop and wearing a black apron with Y.O.U Underwear embroidered in white on the front. She is holding up a pair of long leg grey pyjama bottoms with a small cloud print on top. In the background we can see rails with different coloured underwear hanging from them.

We’ve brightened up our fitting rooms… 

Two photos next to each other. The left hand one shows the side profile of a woman with curly black hair who is crouching on the ground holding a marker pen. She is making a drawing on a white wall of a woman's body wearing underwear. On the right hand side we can see the same woman sitting on a bench with a mirror behind her. She is turning to her right to draw a woman's body on the wall.

And enjoyed another beautiful Oxford Covered Market Christmas

Three photos together. The top left one shows the interior of a shop with lots of colourful products on the walls and shelves. There is a cart in the middle with a display of products like candles and body sprays. In the bottom right photo there is the front of a shop with the doors open and a woman to the right drawing on the glass. In the foreground we can see the tops of small christmas trees. In the right hand photo there are two women standing next to each other and holding a large bunch of green holly with red berries. Behind them is the interior of a shop with lots of colourful products on the wall displays.

We’ve been able to celebrate different events such as Oxford Pride, B Corp Festivals, and the Oxford Covered Market’s 250th Anniversary.

Three photos together. In the top left photo are three women standing together and smiling into the camera, the one in the middle in holding a wooden block with the B Corp logo. In the background we can see the interior of a shop with colourful product displays and rainbow pride bunting hanging from the ceiling. In the bottom left photo there are a group of around 20 people standing in front of a shop and talking with each other. The right hand image shows a product display on top of a cart with a wooden B Corp sign resting against it.

We’ve also had the opportunity to host some amazing workshops, attended by our wonderful customers! We’ve covered topics like Demystifying the Menopause, Clothes Mending, and Intention Setting.

Three photos together. The left hand one shows two women sitting down next to a table. The woman on the left is using scissors to cut into a magazine and the woman on the right is looking through a magazine. The top right photo shows four women sitting and standing and talking to each other while one helps another with her sewing. The bottom right shows five women sitting around a table and turning towards a woman in a stripy pink jumper. All the images are in the same shop and we can see brightly coloured underwear displays hanging in the background

All of this has only been possible thanks to all of YOU! Our incredible customers are the heart of our business and we have loved getting to know you all through the shop.

Where to Next... 

We’ve got big plans for 2025 and we hope to be part of the Oxford Covered Market community for many years to come. If you haven't already met Sarah and the team, get yourselves down to our lovely shop at the heart of Oxford’s Covered Market where you’ll be sure to find a friendly face among the colourful shelves. 

We love to hear your thoughts, so if there are any brands you’d like to see stocked with us, ideas for events or workshops you’d love, or simply shop suggestions, then we want to hear it!

Get in touch via email or social media, or pop into the shop. 

 

For more behind-the-scenes insights, browse our other posts:

Sarah answers your Y.O.U questions

Read the story behind our London pop-up here

And look back at our B Corp journey so far

 

All images:  © Y.O.U Underwear

Written by YOU Team

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