The Beautiful Business of Shepherd Huts

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If you fancy having your nails done in a cosy, relaxing room with a view, then we know just the place. Chloe Dennis has set up her own beauty business just off the edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, in a self-build shepherd’s hut, and it’s going down a treat with her customers.

Here’s Chloe’s beauty-business-in-a-hut story…..

My name is Chloe Dennis, I am 23 years old. In Bloom is my beauty treatment room (located within my shepherd’s hut). It’s a new business that I started in June 2017.

In 2013 my parents and I started conversion on three of the derelict barns located at our farm just off of the edge of Dartmoor, in South Tawton. We opened for business in spring of 2016, and in our first year we completely smashed our targets for bookings and way out exceeded the average number of bookings for our area. With this in mind, we started trying to think of the next thing we could add to give our guests an even better experience when staying with us, and this is where In Bloom was born.


After spending many hours trawling through Pinterest and the internet and not quite finding what it was I pictured for In Bloom, I somehow stumbled across Blackdown but I am so thankful I did! It was quite late in the evening, and my parents, my husband and I were all looking at the images of the huts and thinking – yes this is it! I rang Alan the next morning and we booked to come up and meet him. Once I had been and met Alan and he kindly showed myself and my parents around the workshop, and we talked through some ideas that was it, I was hooked! The charm and uniqueness of Blackdown was exactly what I wanted, and we knew it would tie in perfectly with our surroundings.


After receiving our self-build kit form hut in late March my husband, dad and dad’s friend started building it, which was so much fun! I loved seeing it change every day when I got back from work, and being able to tweak things here or there/add in bits along the way. I held an open event on the last bank holiday in May for local people, friends and family to come along and see what In Bloom was about. We had a lovely afternoon including lots of offers, vouchers, scones and Pimms! This was a great way for the business to start and helped me to build up a loyal client base, who are still returning to me now. I have been up and running for 8 months now.

I adore my little hut, it fits in so perfectly with our complex. The space is just the right size – not too big and not too small, it’s cosy in the winter and cool in the summer with the breeze coming in through the gorgeous French doors. It’s not like anything anyone else offers and that is such a selling point for a lot of my clients.

My hut has a small toilet and sink in a separate room at one end, with a small amount of storage for me to keep towels, cleaning products and consumables. Then the rest of the hut is used for my main working area. It includes a nail bar for manicures, a little drinks station with a fridge and coffee maker so I can offer my clients drinks during their visit, a small run of cupboards where I store all of my products, retail and packaging etc. My couch is at the opposite end of the hut to the toilet, and I also have two small units with retail products on. With clever placement of shelving I am able to store everything I need to display for retail and working purposes. I also cleverly use the space underneath my couch to store washing baskets, towels and other bits and pieces! Everything has a place and that is where it has to stay – but it all works so perfectly!


My guests are always blown away by the hut from the moment they see it externally to the moment they step in. It is so calm and peaceful with its lakeside location. Toasty and warm- the perfect place to have a facial.

I am currently on Facebook and Instagram which I update on a daily basis. My username on both Facebook and Instagram is @inbloombeautyy.

Chloe, just wow! What an amazing use of one of our shepherd huts….Alan’s booking in for a facial right now! Best of luck to you and your beauty business!

Skills

Posted on

February 1, 2018