For Eryne Scott, the first seven months of running her Elgin town centre shop have flown by.
The pandemic made her realise it was time to take the plunge to set up her dream holistic business Enchanted Highlands.
In 2021, she started selling well-being items including essential oils and jewellery from the comfort of her own home.
Later, she started touring markets across Moray.
Since last December, she has been running the shop at 6 Harrow Inn Close.
She previously revealed how the ambition to have a shop in Elgin came quicker than her original five-year plan.
Now with customers constantly requesting different items, there is no space left in the small unit.
Since opening the shop, she has kept a watchful eye on bigger units becoming available in Elgin town centre.
When the opportunity came up for bigger premises at 18 South Street, Eryne grabbed it with both hands.
The unit was previously home to Crafted in Moray which shut down.
She will continue to operate the shop at Harrow Inn Close until the end of August before moving into her new home on South Street.
Eryne said: “It has been a quick turnaround and I didn’t expect to be moving into bigger premises so soon.
“When I first opened the shop, I had the fear of running something alternative in Elgin, however it has paid off.
“I had been keeping my eye out on bigger Elgin units for a while.
“However, none of them were affordable with rent and other costs.”
While walking around Elgin, she spotted the to let sign in the shop window and approached Elgin BID to find out more.
Eryne added: “I saw the to let sign and I asked Elgin Bid about the shop.
“They have been brilliant and helped me a lot along the way.
“We went up to speak to the landlord and it ended up being affordable.”
‘Terrifying but so exciting’
The move to bigger premises comes sooner than she expected.
Eryne said: “It feels terrifying but so exciting at the same time.
“I need to remember that I have already done it on a smaller scale.
“I was constantly getting people asking for items to take in.
“A few months, I added as much shelves as possible and had no space anymore.
“So therefore it was time to expand.”
What are the plans for the bigger store?
Eryne is excited about bringing new things to the store.
She added: “Potentially looking at clothing and more fun things for kids as a lot of them are getting into crystals.
“Meanwhile with Crafted in Moray closing down, there are a lot of crafters without somewhere to go and sell products.
“So I will have accompanying space for local crafters to sell their products.”
What would you like to see in Elgin?
Eryne would like to see pop-up shops the Elgin town centre.
She added: “I think it would do well and give people like myself at the beginning an insight to what it is like to have a business and red tape you need to work around and learn.
“It would give Elgin something new and a pop-up shop would be something constant that changes.
“It is important we keep introducing new enticing things to bring people into the Elgin town centre.”
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