From the outside, Pencil Me In is a small shop in Elgin town centre selling a range of cards, stationery and gifts to locals.
But behind the counter, unseen to customers, the business supplies a growing number of pencils to some of London’s top tourist attractions.
From the Houses of Parliament to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the Tate gallery and the Turner Prize, they all buy pencils for their gift shops from the same Elgin business.
Last year the store made 51,600 personalised pencils at an average of nearly 1,000 a week. It is a total it has nearly matched already this year.
Sarah Holmes opened Pencil Me In in Manchester 10 years ago. She moved it to Elgin in 2016 when her husband secured a job in the whisky industry.
Since then she’s established the store, created links with London tourist attractions and expanded with a second homeware shop two doors up.
- The Press and Journal visited Pencil Me In to learn how it has established links with world famous London destinations.
- Why Sarah Holmes believes Batchen Street has become a shopping destination in Elgin.
- Her hopes about how the street can “return to normal” and thrive from nearby developments.
- Why she decided to expand with a sister homeware shop just two doors away.
From corporate banking to Elgin stationery shop dream
Sarah, who is originally from Edinburgh, first opened Pencil Me In in Manchester 10 years ago.
She said: “I was still in my corporate banking job at the time with the Bank of New York. We were the bank for other banks looking after billions of dollars.
“There were great people there, but it was a horrible business-type setting.
“Having my own shop was a little girl’s dream of mine. I’d loved going to Judith Glue in Kirkwall while visiting family there since I was six or seven years old.
“So I thought to myself this is what I need to try and do. How do I turn my love of finding the perfect greeting card into a job?”
Sarah confesses she “didn’t make much money” in Manchester, but learned a lot that would lay the foundations for Pencil Me In in Elgin.
The businesswoman admits that while the former hotel location was famous as the site where George Best famously poured champagne into a tower of glasses, it didn’t work due to it being on a high footfall commuting route instead of for shoppers.
Why Batchen Street was the place to be for Pencil Me In
When Sarah and her husband relocated to Elgin in 2016, it was always the intention to bring Pencil Me In to Moray.
Ahead of the move, she contacted existing businesses in the town to see whether there was room for an independent card and stationery retailer.
After being told there was a gap in the market, the next obvious question was where to open.
At the time Batchen Street was not an attractive proposition with seven empty units on the road.
However, Sarah believed she saw potential on the street despite the vacancies with the Post Office and Gordon and MacPhail nearby providing footfall.
She said: “We looked at the ones that are now Alluring Boutique and Against the Grain and chose this one just because it was in the best condition at the time.
“Then just before we opened Cotton Loom announced they were moving too. I was like ‘Am I going to be on my own here?’
“The shop had a beautiful frontages. I thought if I could make our window as attractive as possible then it might encourage people into the other units.”
In the coming years businesses gradually filled the street and came together to form the “Buzz on Batchen” initiative to promote the street as a shopping destination.
Today there is not a single vacant unit on the street with a mix of retailers, food and drink firms and beauty businesses.
Sarah added: “I love shopping and I love being a shopkeeper. I go shopping in independent businesses whenever I’m away.
“Elgin has a lot of things going for it. It’s in a perfect position between two major cities on a main road and is close to the coast.
“There’s still so much potential though.”
Supplying pencils from Elgin to top London tourist attractions
Pencil Me In has always offered a range of personalised stationery to Elgin customers who pop through the door.
However, in recent years the store has expanded with a wholesale business that is increasingly supplying some of London’s top tourist attractions.
Last year staff personalised an incredible 51,608 pencils in their back room with the team on course to reach 70,000 this year.
After securing clients at the Top Drawer trade show in London, Sarah believes word of mouth is spreading through attractions in the capital.
She said: “We were fortunate we got a space right by the front door at the show and it was incredible.
“In the first day we got more than enough orders to already make the trip worthwhile.
“I think we fill a gap where we will do runs that larger suppliers just wouldn’t consider.
“We’re also able to do very small orders too though. For example, we recently did just 40 pencils for a choir in Berwick who really wanted some.”
Expanding Pencil Me In with second Elgin store
Last year Sarah Holmes expanded with her second Elgin store, Seasgair, which is just two doors up from Pencil Me In.
Focusing on homeware, it was the realisation of another dream for the businesswoman.
She said: “I’d always wanted a second shop. We had a Pencil Me In pop-up at Inverness Airport for a while, which is how Tilda Swinton discovered us and she still shops with us.
“I really enjoyed having it. We talked about opening another one in Elgin in 2017 but didn’t feel like Pencil Me In was established enough yet.
“Going round trade shows though I was seeing lots of amazing stuff I knew people would want to buy but didn’t quite fit Pencil Me In, so we went for it.”
After initially focusing on practical utility items for the home, it has since changed focus to include more gift items after listening to what customers wanted.
And some surprising hits have come from unexpected places.
Sarah said: “Soap is very popular. I think one morning all I sold was soap.
“One of our biggest sellers has come from a French company who made bars of soap named after Fanny and Marius, who are film characters there.
“The Fanny soap has been incredibly popular. The only Marius I know runs Planta down the street, so we don’t order so much of that one.”
Re-educating Elgin’s motorists after Poundland closure
One of the biggest issues in Elgin town centre in recent years has been the disruption caused by the Poundland works.
For Batchen Street businesses it has resulted in the street becoming the only exit for traffic from the west end of the High Street.
What was once a semi-pedestrianised area has, at times, become increasingly busy with traffic.
With North Street due to reopen to traffic this week, Sarah hopes Moray Council will “re-educate” Elgin’s motorists about driving rules.
Batchen Street regulations state there should be no access for drivers, unless for loading and unloading for businesses.
And Sarah hopes the changes could lead to a boost for all firms on the road.
She said: “It’s going to take a little while, but I really do hope there is an effort to re-educate drivers.
“Poundland will be a major boost when it’s open again, as will Gordon and MacPhail.
“The hospitality businesses here really want to push for tables and chairs outside. It really could change the whole feel of the area.
“I’ve wondered about trying to push the experience of coming to the street.
“I took our team to the Columbia Road market in London. Every Sunday there is a flower market and it is really huge. There are businesses that only open on a Sunday, just to capitalise on it.
“I think we need to look at something with an atmosphere like that. How can we create something that makes people want to come out and shop in Elgin?”
Read more from Elgin town centre
- How a business rates rethink could help fill Elgin town centre with independent traders
- Catastrophic water leaks, major fires and historic boardroom deals: Timeline of 6 years of Poundland works in Elgin
- Sunninghill Hotel director reveals what attracts visitors to Elgin – and why they keep coming back
- How much did he cost and why? Everything you need to know about Dandy Lion, Elgin’s most colourful and divisive resident
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