Steph Johnson’s shop has become ‘part of the furniture’ in Liverpool, thanks to its attitude and willingness to ‘go out on a limb’
Steph Johnson opened the Scouse Bird Shop in 2013(Image: Steph Johnson)
When Steph Johnson set up a novelty Twitter account in 2012, she never imagined it would become her career. The Aintree mum, now 40, was stuck in an office job she hated when she started posting self deprecating observations about “Scouse bird problems.”
She told the ECHO: “It was kind of a happy accident. I just started sending a few tweets about Scouse bird problems and they just exploded. Within the first week of the account, I had 10,000 followers.”
What began as jokes online soon snowballed into something much bigger. The following year, Steph brought out the first ‘Scouse Bird Diary’ – a planner that mixed organisation with Scouse humour – and it quickly became the cornerstone of her brand.
She continued: “The following year, I brought out notebooks, mugs, pens – and it sort of just expanded and expanded. I’ve been doing it now since 2013.”
The Scouse Bird Shop grew out of that early success, carrying the spirit of her Twitter persona into products that are part useful, part hilarious and rooted in Liverpool attitude. Steph laughs: “It was almost a parody – not in a mean way but in a fun way which laughs at ourselves. I don’t do all of the typical ‘Scouse bird’ things; I don’t wear fake tan, I’ve never been out in pyjamas and rollers. But it’s about embracing it, not taking yourself too seriously.”
For her, being a Scouse bird isn’t about stereotypes. She said: “We don’t all dress the same or even sound the same – someone from Kirkby will sound different to someone from Crosby. It’s more about the attitude where we don’t take any s**t, we’ve got big hearts, and we see through people’s bull***t. That’s the string that holds us all together.”
That mix of honesty and defiance runs through the shop. Steph is known for speaking her mind, particularly when it comes to politics. She explained: “I’m not afraid to go out on a limb because Liverpool’s not afraid to go out on a limb. While the rest of the country are out there voting the Tories in time and time again, we’re like, ‘No. We’re left-wing and we’re staying left-wing.’
“It’s the same with the shop – some businesses stay quiet because they don’t want to lose customers, but I’m like, ‘I don’t give a f***’”
That bluntness hasn’t stopped the Scouse Bird Shop finding customers far beyond Merseyside. Steph said: “I ship all over the country. I’ve got a big group of regular customers in Carlisle, and another in Connah’s Quay in North Wales.
“Not every single item is Scouse-based. I’ve branched out into political, offensive and relatable collections.”
Among the most memorable requests was a twist on her popular “F*** the Tories” mugs. Steph explained: “Someone asked me to make it into a ‘Never f*** a Tory’ mug”.
For several years Steph ran physical shops, starting in Aintree before moving to Crosby and finally into Liverpool city centre. But when she was pregnant with her second child during the pandemic, she decided it was time to step away. She said: “The rents were going up, it was around the time the gas and electricity started going through the roof. I just didn’t need it and I went back online.
“Now I work from a big studio in my garden.”
She admits she misses chatting with customers in person, but the flexibility of being online suits her better: “My turnover is a lot less now, but I’ve got more freedom. If I want to shut the shop for the day and take the kids somewhere, I can.”
Her daily routine now balances business and family: the school run and gym in the morning, then coffee, orders and admin until five, when she switches back to mum mode. It might not make her a millionaire, but it’s a life she has built on her own terms.
She added: “I’d like it to be around so my kids, if they wanted to, could take it over. Making the products is fun. You’re not going to be a millionaire, but I make alright money from it. When I started the Twitter account, I said I wanted to be a bit like the Liverpool ECHO – just part of the furniture. And I suppose I am now. I’ll probably do it until I retire.”
To find out more about the Scouse Bird Shop, visit the website at www.scousebirdshop.com