Tourists have come from Texas and Kuwait and visited Bethan’s shop
Bethan Flanagan has been making reworked clothing for years and now is helping other creative businesses to step onto the high street(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool ECHO )
When Bethan Flanagan first started making tie-dye tracksuits from her spare room during the lockdown of 2020, she might not have foreseen that in just five years she would be the owner of her very own shop in one of Liverpool’s most famous shopping locations.
Her new store, All Over The Shop, is now one of the Metquarter’s newest and most innovative retailers. Despite what its pun-intended name suggests, the chaotic charm of the brand disguises what is in fact a lovingly curated selection of clothing, jewellery, and handmade goods, combined under one community-orientated roof.
But the journey to her first retail space was born out of a longer journey with clothing and creativity. The fine art and sculpture graduate, 32, from Everton first began making reworked clothing, including acid-washed tracksuits and bucket hats, whilst on furlough in 2020.
Fuelled by creative passion, the clothing soon took off. Bethan said: “People started saying, ‘I’d buy that.’”
With the success of custom orders for her evolving reworked style, Bethan attempted a move to a local maker’s market, but she found that “fashion didn’t really fit.”
Bethan said: “Clothing got dirty, there was nowhere to try things on, and there was a preference for smaller items at a lower price point.”
And something else was missing too: “I needed to be part of a community. Being self-employed is lonely.”
It was this firsthand experience of being a small fashion business owner that paved the way for All Over The Shop.
Bethan Flanagan in All Over The Shop(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool ECHO )
A unique new arrival to the nearly 20-year-old retail space, not only does Bethan say this is the first fashion concept store of its kind in the city centre, but she also claims that she is offering something new to other small business owners in Liverpool.
Bethan said: “I wanted to bring small businesses to the high street, to build a community of similar disciplines and bring them together.“
Bethan started reaching out to people online. With help from the community, she was able to source second-hand cupboards and clothes rails from Facebook Marketplace and was also gifted items by other shop owners.
In terms of choosing businesses to work with, Bethan wanted to have a range of products to lessen competition for traders.
She said, “I wouldn’t bring someone in who does the exact same thing as someone else.”
A dress sold by Eat Out Much. The designer, Tone Freja Olmedo Gabe, also rents a studio space in the back and has a shop in Brick Lane, London(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool ECHO )
The shop currently hosts 40 independent traders with more set to join.
Bethan charges a rent, which she says she keeps “as low as possible,” and takes a 15% commission on the products sold.
In return, as Bethan said traders gain much more than a space to sell.
Bethan also manages the store’s website, which lists the products on sale in the store, takes on sales administration, and manages the physical layout of the store.
Bethan said: “Websites take ages,” noting the financial and time resources saved by traders not having to build individual sites.
Bethan’s model also means that small businesses can access advice and feedback on their sales, which she works hard to provide.
“I’ve been learning about the psychology of what makes people go towards things in a store. I make sure there’s a mix of things in stock at different price points, and I can advise traders on what is doing well. I have everyone’s business in my heart.”
Moon Coven sells jewellery, crystals and accessories and Ginger Magpie sells upcycled clothing
But starting the endeavour has been a big job. Bethan said: “You have to learn everything yourself.”
So far, her hard work seems to be paying off, and the store is proving to be a hit among shoppers of all ages.
Bethan said: “Our customer base is hard to define. One of our regulars is 83, plus we get young kids coming in to buy things like key chains. There is something for everyone.
“We sell a lot of jewellery and trinkets. Hopefully in the future we will be getting more menswear.”
Trainers sold by Liverpool Cleans. Graeme Watt buys new or hardly used trainers which he cleans, repairs and sells on(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool ECHO )
Bethan says audiences are also being pulled in from TikTok, with some of the store’s videos going viral.
She said that the store was recently visited by a child along with her mother and her grandmother – their visit inspired by a TikTok.
She said: “It was amazing to see three generations coming in and that we have something here for all of them.
“We get customers from outside of Liverpool too – Blackpool and Wigan, but also tourists from Texas and Kuwait. It’s great to be able to tell a trader that a customer will be taking their product home to somewhere so far away.”
Asked to summarise the spirit of the eclectic store, Bethan said: “Our ethos is based around expressing yourself through clothes. We want to encourage creativity and feeling good in your clothes.”
As part of this, Bethan said: “If your favourite item is worn out, we will teach you how to amend and repair it.”
In the future she hopes to host more events and workshops and will also be offering custom orders for the brands seen in store.
“Before Glastonbury we’ll be hosting upcycling and making workshops for things like designing boots, and we hope to do workshops before Pride too.”
Jewellery by Enola Rose Designs(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool ECHO)
She said: “I’m so proud. It’s insane how well it’s doing already. I keep having these pinch-me moments.”
Bethan also described the rewarding feeling of seeing traders “flourish.”
She said: “This is a place for people who love fashion and want to be different. It is my whole life, and it is 24/7, but I love it.”