We had always wanted a “nice” shop, even long before our “Angels” had arrived! A shop choc full of beautiful things and beautiful customers. Our senses had been heightened from spending far too many years retailing in the petrol industry – ugly things and grumpy customers!

The “Angels” (that would eventually fly south) were conceived whilst Natalie and I were joyfully living out our “oh my god, we’re 30!” crisis in Toronto, Canada. When the nice nurse informed us happily that Natalie was indeed pregnant with babies 1,2 and 3 we instantly panicked and sought out the earliest plane home to all those wonderful assorted relatives, more than eager to help change 150 nappies a week!

As soon as we were home I wanted to seek out that “nice” shop straight away but Natalie, quite correctly pointed out that with the impending birth of babies 1, 2 and 3, and the ensuing chaos sure to follow, this was perhaps not the best time in the world to open our dream business.

I, therefore, sulkily threw myself back into petrol and grumpy customers, Natalie discovered the delights of working evenings hosting cosmetic parties (plus a lovely stint as a dinner lady!) and together, we threw ourselves into the amazing adventures of triplets, Jacob, Benjamin and Georgina!!!

The years sped by in no time and with the “angels” now in school we allowed ourselves to think about “nice” shops again! We both knew exactly what we wanted in the way the shop looked, felt and even smelt! A couple who ran a beautiful gift shop in our home town of Stafford in the Midlands were living our dream and they were kind enough to offer us an insight into the industry and give us much valuable advice.

Finding the right location was going to be one of the obvious, main challenges, not just in terms of the shop but also in the kind of lifestyle we wanted for ourselves and, crucially, our children. Like any parents we wanted our children to have a safe, peaceful and enriching environment in which to live – like you see in any number of those cosy, Sunday night BBC dramas where people seem to live in impossibly gorgeous villages and go to fetes every other day and get drunk on homemade wine with the local vicar!

We’d always loved the South West and it seemed the obvious place to start looking. Many hours were spent scouring through the commercial agents on the internet and trawling through Dalton’s weekly. Then, in quite an improbable way fate lent a helping hand. Reversing back up the drive one frosty morning my lower back went into excruciating spasm followed by a very lengthy time off work! My back eventually improved, to the extent that I could manage to drive but, following expert medical advice, sadly not yet return to work!

This gave me the perfect opportunity to jump in the car (carefully of course!) and begin driving all over the South West seeking our perfect location!
After months of searching we found a vacant shop in the beautiful medieval village of Dunster in west Somerset. By this time we had a buyer for our house in Stafford and everything was beginning to happen. The house sale was crucial as this was our only means of financing the shop.

All we needed now was a name for our shop! We considered and rejected all variety of twee, quirky, abstract and ridiculous ideas and finally settled on our very first option, “Angels Fly South”. It just seemed perfect really, saying it all about the kids and their journey southwards. Of course the kids were not always “angels” but “Little Monsters Fly South” didn’t quite have the same appeal! For a finishing touch (with the help of our friend Laura) we scanned the children’s handprints to form the wings of the angel we created for the company logo!

By May 2005, we had moved into a delightful rented cottage in the heart of the village of Timberscombe and we were making preparations for the opening of our new shop! It was such an exciting time, a leap into the unknown, a real adventure! Needless to say we were equally terrified! We’d taken many risks before, but as a couple and without the huge responsibility of a family! Scary times!

Then, out of the blue, things got a heap scarier! At the eleventh hour, with the shop half full of our deliveries and the outgoing tenant half out the door, we got the news that the landlord, before releasing the keys, was insisting on a 27% increase in the rent plus a huge say in any future plans we may have for the shop!

Knowing how difficult it had been initially to find the shop, it would have been the easiest thing to just simply acquiesce and pay the extra rent with the extra conditions. We had no plan b so to walk away would leave us in a scary place! However, the notion that the landlord had placed us so neatly over a barrel was just too infuriating and so, donning our stubborn cloaks we raised a polite two fingers to the new deal! A local guy was paid to uplift the delivered stock and put it in storage until we could figure out what the hell to do next!

A few days later and feeling desperately sorry for ourselves, I suggested that Nat take a drive with her mother, Norma (who had made the long journey down from Scotland to help look after the kids whilst we opened our new shop – oops!!) to Dulverton, a small town on the Somerset / Devon border – the gateway to Exmoor! An idyllic tourist spot nestling in the Barle Valley filled with galleries, antique shops, boutiques, award winning tea rooms, pubs and much more!
It was a lovely place to unwind and would perhaps for a few hours at least, take her mind off the bottom falling out of our world!

At home, looking after the “angels” I received a phone call from Nat. She had explored the whole of Dulverton and discovered that not only was it missing an “angels fly south” but also that there was a small piece of paper stuck to the inside of a window advertising a “shop to let”!! I rang the number she gave me, hand trembling, not daring to hope.
I replaced the receiver some minutes later, hand still trembling. I was to meet Mrs Crook the following day to hand over our first months rent! Angels Fly South was born!

A few days later, Natalie received the news that she had got a job working in a middle school in Minehead. This was to be our comfort blanket whilst we established the business. After the despair of the previous week, things were finally falling into the right places for us.

Angels Fly South eventually opened its doors in September 2002! In some ways it seemed the end of a long adventure though we both knew it really was only another beginning! The real adventure began here!

In February 2004 we moved into a 1920’s semi in Dulverton. It nestles in the valley and backs onto the River Barle. The house is accessible only via a small wooden bridge crossing a leet that used to feed the town’s paper mill many years before. Fairy tale stuff really and to this day we are still pinching ourselves!

Natalie eventually transferred from Minehead to the local middle school in Dulverton (where the Angels are now in year 5!) and in September 2005 we opened our second store in Tiverton, Devon.

The shops have been a real labour of love and we always hope that customers can feel and appreciate this. Incorporating an ethos of stylish design for life the shops include accessories for body, home and garden. The family, especially our mums and dads, have been a huge support to us throughout and the kids have just been fantastic. They helped paint both shops! We have a photo of them taken at midnight snuggled in sleeping bags on the shop floor in Tiverton whilst Nat and I were madly merchandising for the following days grand opening!

Last year we closed the Dulverton shop (an extremely difficult decision!) in order to open a more ambitious project in Torquay – right next door to Laura Ashley – we’re not worthy!! This is slowly getting off the ground and has been recently voted a finalist in The Greats Retailer Awards, newcomer of the year-south!

We’re ever hopeful that the financial rewards from our great adventure south will be realised sometime soon but then that was never really the aim. The “quality of life” that we have found here in the West Country is simply priceless. We truly appreciate how lucky we are but also feel equally proud of our determination to earn that luck. Both my parents and my sister (and her family) have also made the move south in recent years.

The Angels that Flew South have never been happier – we have “nice” shops full of beautiful things and beautiful customers and the children are enjoying the blissful, chilled out childhood that we dreamt of. If anyone has a dream to follow or even a chance to dream they could do worse than drawing on the courage of angels!

Natalie & Ross Swinton