OUR STORY
2008
How it all started for Sammylou.
It all began from my dining room table where I used to make hand-written wooden signs, alongside my day job as a nursery nurse. It quickly grew, so I made the decision to give up my day job and focus on my little business.
2014
Yay! I opened my first shop.
I was SO excited to have a shop of my very own, where I could sell my handmade wooden signs. I also sold a selection of locally made items too, alongside other products carefully chosen by me.
Two years in I met my soulmate, and he became part of the business too.
2018
Time for change.
We said hello to an exciting new location for the shop, but had to say goodbye to my wooden signs. A difficult decision was made to stop making them, producing so many was starting to cause some nerve damage in my arm. It was the perfect time to change direction and bring lots of new ideas to life.
From a deeply routed passion and love for the ocean, nature and the planet. Our business blossomed into what the brand is today; Coastal inspired home and lifestyle. Because of those changes we did think about renaming the business, but we’ve decided to hold onto the name Sammylou for now. After all, that is what our loyal customers know us as, and all the products we sell are still hand-picked by me.
2020
Craziness, clarity and a new chapter.
What a year! It’s made so many of us rethink and re-evaluate our lives. I’m originally from Newcastle Upon Tyne (yes, I’m a Geordie) and the beautiful North East is somewhere the Mr and I knew we would eventually call home in years to come. One thing is for sure, 2020 highlighted how far away we were from family. So that move came a lot sooner.
We are currently looking for new shop and warehouse premises up here, but for now we’ve converted a big chunk of space at home for a temporary Sammylou HQ.
“Individually, we are one drop.
Together, we are an ocean.”
~ Ryunosuke Satoro
I’m incredibly passionate about hand-sourcing all of the products we sell. They are items that I genuinely love and either use or would use myself. With a focus towards sustainable, eco-friendly living, and a strong emphasis on reducing single-use plastic to help protect our oceans and wildlife.
I hope to inspire people to become more thoughtful when shopping; buy well, buy less.
