One of Durham's last remaining independent shoe shops is set to close after the owner's son fell ill with a rare condition.
Wigtwo Footwear has been a mainstay on Canterbury Road on the Newton Hall Estate since 2013 after originally opening as a children's shoe shop called Wiggle Room. The shop quickly became a favourite in the area and built up a loyal customer base, winning awards and being featured on the BBC in the process.
But the popular business suffered a blow last year when the son of the owner, Sonja Atkin, 47, fell ill with a rare illness known as a brain arteriovenous malformation. Sadly, the health of Sonja's son and the impending expiration of the lease this year has meant the shop hasn't been able to operate as normal. And as a buyer has not been found, Sonja has taken the tough decision to shut up shop.
In an emotional post to her customers on Facebook, Sonja wrote: "It is almost ten years since I had this idea of building a business people could trust. The concept preceded all other ideas - I didn't even know what we'd sell but I knew how we'd do it. I wanted a shop with a homely, comfortable feel where children wouldn't be stressed. Wiggle Room grew to become just that and within months the word started to spread, quickly making the shop well known in the local community, gaining industry recognition, winning awards and the trust from medical professionals and a very large loyal customer base.
"We were even featured on BBC thanks to you! We've had some amazing times together and I can honestly say that many of you I now consider friends. Thank you for that. Wiggle Room survived many challenges including the pandemic during which we grew and expanded into ladies' footwear but life then chose a different path for us. In late 2021 my son suddenly became ill. It started with me finding him unresponsive one Sunday morning. Many tests later, we discovered he had an AVM - essentially some of the blood vessels in his brain are tangled up, which causes various issues and symptoms."
She added: "His is inoperable but a few months ago he underwent radiation for it. This can take years to work. In the meantime the shop's opening hours had to be reduced when he was unwell or we were attending appointments, procedures and tests, travelling for treatment etc. This business was never about profits but we all have bills to pay and unfortunately in retail; the less you are open - the less you earn so operating on heavily reduced hours, we've barely been managing to cover business costs so for the last year the boys and I had to live off our savings and loans."
Sonja did everything she could to keep the business running, but ultimately, she took the decision to say goodbye after a suitable buyer wasn't found. From mid-January onwards, the shop will only be open on Saturdays and there is no exact date on when it will close.
Speaking to The Chronicle, Sonja, said: "We're still hoping to find a suitable buyer, and just pass the business on, that would be the ideal solution. But if that doesn't happen, we're going to have to wind it down over the next month or so. I would love to pass it on to somebody so the business continues to trade, I think it's a massive addition to the North East because we are the only independent shoe shop here. It's a massively important thing to have and it would be very sad to see it close, unfortunately my circumstances are not allowing me to continue with another lease. It's an end of a chapter for me and it's going to be a huge miss in the area."
Despite the closure of the shop Sonja is planning on running workshops teaching customers on how to fit and check the fit of shoes. She will also continue to provide advice on shoe fittings.
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