Fact file:
Name: Tiffany Thomas
Job: Owner of Hoity Toity Shoes of Tarporley
Born: Surrey
Lives:Chester
Education: St Maurs Convent, Weybridge, Surrey, St Georges, Guildford University
Family: Partner Steve and our 15-year-old son Dylan
My day starts at 7am where I head to Old Hall Country Club for a swim or the running machine, which never fails to give me energy for the day.
Steve and I arrive in Tarporley ready to open for 10am. We start by preparing a list of priorities for the day, as no two days are the same.
Our main focus for the past two months has been getting our new online store www.hoitytoityshoes.co.uk up and running, which has taken the best part of every day to implement.
In between serving our wonderful customers, I make sure that every shoe is displayed beautifully and that the stock room is organised. I have been lucky enough to meet some absolutely fascinating ladies, some I would like to think in time I could call friends.
We source our collections six months in advance from Milan, Paris and London. Occasionally a supplier will visit Hoity Toity with a mid season range, which can be a little chaotic in the shop but great fun.
Some days we take Oscar our Schnauzer to the shop, so at lunch time Steve takes him for a walk and comes back via a local bakers who do fantastic pies.
After a busy day at Hoity Toity there can be a lot of boxes that need filing correctly. Whenever I have a free moment I like to look at fashion and interior trends. These seem to translate down to footwear and although not strictly trend-led I do like to offer a fashion colour or an offering of a footwear trend for the season, for example the Stuart Weitzman thigh scraper boots we bought back in February 2016 were a huge success last autumn.
We are very strict with ourselves in not talking business at home, so as soon we get home we make it a rule to not look at emails or talk shop. We both love cooking and our son always looks forward to the menu for the evening meal!
What do you wear to do your job? As I am on my feet most of the day I wear Stuart Wetizman for comfort and style, my clothes are quite minimalistic and like most people in fashion I wear black as a staple, but always look forward to dressing up and wearing heels for an evening out.
What is the favourite part of your job? It always gives me great pleasure to see a pair of shoes I first saw in Milan six months earlier being worn by a delighted customer. Something Steve enjoys is planning a creative window - at Christmas we had a giant mirror ball which when the sun shone on it lit both the shop and high street!
What is the least favourite part of your job? Trying to communicate in Italian to a particular supplier who refuses to speak English, (thank goodness for Google Translate!). I would be perfectly fine with French but I am afraid my Italian needs to get up to speed – very frustrating!
What would be your dream job if you weren’t doing what you do now? If I wasn’t doing this I would love the opportunity to be part of the film crew on David Attenborough’s Planet Earth, although I would have to pull a sickie on the Iguana and snake series.
How do you relax when you are not working? Long walks with our dog, and Friday night has become a ritual of drinks and dinner with friends.
What is your favourite film? The fantastic Woody Allen comedy Small Time Crook with Julie Walters really tickles my sense of humour.
What is your favourite book? So many, however I recently enjoyed reading a biography of a wonderful ex-fashion colleague’s mother Doreen Spooner called Camera Girl. She was the first female Fleet Street photographer - what a life! It highlights the struggle of a female in a male dominated environment in that era.
What is your favourite song? I love listening to Joni Mitchell, but James Brown always makes me want to dance.
If a film was made of your life, who would you like to play you? I think the comedian Miranda would have a very easy job playing me.
Have you had your 15 minutes of fame yet? Oddly I have had a few, my recent being a couple of years ago, before we started Hoity Toity. I was working as a brand manager with a well known tartan manufacturer and was instrumental in the collaboration between a maternity brand and The Princess Diana Award Trust. I was fortunate to be invited to Downing Street for The Diana Awards Ceremony, a very star studded event, I was out of place but loved it all the same.
We want to hear from people from all walks of life – to take part, email jo.henwood@trinitymirror.com.
