Telford man opens shop inspired by his daughters

A Telford man has opened a shop and chosen the name inspired by his daughters.

Matt Wheatcroft, 33, has opened Cheeky Chops, a gift, toy and accessories shop on the Apley Estate at Norton, near Shifnal.

The shop was named after the nicknames he gave his two daughters, now one and three, when they were first born. It sells a range of unique and majoritively locally sourced products for children and pets.

Matt said: “When we looked into the best products to have, following our market research, the location on the Apley Estate and the shop’s layout, it made complete sense to showcase gifts, toys and accessories for children on one side, and pets on the other.

“It is still very new but has been a better than expected start and we are getting regulars now. There is always a flurry of visitors when the estate puts on events and we have recently taken on our part time assistant Kim, who has incredible experience in retail and design.

“She’s already been a hit with our customers and fluffy friends, who’ve commented on her bubbly personality and above and beyond experience.

“We are trying to keep both sides of the shop as unique as possible, whilst we have some brands like Sophie Allport, we also stock brands and products you may struggle to find on Google.

“It is not just for people who have a pet or children too, it’s for gifts as well and we see a lot of people buying things for family and friends as they know they will love it.”

Situated in the courtyard of Apley Farm Shop, next to the Moongate Plant Centre, Cheeky Chops sells anything from collars and leads to toys and grooming products for pets and toys and gifts for children such as wooden play sets, unique designed play tea sets, newborn accessories and more.

Matt’s wife Alice, a former manager in retail, loves getting creative with the design of Cheeky Chops.

Matt opened the shop in June when he left his role in the leisure industry in the hope of a better work-life balance and a desire to work for himself.

He added: “I was doing very long days and would be next to the work phone 24 hours a day, so I knew I needed a change.

 “I have a degree in Sports Performance and Coaching and for many years I worked as a sports analyst for local clubs, regional and national too.

“There was lots of travel involved so I then entered the leisure industry and worked my way up to senior general manager.

“I am so pleased to have the shop now and use all of the skills of both myself and Alice too, and since it opened we have all had a family breakfast together every morning - you can’t pay for that.”

Graeme Manton, Estate Director, added: “ It is great to have Cheeky Chops as part of our offering here at Apley Estate. They are a great addition to customer experience and have a wonderful array of beautiful items on offer.

“We are thrilled they’ve had a positive start to their business and hope this continues for a long time to come.”