Bears Box opens in Microshops in Ipswich town centre

Bears Box, selling clothes, sleepwear, toys, shoes, blankets, coats and buggies and prams, is the latest business to open in the Microshops in Carr Street.

This is owner Dani Stephenson's first business having been a qualified vet for the last 10 years.

The 26-year-old mum-of-two said: "There aren't many second hand kids shops around, especially in town, and with the cost of living crisis, there's nothing like this.

Bears Box is in Microshops (Image: Tom Cann) Dani Stephenson, owner of Bears Box (Image: Tom Cann)

"I figured it would be nice to have a little place where parents can go and just get bits and bobs for their kids, rather than spending ridiculous amounts of money on new clothes that the child is only going to be in for a short time before they grow out of it.

"Most of the products I stock are barely worn anyway because of how quick children grow.

"What I do is I buy clothes off local parents whose children have grown out of the clothes and then sell them on in my shop."

The shop sells a range of clothes (Image: Tom Cann) There are items for children of all ages (Image: Tom Cann)

The business only opened at the start of October, with Dani saying that her loft was filled "from floor to ceiling" with products before she was able to open her own space.

She continued: "Clothing is going to be the main thing that I sell in store, but I will have larger items such as buggy's, push chairs, prams, car seats, cribs, that won't fit in the store, but people can come in and say I need this, and I can bring it in for them."

The shop sells clothes from baby to age 13, with hopes of stocking more clothes for older children.

Bears Box can be found in the Microshops in Ipswich (Image: Tom Cann) Bears Box is in Microshops in Ipswich (Image: Tom Cann)

In the future, there will also be a 'Pay it Forward' board where people can put vouchers on the board to help other parents out, whether it be in the shop or for food elsewhere.

The shop, based towards the back of Microshops, is currently open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, but in the future is set to be open every day bar Sunday and Monday, with opening times from 10am to 2pm.

Bears Box is in Microshops in Ipswich (Image: Tom Cann)