“I grew up in Guernsey, so I know that there’s nothing for kids to do here other than playdates… especially in the winter.”
Lola Haines is not your typical 21-year-old.
While her peers are at university or taking their first steps in the world of work, Miss Haines is bringing East Asian pop culture to the island’s east coast with her new shop, Messy Minds.
It’s a craft experience with a difference.
Children – and adults – get to personalise objects – like phone cases, mirrors and hairbrushes – with cute resin charms and brightly-coloured silicone glue.
Miss Haines told Express she had an “Oh my God!” moment when she discovered the Japanese trend – called ‘decoden‘ – on TikTok.
She explained: “I love arts and crafts, but I’m not necessarily very good at drawing and painting.
“I figured ‘I can do this’, because you don’t have to be a professional at arts and crafts to put some glue and some charms on and make a personalised item.”
Decoden is most popular with six to 12 year olds who “just love” it, but it’s also great for older teens and adults as it’s very “mindful”, she said.
Miss Haines started doing decoden children’s parties last year as a “side hustle” to her day job as Head of Marketing for Beaucette Marina.
However, it proved more successful than she’d ever expected, so she decided to “jump in the deep end” and open a shop in St Peter Port’s Market Street.
“I just think there’s nothing like it in Guernsey,” she said.
Despite her marketing experience, the rest of running a business is new to her so she’s having to learn while she earns.
She said: “There’s this one photo of a pilot in a plane, and he’s in the sky reading a book called ‘How to be a pilot’.
“And I just think that is so me – that’s exactly how I feel.”
Gossip girl
Despite her youth, locals have been really supportive of her venture, she said.
She said: “Guernsey is such a community, some really, really amazing people have helped me – I couldn’t have done it alone.”
However, some shoppers did assume she was a “shop assistant” because of her age – something she’d been able to use to her advantage.
“I get all of the gossip,” Miss Haines said, “They say, ‘Oh no, that’s too expensive’ or, ‘That’s a good price’ without realising the owner of the business is listening.”
Fun for a fiver
Messy Minds’ cheapest items to decorate cost £4.99, something Miss Haines said “will never change” as it means children can come in regardless of how much pocket money they get.
“Everything in Guernsey is extremely expensive, so I’ve tried to keep my prices as inclusive as possible.”
‘They’re everywhere’
As well as decoden, the shop also sells off-the-shelf gifts like notepads, backpacks, water bottles and cuddly toys in the Japanese ‘kawaii’ style, meaning ‘cute’.
These include well-known characters like Snoopy and Hello Kitty, as well as other characters from Hello Kitty creator Sanrio.
She said: “You’ve got Cinnamoroll, who’s on my wall, you’ve got Kuromi, which is all on that black shelf there – it’s all a character universe.”
Miss Haines said she’d “grown up” exposed to East Asian culture, as her mum is Chinese, but had noticed a shift since things like Hello Kitty and K-pop started becoming more popular.
“If you go to England, they’re in every shop, like literally Primark, you can’t walk anywhere without seeing them.”
‘Big plans’
Despite only launching the shop a few days ago, Miss Haines already has “big plans” for the future.
She’d like to develop “my own characters, which I then sell on – that would be awesome”.
That might be a few years away, but given the early success of Messy Minds and Miss Haines’ can-do attitude, nothing’s impossible.
“I painted all the walls, the floors, put all the shelves up, made the cube units – I did it all myself because I was on a very tight budget.
“I have blown myself away a little bit.”
Messy Minds is open from Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00.