Name of business:

Sweetmore & Firth.

Where did the name come from?

Sweetmore is my maiden name and Firth is my married name – it’s worked out nicely to use them both as my maiden name has my qualifications.  And the rhythm of the names together was a great, traditional sounding combination.

What do you offer?

I’m an orthopaedic shoemaker and also make orthotic insoles.  I do a lot of insoles for local people.  But a huge – likely unheard of – part of the business is providing fashionable, comfortable, bespoke footwear for people that need it.  For example, my customers include people with diabetes, differences in leg lengths, people who have lost toes.  It’s for people that need individual footwear that just isn’t provided by the NHS – or if it is, it’s not fit for purpose.

As well as a few locals I have customers from Liverpool, Southampton, even Canada that all come to New Mills for appointments here.  It can be genuinely life changing for people to have shoes that actually fit them, and look how they want them to look.

How many people are in your team?

Just me!