The co-owner of a new shop says allowing businesses to rent out shelves in her store could be the solution to saving the high street.

Spoilt for Choice in Sheerness High Street, sells goods from more than 30 small traders.

Mum-of-three Paula Desai, who lives in Sittingbourne, worked for Kent County Council in probation and youth offending before opening the business.

“It was quite a stressful job for many years, working with high-end, difficult cases,” she explained.

“I decided to do bits and pieces alongside it and started my own upcycling furniture business called Saved by the Girl.

“I then got a job as part-time admin in an estate agent and that's where I spotted the shop.”

Paula eventually gave up her job in admin and “bit the bullet”, dedicating all her time and money to the new venture.

She rents the shop with two others – Rita McDonald, who runs a children’s clothing company called Lavish Patch, and Robyn Gibbs, who runs Nocturnal Nymph which sells manga and Pokemon merchandise.

It opened at the end of March and has taken over a unit formerly home to The Salon, which had been shut since Covid.

The team charges each person a fixed price per shelf in the store, where they can show off their products. This is paid in advance every month.

Paula believes this is the future of small businesses and says it could save high streets.

The 53-year-old explained: “There was no way we could have afforded the rent, business rates and bills on our own.

“It’s having the time to do it as well, we all work together.

“I certainly wouldn't have been able to give up my job and not have a steady income without it.”

In the last seven months, more than 30 businesses have signed up – a massive jump from just 15 originally.

They sell handmade items such as clothing, jewellery, mugs, decoupage creations and resin art, as well as upcycled furniture and repurposed driftwood.

Most traders are from the Island, as well as Sittingbourne and Tenterden.

But one person, who makes cards and gift tags, is from as far as Liverpool and found the shop online.

Paula said: “We have a visitor’s book at the front of the store and people have said the shop's amazing and the best thing on the Island.

“It's nice to see, but people are still just discovering us.

“So many will come in and say ‘have you just opened?’ or ‘I don’t really come to the high street, I never need to’.

She added: “We ask them – if you love us, please share and tell everybody – if you don't use us, you'll lose us.

“I suppose it's a little bit of a worry, but at the moment we seem to be going from strength to strength.”

Tudor Price, chief executive of the Kent Chamber of Commerce, says the concept is also used by “pop-up shops” and is a way of utilising empty retail units.

He believes it allows small producers to test the market, however, generating sufficient footfall to the high street is still a major issue.

“This type of experiential shopping with a diverse and regularly changing product offer may, as part of a wider package of measures, encourage more footfall and regenerate parts of the economy,” he said.

“Local authorities and landlords need to do more to provide free parking, rate reductions and flexible terms to create the right environment for the high street to compete with online shopping platforms.”

Spoilt for Choice will be extending its opening hours in the run-up to Christmas.

The shop is closed Monday and Sunday, but open 9.30am to 5pm the rest of the week.

It offers late-night shopping on Thursdays, with the store open from 9.30am until 7.30pm.

Paula said: “It's all very well buying stuff online, but you want to feel it, see it, smell it and look at it.

“I think it's that sense of community as well. People like you to be there just so they can come in, say hi and have a little wander around.

“There's always something new to look at.”