Wrexham tailors celebrate 40 years of business in the city

One such business in Wrexham that has seen three generations of family threaded through it, celebrates four decades of trading this year.

Sure To Please Tailors, situated on a corner in Chester Street, was originally started by Susan Humphreys, from Smithfield in Wrexham, and her mum Ivy Scarrett back in 1983.

Christine Roberts' mum, Susan Humphreys, who ran Sure To Please Tailors in Wrexham.

The busy alterations, sewing and printing shop is now run by Susan's daughter, Christine Roberts.

It was an inevitable step, with Christine's great grandfather, Walter Wright, having started a tailors in the town in his 70s.

Sewing was in the blood, a newspaper cutting of Christine Roberts' great grandfather Walter Wright at work.

When Susan and Ivy took the shop on, it was a fraction of the size it is today, and a testament to their success that it was to grow, eventually filling the entire space.

Christine said: "My nanna only stayed in the business for about 12 months. My mum died in January 2000, and me and my sister, Sharon Fellsbergs, took it over.

"Sharon had already been working alongside mum and the girls here, then I jumped in too. About 12 years ago my sister left to pursue other things, and it's been me and the team since."

The sisters spent plenty of time at the tailors over the years, with lots of good memories about those days.

Christine Roberts (centre), of Sure To Please Tailors, with two of the shop's seamstresses, Yvonne Davies and Robyn King.

Christine added: "When we were young, me and Sharon would come in the shop, and on a Saturday, when it was busy, mum would send us to the Hippodrome.

"And then by the time it finished, Barry Flanagan, who owned the cinema, would take us to the cafe in the market, and then by the time we'd done all that, mum would be finished. It was lovely.

"Mum kept the hours 9am-3pm so she could take us to school and pick us up after, and I've done the same."

Sure To Please Tailors on Chester Street, Wrexham.

Today business is good, with Christine saying it's non stop for her and the team, despite the uncertainty of the pandemic.

She said: "Covid was tough, if it wasn't for all the grants available, I don't think I'd have been here.

"One year we only traded about 18 weeks but look at us now, that's like a distant memory.

"Once we started back up again, it was back to normal. But we're only here because of our fantastic customers."

Christine and all at Sure To Please Tailors are looking forward to holding celebrations of the shop's 40th anniversary later this year.