How We Started The Queer Store – An LGBTQ+ Small Business Journey
The Queer Store began during a summer of contradictions.
It was 2020, and we were renting a house in a very nuclear, very white family neighbourhood in Bristol, as a mixed-race, first-generation immigrant (Nikols) and a non-binary creative (Paige), it sometimes felt like we were living in a parallel universe. There wasn’t much diversity around us, but we did have one saving grace: a great garden. And in that garden, during lockdown, something bloomed.
Paige had just lost her 9–5 job in retail. The world felt like it was folding in, but also, somehow, unfolding new possibilities. Nikols — the business brain — said something that would change everything:
“Why don’t you just make a card you would give to me?”
So Paige did.
We were binge-watching every season of RuPaul’s Drag Race at the time (as one does in a pandemic), so Paige illustrated a simple RuPaul-themed birthday card and we listed it on eBay — just to see what would happen.
It sold. And then sold again. And then… it sold like hot cakes.
At first we printed everything at home, but soon we decided to get a manufacturer so the cards could look and feel like the real deal — because they were.
From that first design, Paige kept going: drawing, dreaming, designing. Most of the early cards were Drag-focused — fun, fierce, recognisable. In August 2020, but the pandemic hit us hard financially, so as soon as next month we decided to move in with Paige’s mum to save money and rethink our future. We started dreaming about buying a narrowboat and embracing a slower, simpler life — but first, we had to cut costs.
Let’s just say Paige’s mum didn’t exactly expect her hallway to turn into a mini fulfilment centre. At one point, over 1,000 A5 envelopes arrived at the door. Oops. Sorry, Mum.
But from that shared home, The Queer Store kept growing. By December, we had our first viral Christmas. We sold over 4,000 items online in just one season.
Nikols got to work behind the scenes, building systems to manage orders, customers, and costs — teaching herself as she went. Paige kept her head down and her pen moving, coming up with new product ideas while spending hours at the tablet illustrating every detail.
We didn’t have a road map. But we had each other. And a very strong sense of why this mattered.
Because it wasn’t just about selling cards.
From Side Hustle to Small Business, Why Visibility Matters
The truth is: we didn’t see ourselves in the cards on the high street. Not in supermarkets. Not even in the so-called “indie” or “cool” card shops. It was as if our community didn’t exist.
So we used Drag as a way in. A common ground. A spark of recognition. Everyone had a favourite queen, or a quote, or a character that felt just queer enough to cling to. And through those shared references, we gave people something to laugh at, cry with, and send to someone they loved.
Our cards weren’t just “funny queer jokes.” They were — and still are — a form of visibility.
Today, we run two Etsy shops:
The Queer Store: For cards, stickers, coasters, and our hand-packed products
The Queer Gift Shop: Our dropshipping shop for queer apparel, mugs, and print-on-demand designs
And sell our greeting cards and stationery through Faire: an online marketplace for retail shops around the world.
We also launched our official website, where you’ll now find this blog. Here, we’ll share personal reflections, gift guides, small biz tips, and a little bit of our journey as a Lesbian/Queer-owned small business.
If you’ve ever felt unseen walking down a greeting card aisle in the UK, this shop was made for you 💖
