Selling through DMs is no way to run a business.
Stilby had built a loyal following on Instagram selling handpicked homeware and lifestyle pieces, prints, ceramics, textiles and small-batch goods from independent makers across Scotland. The products were great. The community was there. But the business model was unsustainable.
Every sale was a manual process. Someone would DM asking about a product. They'd ask about availability, negotiate postage, get sent a PayPal link and hope everything didn't fall apart in the middle. Orders were being lost, customers were dropping off and the founder was spending hours a day managing conversations that should have been handled automatically.
They were selling at weekend markets in Leith and Portobello too, but had no way to capture those customers online, no mailing list and no system that would let the business grow without growing the workload at exactly the same rate. They needed a proper storefront.
A clean, confident store that feels as curated as the products.
We built Stilby a Shopify-powered e-commerce site that kept the warm, independent feel of their Instagram while giving customers a proper, trust-building shopping experience. The design was clean and airy, lots of white space, quality product photography front and centre and typography that felt considered without being precious.
- Shopify store with product catalogue, collections by category and integrated checkout
- Brand identity refresh, updated colour palette, type choices and logo refinement carried through the full site
- Product filtering by type, maker and price range
- Instagram feed integration on the homepage, pulling in new content automatically
- Email capture with a discount offer for first-time buyers, feeding into Mailchimp
- Mobile-first build, the majority of their existing Instagram traffic was on phones
- Shopify's built-in inventory management so they could track stock across online and market sales
We also wrote all the product descriptions, homepage copy and the About page, keeping the voice warm and personal, matching what their Instagram audience already knew and liked.
First sale within 48 hours. Consistent orders every week since.
The store went live on a Friday. By Sunday they'd had their first online order, from a customer in Glasgow who had never interacted with their Instagram. Three months in, they're averaging 30+ orders a month through the site, with zero manual order management.
First online sale within 48 hours of launch
A customer found them via Google search, someone who had never seen their Instagram.
30+ orders a month, fully automated
Zero manual order management. Every sale handled end-to-end by the store.
Mailing list grew to 200+ subscribers in month one
The email capture popup converted at 12%, well above the industry average.
"I was spending so much time managing DMs that I barely had time to actually source new products. Now the store handles everything and I can focus on what I actually love doing. Genuinely life-changing for a small business.", Stilby, Leith
Want a store that sells while you sleep?
We build e-commerce sites that are clean, fast and built to convert, from independent makers to established retailers.