About Us
The Story of Scarlett and Black
The vision of Scarlett and Black as an online store began twelve years ago when Jonathan my creative and handsome husband suggested that we set up an online business and call it Scarlett and Black. We had previously run a retail business together for several years, having met in our thirties, fallen in love, and married in a whirlwind all within eighteen months.........the rest is history!
When we met I lived with my west Highland terrier Hamish, who was a bit of a character to say the least! - there was no doubt that Jonathan had to be vetted by Hamish not the other way around! Hamish was Best Dog at our wedding. (and became quite a celebrity in our retail business so much so that he featured on fashion shoots and in magazines!)
As a married couple we set up a retail business together, refurbished and designed exclusive boutiques selling international collections and accessories and home items. Although Jonathan's upbringing was different to mine, we both discovered that we had a flair for good design and colour, and an eye for the aesthetic both in interiors and in fashion. Having had experience in buying, design and retail we enjoyed working together.
However time moved on and we moved out of retail into other areas always with the wish of setting up an online store, we had the name and the plan but our careers took us in separate directions and the idea went on the back burner for several years.
Then in 2020, during the pandemic, when life changed completely for everyone and the world was changed overnight by Covid, I was made redundant and our lives changed. By this time (Hamish had gone having lived to a grand old age of 16 and a half!) we were living with our black cat Gypsy who had wandered into our garden starving and close to death having been abandoned in the nearby lane. He featured on my Instagram page!
It was time for a rethink and like many people it was a wake up call to how short life is and during lockdown we had the time to reflect on our lives and what we wanted to do in the future for the next part of our lives. The consequences of the pandemic changed everything and how we felt, so we decided to bite the bullet and start the business and planned a new life in the West Country near the sea. Jonathan had thought of the name Scarlett and Black so we set the business up and started the ball rolling looking forward to a new life by the sea.
Sadly, just as we began to set things up, in November of 2020 Jonathan was diagnosed with oral cancer, which was a huge shock as he was still fairly young, otherwise very healthy and fit for his age and had been a non smoker his entire life. Our life literally changed over night, we were determined to get him through his treatment and surgery so we carried on with the hope that he would regain his health, putting everything we could into his recovery so that we could continue our journey together forever as soul mates and best friends and grow old together.
I took time out to care for him whilst he was having surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and all that that we and the consultants could throw at his cancer. I began work on Scarlett and Black in between hospital visits and treatments and looked after him full time at home as he needed intensive care. It was hard to see my handsome husband go through his ordeal and invasive treatments and see him suffer he always showed such dignity and strength, always worrying about me and being positive for me - he was just amazing.
We worked hard to get him through everything, including debilitating side effects from treatment - with hope in our hearts. Sadly things took a turn for the worse and it was not to be, after finally finishing treatment in August 2021, we were told his cancer was terminal and had spread and in November 2021 we were informed by out oncologist team that he had at best four weeks to live - he died at home with me, three days before Christmas 2021....Life has changed forever ..and will never be the same but he will always be in my heart and with me.
I have continued to work on the business in his honour, and in his name ..so here we are with "Scarlett and Black.online". My desire further down the line also is to raise some money for his type of oral cancer as more research is needed and early diagnosis is key, it is often picked up by dentists rather than GP's. More people with healthy lifestyles like Jonathan are being affected by this type of cancer and both men and women from thirties upwards with healthy lifestyles too. Cancer affects everyone... at any age, in any walk of life and at any time and takes so many many amazing people away from us all and our families forever so awareness and early detection is everything as well as better less invasive treatments.
You may find some references to Jonathan in the names of products on the site and I know he would be so pleased that I have continued to set the business up and go forward as he would if he were here today. He will always be part of me and never ever forgotten, he is part of everything I do and who I am today and always will be.
Finally since it is my goal to add some style and glamour to the world, and we do need some in our daily lives to escape the stresses that life brings, we offer a wide variety of products for every budget because everyone needs some style in their life! Your home deserves to be a reflection of you as an individual and somewhere that brings you joy ... a haven from this world.
Our fashion accessories, jewellery and handbags are on trend but individual and stylish. Our wish is that these small items will bring some cheer into your daily life and some sparkle into your every day. We hope you enjoy what we have to offer.
P.S. We are new so please bear with us if things are not perfect yet, our desire is to develop into a successful brand with our own label and style - and spread some cheer along the way. It is a learning curve, and we hope to grow with our customers so we may not get things right straight away!
Thank you for browsing. I know that Jonathan would be happy to know that Scarlett and Black has arrived at last! Enjoy the collection!
