‘Feel the fear and do it anyway,’ says business owner who revolutionised afternoon tea in Northampton

A Northampton business owner, who revolutionised the way afternoon tea is offered across Northampton over the past decade, says the key is to “feel the fear and do things anyway”.

Amy Whiting, 38 from Duston, founded Amy’s Vintage Teas in 2013 when she started to collect vintage china.

Working as a waitress at the time and being a mother to two young children, Amy knew it was time to start something of her own.

Though her initial idea was to hire out the crockery for weddings and events, she saw a massive gap in the market for the afternoon tea experience to be brought to people’s homes.

She was the first business to introduce having afternoon tea delivered in the town – and has developed and built on the concept ever since.

What started out as providing small tea parties for eight to 10 guests in their home has led to bookings for larger parties, weddings and corporate events for up to 250 people.

When asked how she would describe the business to anyone who has never heard of Amy’s Vintage Teas before, Amy said: “We’re a travelling tea room.”

In 2019, Amy met Gemma Colby, the owner of catering company The Copper Kitchen.

Gemma, from Roade, soon began supplying cakes and sandwiches for the afternoon teas as Amy did not bake herself.

With similar business journeys and the same drive, passion and creativity, the two businesses merged in 2020 and have not looked back since.

Amy said: “As a solo business owner, I struggled and felt a lot of pressure.

“After we took the leap and joined forces, the pandemic hit and we thought ‘what now?’

“We soon turned our hand to delivering afternoon tea boxes and we were selling who knows how many a week. This is what got us through the pandemic and allowed us to stay afloat.”

Amy says the business has “recovered really well” and the pair have continued to go from “strength to strength” as they are now tending to two audiences.

They work from Gemma’s kitchen in Roade and Amy is now more involved in the food-making process, as everything is made in-house.

Just a year ago, they expanded their offering to buffets and grazing tables too – to provide more catering options for all.

The business has continued to grow steadily, particularly through word of mouth, and now they are booked up for most weekends until the end of September.

“We plug away at the business everyday and feel extremely lucky with how we are doing in the current economy,” said Amy.

“Everyone is tightening their belts and to book us for special events means a great deal – and allows us to continue doing what we love.”

The pair are “very proud” of how far they have come, especially as they are now catering for hundreds at a time.

Amy said: “The way the crockery is set out makes people nostalgic and they often reminisce over what their family members had.

“This is the type of china packed up in boxes in people’s lofts and is definitely a conversation starter.”

Amy’s proudest moment since setting up was the first wedding she attended, catering to 180 people single-handedly.

“The stress and pressure was massive,” she said. “But after that, it felt like I could do anything from that point on.

“Someone’s big day is a massive deal and you want everything to be perfect.

“I’m not a naturally confident person, but I feel the fear and do it anyway. I still get nervous catering for so many people, but it shows you care.”

Since the pandemic restrictions were lifted, Amy says the duo have been “riding the wave” and their phones continue to ring with requests from new customers.

The 38-year-old puts their success down to being a well-established and trusted business of almost a decade, and word of mouth – as many repeat customers recommend them to others.

Amy and Gemma will continue to stick to what they know this year, as they have an array of weddings, parties and corporate bookings on the horizon.

As they seem to be doing something right with what they currently offer, Amy will continue to stick to the motto ‘don’t fix it if it isn’t broken’.

You can visit Amy’s Vintage Teas’ Facebook page here.