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179
Kingston Road
Jericho
Oxford
OX2 6EG
Tel:
01865 513397
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| Partymania |
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Partymania, Oxford’s premier party shop, has been in business since 1981. At its helm is the truly unique character of Jessica Dove, the founder of the business and still in charge some twenty-nine years on.
With her loyal and long serving colleagues Jane Easterbrook and Jenny Potter, the business has moved from strength to strength to hold the strong reputation it commands today. If you are looking to organise a memorable party in the Oxford area, undoubtedly these are the ladies to contact.
I visited Jessica just two weeks before Halloween and, hot on its heels, Fireworks Night, so the shop is decked out with eyeballs, rats, skulls, fangs and plenty of cobwebs. The shop is absolutely packed full of Halloween ‘goodies’, and Jessica is readying herself for the latest delivery of Kimbolton fireworks, the only stockist in the area of this hugely sought-after range for Fireworks night. With Halloween on a Saturday this year, Jessica recommends a visit in the week before. “There’s lots of blood and gore, great costumes for men, women and children, cobwebs, gory ‘implements’, Halloween tableware, chains and even plastic toads! You name it, we’ve got it.”
But the fun never stops at Partymania, as Jessica explains. “We will then be in to Christmas. We stock a great range of tableware, decorations and a wide range of Christmas crackers. We actually sell more fireworks at Christmas than for November 5th! We are also selling a lot more fancy dress costumes as customers want to use them for more than just a fancy dress party – hen and stag weekends for example.”
Jessica’s background did not begin in the party scene, when pressed on the issue of her beginnings she responds that she was a “trained art teacher, painter really. I went into this when my children were a little bit older, and I’ve been here twenty nine years now.” The business originally imported all of its stock from the American market, but as demand and situations changed an importer offered to deal with this side of the trade. This allowed Jessica to concentrate on the more important matter of party organisation and running of the shop.
Is the passion is still there for Jessica and her colleagues? “Oh yes. I often work thirteen days on the trot with a Sunday off!” Clearly a committed and dedicated party lover after nearly thirty years of business, Jericho’s Parymania has certainly established itself as an institution for its loyal customers in Oxfordshire and beyond.
Reviewed by Richard Rosser |
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