When I think about how mischievous we all were in school (or more pertinently, some of the things the teachers told us would happen in our post-school lives that would be the result of this behavior), I wish so much they could see what we are up to now. Because I am so proud of this group of girls I’ve known 22 years. One of them is my friend Jade, who opened her first shop, Ava Grace in Ongar in Essex over the first May Bank Holiday weekend. The shop may be new, but Ava Grace Designs certainly isn’t. Jade has always been creative, in the way that I was jealous of her in school because even her little doodles on her workbooks were like masterpieces (you can’t be jealous of Jade though because she is like the nicest person and one of those people no one has a bad word for, which is why I love to see her doing so well). You only have to have a look at some of the party installations around Essex that Ava Grace Designs have done to see how talented she is. The minute I found out she was opening a shop, I knew it would be beautiful, and I was right!

Where is Ava Grace in Essex?

Ava Grace is in Ongar, 150 high street. It’s on the corner so it is pretty hard to miss anyway, but the beautiful Cherry Blossom outside is visible from quite far down the high street so there is no excuse to miss it.

What does Ava Grace in Essex sell?

“Beautiful things” probably sounds like a lazy classification of what Ava Grace sells but there isn’t any other way to describe it. Your standard ‘party balloon” company this ain’t. You can have party decorations personalized, and Ava Grace does them for every type of occasion you could imagine. Despite having the maternal instinct of a sea turtle (Sea Turtle lay their eggs and run off, basically leaving their offspring to fend for themselves at birth), I LOVE the baby stuff. The personalized baby-grows are the cutest, and I am deliberating getting one for each of my cats. Jade has all sorts of decorations and beautiful gifts that can be personalized in Ongar, and you can also get in touch with her if the shop is a little far. My fave Ava Grace product is my water bottle with a handy clip on it so that I can clip it to my bag.

Are there refreshments in Ava Grace in Ongar?

Now you may think it weird that I am writing about refreshments. I am a hungry girl and I will question every venue I go to for refreshments. What has justified me doing this is on one of my trips to The Philippines I went to the local cemetery to visit my Aunty’s Grandad’s grave and a man was standing with a cart. It’s probably one of the core reasons I want to live in The Philippines. So yeah, I’ll ask if ANYWHERE has refreshments even if it is inappropriate. 

So visit Ava Grace in Ongar as soon as you can!

Here’s a link to a TikTok video of what the inside looks like: https://www.tiktok.com/@kellyjackson_88/video/7228521176035839237?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7198534045466494470

I make no money from my blog (ads money goes straight to WordPress on my plan and I’ve never even had enough link clicks to make the min payment on Amazon Affiliate), but if you like my content here is my “buy me a coffee” link: https://www.paypal.me/kellyjackson674?locale.x=en_GB