New business coming soon to St Leonards Road hopes to help customers become best selves

A new business opening soon in St Leonards Road hopes to help customers become the best version of themselves.

Love Your Presence is a holistic gift shop and wellness studio, founded by Mita Unalkat.

The business will be opening in 6 St Leonards Road on June 3, as the founder believes the need for face-to-face communication is greater than ever.

Mita has lived in Northampton since she was 13 years old and first set up a beauty treatment business when she finished her studies 25 years ago.

After undergoing a complete 360, Mita became a meditation facilitator and reiki practitioner – which is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing.

Mita started this venture three years ago as a mother of three, after going through a divorce and remarrying before having her third child.

Having moved out of the pharmaceutical industry to be a full-time mother and realising the industry was not for her, Mita was inspired to help others by her experiences with perimenopausal symptoms.

She practised reiki, meditation and worked on herself to come out the other side of what she was experiencing, and wanted to use that knowledge to help others.

Mita held stalls at fetes for two years, which was a success and encouraged her to find a premises and set up the holistic gift shop and wellness studio.

Though Love Your Presence will be an independent store, the founder is committed to collaborating with fellow businesses and providing them with a space to showcase their creations.

From jewellery and crafts to authors wanting to house their books in the St Leonards Road store opening next month, Mita says she is “excited”.

“This isn’t just about me, it is about supporting wellness,” she said. “And wellness has been a priority for many people coming out of the pandemic.”

Mita finds herself very busy in the run up to the shop opening, with hosting corporate meditation workshops in workplaces, female empowerment and domestic violence events, and continuing to raise awareness of perimenopause.

Having experienced lowered self-esteem caused by her perimenopause, Mita said: “Now I embrace and accept the symptoms, rather than fighting them.”

When asked why she believed now was the right time to open a shop, the founder says it is “all about face-to-face connection” and providing customers with a personal experience.

Mita hopes Love Your Presence will become a hub for people to come and work on their wellbeing, marking the start of a journey connecting with themselves.

Living in Wootton, the St Leonards Road location is convenient for Mita – which she came across by chance.

Having held stalls in the busy area before and them proving popular, Mita believes this is the ideal place to house her business.

She also says there is nothing like what she offers available nearby at the moment and she saw the market for it.

The shop’s launch event, ‘Bubbly and Blessings’, is planned from 10.30am until 5pm on June 3 and Mita hopes to celebrate her new venture with as many people as possible.

She says she is “elated” as there is a “massive place for wellbeing in all communities”.

To find out more about Love Your Presence ahead of its opening on June 3, visit the business’ website here.