Corby woman hopes to spread love in the post after setting up online gift business

A Corby woman who lost her job during the Covid-19 pandemic hopes to put a smile on people's faces after setting up an online gift business.

Mum-of-three Linda McKeown found herself without work after being placed on furlough, a move which was quickly followed by redundancy.

But now she's opened her own online gift firm - lisbeth & issy - selling gifts which are sent directly to the chosen recipient.

Linda said: “The aim of the lisbeth & issy brand is to spread some love via the post.

“The last 18 months have been a difficult time for many and I really wanted to launch a business which helped people send love and happiness to those they care about - but may not always be able to see.

“Our gift boxes are also great as a self-indulgent treat too."

Linda launched the business with five key gift boxes – birthday, friend, hug in a box, pamper box and a Father’s Day gift box – and is working on growing the range as the brand develops.

And the new business is a step away from Linda's career in marketing, having graduated from university in 1998 with a degree in media production with journalism.

But the 44-year-old is now enjoying being creative in other ways, putting together unique gift sets that can’t be found anywhere else.

She said: “Spending more time at home thanks to being made redundant during the first lockdown made me really think about what I wanted to do career wise going forward.

“Being a mum-of-three, I wanted to find something that would ideally fit around the school runs, as well as school holidays, which isn’t always easy.

"Trying to balance that with finding work which utilised my skills during a time of uncertainty, added to the strain.

“That’s when I came up with the idea for lisbeth & issy.”