Vibrant independent shopkeepers are upbeat about their future - in spite of the many challenges they face.

Traders in Ipswich's St Peter's Street don't deny that life is tough on the high street.

But they believe that customers still want a bricks-and-mortar experience where they can try things on and meet up - despite the rise of online retail.

They have put their money where their mouth is and invested heavily in their stores - aiming to create a strong identity and a sense of community.

Karen Stewart of Puzzle (Image: Lucy Taylor)

Traders in The Saints area of St Nicholas and St Peter's Street run street markets two or three times a year to draw more visitors.

A clash with an Ipswich Town match against Manchester Utd when the match date was switched to Sunday, November 24, meant the November event was cancelled - but three more markets are planned for next year.

From this week, the streets will be filled with festive spirit as a series of special Thursday night Christmas shopping evenings kick off from 5pm to 8pm.

Mark Hubert - one of the street's most recent arrivals - has just launched high-end menswear shop James St Peter's. Having spent his career in the fashion industry, this is first foray into retail.

He was raised in Ipswich and later moved away, and feels strongly that the town is a diamond in the rough which has a lot of potential. 

Mark Hubert of James St Peter's (Image: Lucy Taylor) "I'm up for a challenge. I don't think retail is dead," he said. "I think Ipswich has a lot going for it. I think personally we under-estimate it. I think it's actually on the cusp."

His shop is already attracting a "diverse crowd", he added. 

Mark Hubert of James St Peter's (Image: Lucy Taylor) His neighbour, Karen Stewart, arrived a year ago and has since expanded. She and her Norwegian husband, Thomas Axelsen, run a Scandi-inspired women's fashion and giftware shop called Puzzle. 

It's their second store having started out at Beach Street Felixstowe - a successful retail hub created out of upcycled shipping containers - four years ago.

Karen Stewart of Puzzle (Image: Lucy Taylor) Having launched in the pandemic and faced months in lockdown, it was a stuttering start, but the business has survived and thrived. When she spotted a vacant shop in St Peter's being offered up for rent, Karen felt it was "the perfect place to be".

They have expanded the Ipswich operation by creating a café and events venue in a large garden space at the rear of the unit. Indoors there are about a dozen covers and up to 50 to 60 outside.

They have invested in a kitchen, nearing completion, and have hosted a number of events at the site, from a jazz quartet to fashion shows and art workshops. A Christmas gonk-making workshop is among the festive activities planned and the garden will be open for a Christmas shopping evening on December 12.

"We are a destination now," she said. "I think times are changing and I think after Covid - which changed a lot of things for people - people want to go out again and be social and shopping is a part of that."

Cathy Frost of LoveOne in St Peter's Street, has been on the high street for 17 years and is confident of its enduring appeal.

Cathy Frost of Loveone (Image: Lucy Taylor) "There are other businesses in the road that will have been her for over 20 years. It definitely hasn't been easy and even within two years of me opening in 2007 we had a bank crisis - I nearly folded," she said.

But she has diversified and adapted to create a retail space she's proud of. She stocks cards, giftware and home accessories - and as of 18 months ago champions retailers as an Labour Ipswich borough councillor representing the Holywells ward.

"We have always supported the idea of a destination and a community," she said. "We have built up a really good brand - The Saints, St Nicholas Street and St Peter's Street - and we have always worked together to create that brand."

As long as businesses have a solid business model and are selling the things people want, they have a "pretty good chance of survival", she said.

Cathy Frost of Loveone (Image: Lucy Taylor) "It's not about individuals. It has to be about a team. It's always been about a group of businesses all offering something different - working together to create a community."

Brand Ipswich was being defined by the success of its football team at the moment, but the town was also a magnet for arts and culture.

Creating a strong sense of identity and a community is hard work and takes many years, she pointed out, and this was how The Saints - a pretty, medieval corner of the town - had evolved into a popular shopping oasis.

The Lanes in Ipswich - another medieval jewel - was beginning to create a similar sort of community. 

Zoe Woods of Crafty Baba (Image: Lucy Taylor) Meanwhile Ipswich's main high street is home to budget chain Primark at one end but can accommodate high-end clothes retailer Flannels at the other, showing a breadth to its offering.

Hybrid working has hit footfall and businesses have come and gone but new retailers continue to emerge. And the genie is out of the bottle as far as online retail is concerned, she admitted.

But a recent customer gave her hope. She was staying at the Novotel - now returned to its previous state as a hotel after a period housing asylum seekers - as she had travelled down from Holt to see a show at the Regent.

She dropped in, spent money in Cathy's shop, liked what she saw and stayed for a coffee next door. The Novotel's two-year hiatus was "devastating", said Cathy, but its return was already helping to revive the high street.

But anyone looking for an easy ride by becoming a shopkeeper in the next few years needed to consider other career choices, she suggested.

"There's always pressure," she admitted. "I'll be honest - I think anyone taking on bricks and mortar is brave."

Beth Tchie of Applaud Coffee (Image: Lucy Taylor)