A YOUNG Wiltshire entrepreneur has bounced back from disappointment by launching a new business venture with her new husband.

Leyla Bakali-Spence was forced to close her We are Undressed shop in Trowbridge Town Hall last summer because the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a drop in footfall.

The dramatic drop in customers eventually took a toll on her business income and her health and she decided to close the store and take a few months off to recover.

But Leyla, 28, has bounced back by getting married to her partner Niall, 29, and launching a new business venture with her new husband, who is a carpenter.

The couple have recently launched Undressed, a new retail store in Fore Street, Trowbridge, opposite Costa Coffee.

Their new shop sells a large variety of sustainable organic dried foods, ethically-made non food items and indoor house plants.

The wide range of organic products includes pulses and grains, herbs and spices, solid shampoo and conditioners, recycled toilet rolls and refillable household cleaning liquids.

She said: "The new business is no longer being run as a charity not-for-profit business.

"We have refocussed on looking after yourself through whole foods, having a chemical-free home, and being in a good environment.

"We have had lots of good feedback from new customers and many of our old customers have returned to purchase."

Last summer, Leyla was forced to take the difficult decision to close her first business venture, the We Are Undressed shop in Trowbridge Town Hall.

Mrs Bakali-Spence said she was forced to close the community interest company, We Are Undressed CIC, to fix issues affecting her business and her health.

She posted messages on local social media thanking everyone for their support, saying the past 18 months had been particularly challenging.

She said the stresses of running a business through the Covid-19 pandemic had taken its toll on her health and she needed time off to recover.

Mrs Bakali-Spence originally launched the business, Trowbridge's first zero waste and vegan shop, as a market stall trader.

Then she raised nearly £10,000 through a crowdfunding appeal in 2019 to open a shop inside Trowbridge Town Hall, where she has been based for more than a year.

We Are Undressed sold plastic and packaging-free wholefoods, baking supplies and eco-friendly products.

Customers were able to bring their own containers to replace the foods they had consumed. The shop also raised awareness of climate change.

The new Undressed premises in Fore Street had been empty for three years before Niall and Leyla rented them and converted them into the new shop using recycled wooden pallets from The Shires shopping centre.

They also include two rooms above the shop, one being used as a meeting room, and the other as an office, which the couple are renting out for £15 an hour.