A TRADER providing Barrovians with a plated array of silver trinkets has snapped up The Mail’s Trader of the Week award.

Barrow born and bred So Silver owner, Chrissy Haughin, 62, has been at the helm of her Portland Walk store since November 2010.

Her expertise with silver jewellery stretches back to the 1980s, where the sterling-selling trader began her journey to provide not just Barrow - but the North West of England - with metal-based innovation.

She said: “Thank you for giving me the award - I truly feel blessed.

“I originally started up So Silver on Crellin Street in October 2005 before moving to our current location.

“Since then, I’ve always pushed for the shop to provide the best quality products at the most competitive prices.”

As well as selling silver jewellery and beautiful trinkets, So Silver has a few surprises too.

Within the shop, there is a body piercing room which Mrs Haughin spoke more about.

“Before So Silver, I owned another Barrow company which I started in 1989, which was predominantly body piercing.”

Being exposed to the art of body piercing for four decades, the store’s owner trained in the Mediterranean to pick up her body piercing skills.

“I was the first person to introduce body piercing to Barrow.

“And I’m confident I was one of the first people in the North West of England to provide body-pierce services.

Mrs Haughin’s knowledge and her piercing skills have been learnt over many years stretching across continents, which she feels has given her the step up over competitors.

“The fact I’ve been doing this for 30 years helps, but sourcing products from various countries was invaluable, learning firsthand the intricate details of what I’m selling.

“I’ve been as far as Thailand and Indonesia to source.”

It seems it has been quite the journey for the well-travelled silver merchant, who thanked her members of staff Linda Johnson and Wendy Geary for all their hard work.

Customer and Barrow homeowner, Norma Halpin said: “Chrissy and the girls are always providing something new to browse at and the price range is unbeatable.”

Mrs Haughin revealed her secret. She said: “It’s all about exclusivity.”

If you would like to nominate a company around the Furness area for Trader of the Week, then send your nomination to our reporter at: samuel.mckeown@newsquest.co.uk.