A DUNFERMLINE business has officially closed down after five years of trading in the city. 

Olga Gerogianni, who owned and ran the award-winning Estia Soaps on East Port, closed down her city centre store on Saturday, January 6, after suffering from a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) last year. 

The "mini-stroke" combined with the lack of support from the Scottish Government for small businesses, rising costs and her desire to spend more time with her family all contributed to her making the tough decision to close for good. 

She told the Press: "The shop has been open for almost a year and a half but the business has been running for five years.

"I think it's more of a circle closing and to be honest, because I also had a TIA last January, I couldn't give more than what I have already given to the business.

"I tried to sell it but it seems that it was really hard for someone to buy a business that also includes hand making the product. It’s a lot of work when you have to make and sell and then do the administration on top of everything so I took the decision to just close down."

Originally planning to sell the shop, equipment and recipes to a budding business owner, Olga had to decide to close without a buyer. 

With the running costs for the premises, including a £1,300 electricity bill for the small commercial unit, Olga was unable to wait for someone to purchase and take over. 

She continued: "It’s not sustainable, it's really difficult and it's not how it used to be when I opened the shop.

"It’s with all these parameters together that I had to make the decision to close and I think with the way things are going, most small businesses will close in the next months because we get no support.

"Dunfermline is an amazing city and Shirley Anne Sommerville was supportive of the shop. There wasn't any extra help but everyone from Dunfermline who was close to the shop was trying to figure out how to help small businesses. 

"I think it's the overall problem of utilities rising.  I think it's problems that are above what the local council could deal with."

But she is making sure that this isn't a negative decision, she believes that her TIA was a sign for her to slow down and spend time with her family. 

She added: "I was very lucky because it was just a mini-stroke and not a main one. A TIA acts like a stroke but it doesn't leave permanent damage. It's more like a warning that you could have a main stroke, it's more like a warning to the body to slow down."

And she will be doing just that, going forward Olga will continue to make small batches of some core products for regular customers and will be moving on to a new chapter. 

Now, she will be focusing on her Sound Bath meditation services that she will be running out of Dunfermline's Fire Station Creative. 

More information on Olga's new services can be found on her website, Olga Awaken. 

Anyone interested in buying furniture, equipment or recipes from Olga can contact her on 07762 954369.