We’ve worked together to create the 'Ultimate Girls Night' in South Shields
Four South Tyneside businesses have teamed up to create a safe, fun and empowering space for women of all ages.
South Tyneside-based Self Love Initiative, That Cake Girl, Luna Blu NE and Arbeia bar have all teamed up to create the Ultimate Girls Night, which provides a safe and fun space for women.
Initially the brainchild of Claire Ball, owner of the Self Love Initiative, and Sarah Calder, owner of That Cake Girl, the pair then brought in Carly Shone, owner of Luna Blu NE, so that all three could provide their own twist on the event.
Hosted at South Shields’ Arbeia bar, on Ocean Road, on November 7, the event saw Claire deliver an empowering talk to the women in attendance before they enjoyed cake provided by Sarah and a wine glass painting session with Carly.
The trio also invited along four female-led businesses, which included Tropic Skincare, Serenity Crystals and Crafts, Scent and Soul, and Infinite Links Forever Jewellery, to host stalls throughout the evening.
Carly has explained to the Shields Gazette where the idea to create the Ultimate Girls Night came from and revealed that the evening was a huge success.
She said: “It was originally Claire and Sarah who were planning it, then they brought me into it and because it is all about creating a safe space for women, we also wanted to help other small female-owned businesses in South Tyneside.
“The night was amazing, there was so many women who were interested in taking part - they listened to Claire’s self-love talk, they enjoyed the cake from Sarah and all got fully involved in the craft.
“Many were overwhelmed at first with the wine glass painting as they weren’t sure what they would do but in the end, all of the glasses were amazing and everyone left happy, relaxed and empowered.
“It was just amazing and a really good atmosphere - Arbeia even sold out of pizza, which was something that we weren’t expecting.”
The evening saw more than £200 raised for Cancer Connections via a raffle and now the trio are now planning to make the Ultimate Girls Night a monthly event, starting in January 2026.
Carly added: “It is surreal, we didn’t think anyone would be that interested when it was initially planned but the whole thing sold out within 24 hours - we had to release more tickets due to the demand.
“I’d never done a workshop for 55 people before but it was a nice kind of stress to have.
“We now can’t wait for the next one in January, especially with the ‘New Year, Same Me’ theme.”
Tickets for the next Ultimate Girls Night will go on sale in December via: https://self.love.initiative.claire-ball.com/.
You can keep up to date with when tickets will be released, as well as future events at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582324393844.
For more details on the Self Love Initiative, head to: https://self.love.initiative.claire-ball.com/, That Cake Girl at: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Cake-Girl-100085836296935 and Luna Blue NE via: https://www.lunablu-ne.co.uk/.