In another devastating blow, after a week off following the crash, he returned to work and was made redundant on his first day. At the same time, Rory and his wife were going through a house sale, which fell through due to his job loss.<\/p>\n
Describing the period as a \u201crough couple of weeks,\u201d it made him step back, re-assess what he was doing, and look at the methods he was using to help him feel better. During this time, he developed a love for journaling, and this – coupled with his wife\u2019s love for stationary – led to a new business idea.<\/p>\n
Last month, the couple opened Flo & Dot, a boutique stationary store, gift shop, and creative space on the Antrim Road. Named after their daughters, Florence and Dorothy, it is bringing something new to North Belfast<\/a> while giving Rory more time with his family.<\/p>\n Speaking to Belfast Live<\/a>, Rory said: \u201cI thought I enjoyed my old job at the time, but I didn\u2019t realise I was really suffering from it; from the stress and anxiety it caused. There was a lot of time that was taken away from my family too.<\/p>\n \u201cOne Sunday morning, we were coming back from the swimmers with my two daughters. I blacked out and crashed, narrowly missing a dog walker, and went through someone\u2019s garden wall. Fortunately, there was a car in the driveway or else I would have been in the front room.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a wake up call for me. After going to hospital, they ran tests and found there was nothing wrong with my heart or head or anything, doctors said it was most likely stress that caused it.<\/p>\n \u201cI took a week off work and the morning I went back, I was told I was being made redundant, which was another blow. My car had been written off, I was made redundant, and DVLA told me I couldn\u2019t drive and it took around a year to get the licence back.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were also going through a house sale at the time. I couldn\u2019t get the mortgage approved anymore, so that fell through.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are people in worse situations than me, but that was a rough couple of weeks. I ended up feeling a bit worthless.\u201d<\/p>\n Rory Courtney in Flo & Dot on the Antrim Road(Image: Justin Kernoghan\/Belfast Live)<\/p>\n Rory began to make steps towards his recovery from stress by taking one thing at a time, writing out his plans for the day, and putting his thoughts down on paper by journaling.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking at what I wanted to do for work, I really wanted the happiness I got from journaling to be part of it,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife also has a big love of stationery. We decided opening up a shop focusing on these things could be the best path for us to get some enjoyment out of what we do for work, while also giving us the balance to spend more time with the children.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something we do with them too, we sit down and enjoy journaling with them. We get them to write about what they did in their day.\u201d<\/p>\n Originally from East Belfast<\/a>, Rory moved to the North of the city around 12 years ago, and had always missed the feeling of being able to pop in-and-out of boutique shops on Ballyhackamore, as well as enjoying some unique food and pubs.<\/p>\n He said the Antrim Road<\/a> is now making moves in a similar direction, with an influx of new shops, restaurants, and cafes springing up over the past few years adding to the local community.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to add to that influx of nice shops in the community,\u201d Rory added. \u201cPeople have been coming into the shop saying this is exactly what the area has been missing, which has been nice to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n As for what he loves about journaling and why he would encourage others to give it a go, Rory said it has been a \u201creal escape\u201d for his family, with even his children getting involved.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody has pressures in their life, and very rarely do we take time out away from screens especially. That\u2019s a big thing for kids too,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to get my kids away from screens, get them to learn, to sit down and enjoy putting pen to paper, and reading some books.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can sit down and think things through. It is a communal thing as well, for example we do journaling clubs here, which is like-minded people just sitting, having a nice cup of coffee, and getting your thoughts onto a page. Sometimes you just need to put something down there to make it real, make it happen, or maybe just to make sense of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n Rory is happy to bring something new to the Antrim Road(Image: Justin Kernoghan\/Belfast Live)<\/p>\n Rory said his journey to this stage hasn\u2019t been easy, but that opening the business has allowed him to enjoy what he does while putting his family first. It has also allowed him to become more involved with the local community, as the shop are hosting a number of events and clubs.<\/p>\n Around half of the items they stock are from local, independent makers, with anyone buying items in the shop directly feeding back into the local economy.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cIt\u2019s been very difficult, a lot of stress, which I was trying to avoid, but this is a different type of stress – this is something I can control.<\/p>\n \u201cBut ultimately the reason for doing this is I wanted to be a better person, I wanted to be happier and have more time with my children.\u201d<\/p>\n As for how his daughters feel about the shop being named after them, Rory laughed: \u201cMy daughters feel like celebrities. My daughter Florence, or Flo as she\u2019s known in school<\/a>, asked the other day if she could come up to the shop as people would be expecting her to be there, as her name is on the shop.<\/p>\n \u201cThey absolutely love it. They\u2019ve inspired why the shop is here, so that\u2019s why I wanted to name it after them. It\u2019s also a nice play on words for writing, which helps!\u201d<\/p>\n You can find out more about Flo & Dot on their Instagram here<\/a>, and their website.<\/a><\/p>\n Video by Belfast Live videographer Justin Kernoghan.<\/p>\n For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here <\/a>and sign up to our daily newsletter <\/a>here.<\/p>\n![\"Rory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/0_Rory-Courtney-_JK02.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Rory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/0_Rory-Courtney-_JK03.jpg\")
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