It's been quite a year...
As we enter into the final month of 2020, we’re still in the midst of many, many restrictions aimed to stem the spread of COVID. Whilst no one can question the intent behind the measures, for many industries, these are devastating – none more so than the independent business owners, many of whom have had to shut their doors. Many too have quickly grappled with, and adapted to the online world – we’re in awe of the stoicism, tenacity and sheer strength shown by many of these businesses – all with people behind them, working into the night and through their weekends to make things work.
Tough times...
The truth is, how well many businesses survive this time is down to us. It’s down to you, me, our community and the choices we make/actions we take. As we all retreat into our lockdown bubbles, it’s easy to go for convenience and speed when shopping – is there anything you can’t buy from Amazon these days, and have someone working through the night to get it to you the next day!? The thing is, Amazon will survive, it will more than survive – it will grow, in fact boom during this time. It will still be there come the spring; others, quite frankly, may not.
Taking a risk...
For us, launching a brand in the middle of a pandemic was a gamble, a little scary, and some might say a little crazy! Well, we did it anyway, because as they say, ‘If not now, when?’ and one of our favourites, ‘There will never be a right time to start. Accept it. So start now.’ It’s certainly not been without some bumps – our entrepreneurial journey is very much in its infancy – we’ve run into just about every issue you can imagine…with products, with suppliers, with designs, with technical glitches – you name it, it’s happened (COVID has made sure of it!) However, six months down the line and we can say that we are very happy we took that gamble. None of the hurdles matter when you’re passionate about what you’re creating - we’re strong, we’re fighters and we’re hungry to push forward.
Our top five reasons to support small businesses this Christmas (that we definitely know are true!)
1. Small businesses, including ours, are started, built and nurtured by people with passion. Yes, profit needs to happen for a business to stay afloat, but that’s never the reason for starting a business – it’s never the why. People who start businesses from the ground (especially with little investment) have passion by the bucket load. They grind and grind, ultimately to give people something they think is important.
2. We, like others, do an actual happy dance when we have an order come through. The happy dance gets even bigger when we see the order with you, and you enjoying it 😊
3. Reading messages from people in support of what we’re doing melts our hearts…like other small business owners, we read them over and over again, especially on the days where nothing seems to be going right!
4. Like with all things bought from small businesses, there’s a story behind your purchase. It’s great to know the story behind the brand and product – it makes for a much better conversation when someone shows interest in what you’ve bought – or even better, a gift with a story and people behind it makes for a much better present.
5. Supporting a local, British based, small business like ours, quite literally puts money back into your local community – shopping locally is an actual investment in your own surroundings. You can have that warm and fuzzy feeling of doing good (rather than the slightly less than virtuous reward of placing another Amazon prime order!)
A year of change?
I think it will be hard to look back at 2020 as anything other than the year of COVID, the year of being restricted, the year of not being able to live quite as we want…but what if it was also the year our habits changed. The year we learnt to be kinder, the year we learnt to have more empathy, the year we learnt to understand each other more, and the year we learnt to better support those around us.
The point is - shopping with small businesses isn’t by any means the only way to spread positivity and support…but it’s one small thing we can all do, one small difference we can make. Imagine if everyone Christmas shopping this year bought one small gift from a small business…there’d be a lot more dancing in the world, that’s for sure. 😊
So, rather unashamedly – if you’re looking for some Christmas gifts (and by the way it’s fine to buy Christmas gifts for yourself!) have a look at our online store and see what treats are there.
For Christmas shipping dates, click here
Our Recommendations...
We’ve made a list of some other small businesses that we know the above applies to – so, in the interest of us doing OUR bit – if you’re still needing to do a bit of Christmas shopping (and if you don’t, you deserve a medal!) here are some other fabulous places to find some perfect gifts (and feel wonderful about them too!)
Leafage – No garden, no problem! One of the most relaxing, therapeutic and rewarding activities we’ve done in a long time…and now we have a little terrarium garden! Founder, Kay is one of the most passionate, hardworking people we know. She knows how to spread the joy!
Vlisscocoa – Who doesn’t like hot chocolate, and when it’s vegan, sustainably produced and insanely yummy then it’s even better! Founder, Kate has started and grown this business whilst also a full time mum of two. We can definitely say it tastes amazing – perfect Christmas gift (if you can stop yourself from using it yourself.)
Green Lemming - specialises in providing Eco friendly branding supplies to businesses looking to be more green and environmentally-friendly! When you order, they plant trees in the Caledonian Forest! Some of our tags come from Danielle, she makes every one of them so beautiful and uses amazing eco materials with super friendly customer service.
Grand Tour Coffee Co. - As you all know we do love coffee and if there is one thing we love more than drinking coffee is supporting someone who makes coffee. Ben Jenkins, a member of Team Sky for many years, created the Grand Tour Coffee Co. to combine his experience of cycling with his love of coffee . We have tried many different brands before Ben’s magic elixir but with four distinct varieties - Podium, Rouleur, Full Gas and Wheel Sucker - there is a blend to suit every taste.
The Ludlow Nut Company - These guys were our lifesavers when the craziness (aka 1st lockdown) started and there was no peanut butter or porridge left on the supermarket shelves. We love their products so much, we actually went to Ludlow for a few days when restrictions eased at the end of summer. Helen and Bob set up the company in 2004, escaped from London to Ludlow, Shropshire and chose the place for its food buzz, food & drink festivals and markets.