'Made in Yorkshire' Indie Gift Guide: Part 1
- Nov 12, 2020
- 2 min read
As England settles into Lockdown 2.0, my thoughts turn even more to the uncertain future of small, independent businesses. With Christmas only a few weeks away, I wanted to do something to make finding and shopping with indie shops easier. And, in an effort to encourage friends and family to give their support to local businesses, I've put together a 'Shop Indie - Yorkshire' board on Pinterest with some of my favourite locally made offerings.
Shopping indie helps you find super unique, creative products, shop with businesses that reflect your ethics & values and get a much more personal experience. It also gives you the opportunity to support someone's dream and make their day through your purchase.
There are SO many amazing local independents and you can really make a difference to their lives right now by shopping with them, rather than lining the pockets of billionaires. However, I think one of the obstacles to shopping small is access as it's just not as easy to find smaller businesses to buy from, especially when you're pushed for time.
So I hope the Pinterest board and this gift guide series will help with that, and highlight some really lovely alternatives to shopping with high-street names.
First up, is an amazing Marsden-based illustrated leather goods maker - HÔRD.
HÔRD makes leather goods for on the go, such as hand-carved decorative hip flasks, hand-painted patches and custom belts. They also share their adventures on the wild Yorkshire Moors, and capture the beautiful scenery over on their Instagram account.
Next is another fellow Huddersfield based business - Finest Imaginary.
Designer-maker Kim creates laser-cut jewellery, decorations and wonderful pins and patches with Northern sayings. This incredibly apt tree decoration is a great way to commemorate one heck of a year!
One for the crafters in your life is Joe's Toes slipper making kits!
This fantastic kit comes with everything you need to make a pair of beautiful suede mules. There's no sewing machine required either, as the slippers are hand-sewn with pre-punched holes. A lovely task to do whilst curled up in front of a roaring fire at Christmas time!
And last but by no means least, we have handmade pottery from Amy Thomas Ceramics.
Amy creates absolutely stunning pieces in small batches from her home studio on the edge of the Haworth Moorland.
Stay tuned for the next instalment of this series. There's just so many incredible Yorkshire-based businesses, it's been a pleasure discovering them and I can't wait to share more with you soon.
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