Top 5 Calderdale Independent Makers
UK Independents Day. The 4th July. Not to be confused with our friends in stars and stripes across the pond. We do love a good play on words, nearly as much as we love independent retail.
UK Independents day, 4th July, was launched in 2010 to celebrate the economic and social contributions of independent businesses. Independent retailers, indies as we like to call them, account for somewhere around 65% of the 290,000 retail outlets in the UK and for every £1 spent in one of these independents between 50–70p of this goes back into the local economy. This makes the shops not only the heart of the community, but also the local economy.
UK Indie day is to promote and raise awareness of these fabulous independent businesses who offer choice, diversity of product, service, tradition as well as innovation to customers. They are personal and have strong local and individual identity. With the high street and retail spending under pressure, more and more people want to shop with independents, to have their money put back into the local economy and so supporting our local indies is more important than ever. Consumers are tired of offshore tax avoiding conglomerates, we want to spend our money in local shops with the money going back into our local and national economy!! This is what UK Indie day is all about.
CHOICE
Here in Calderdale we have almost too much choice. There are independent shops for all kinds of items, soap, bikes, artwork, gift shops, records, clothes and much more. There are a wealth of indies in Calderdale markets, Brighouse, Hipperholme, Halifax, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden and even in village settings such as Ripponden and Skircoat Green. It would be impossible to mention them all so we thought we would round up our top 5 local independent makers, talented independent retailers who are local but online…
Hello Halfpenny
If you like jewellery you will LOVE Hello Halfpenny! Owner Zoe describes herself on her website as the ‘heart & hands’ behind the brand. You can feel the love in the work she does, stunning personalised pieces to commemorate special moments in your life. The perfect gift for mum, best friend, sister, wife…. pieces are made from silver and rolled gold and are accessible, unique, personalised and extremely wearable. The double hoop name necklace for £38 is an absolute steal for such a beautiful piece and the stacking rings would look amazing on everyone. Love her work, you can also book workshops with her too. Fantastic to see such craftsmanship and skill locally. I have a long list of things I want to buy from her etsy site!
Mosaic Peace by Piece
Recently wrote about this local brand on a father’s day gift guide we did. Writing about them again because they are that good. Having worked as a high street fashion buyer for years myself it’s super refreshing to see the rise of independents who are conscious and sustainable as well as design focused.
‘Ignited by passion for fashion and social awareness’ Mosaic is a brand engineered with an ethos and philosophy of being socially conscious. Spreading positivity in a sustainable way is their mission and this is done with an abundance of style and importantly quality to match. The fit and handfeel of the garments is well above your high street average. Definitely one to give a try, it is branded as menswear but I’m waiting for the right moment to ‘borrow’ my husbands Mosaic sweatshirt….
Little Jagger
So we have something for her, something for him and what about the little ones? You’re in luck, enter Little Jagger. A tailor from prestigious Savile Row is the mastermind behind this fun and beautiful collection of children’s bedding and accessories. These are all handmade with woodland designs to ‘ignite fun and exploration’ into your little ones bedroom. All fabrics are made and printed in the UK with your little one in mind 100% cotton and inks that are kind to skin.
A beautiful range of products carefully curated and created and makes the perfect gift and nursery accessory. Lovely to think that buying something for your little one is supporting another mother’s dream.
Jade Candles
Jade Candles specialise in luxury bespoke scented candles made from a unique blend of soy and coconut soy wax. These little tins of joy are both deliciously scented and aesthetically pleasing! Made from high quality ingredients these products are tried, tested and an uncompromising quality.
The candles come in a variety of sizes and forms both tins and glass and there are also diffusers and refills for these. All come beautifully packaged and again, make a great gift if you can bear to give them away!
Kate Lycett
Had to mention this extremely talented artist in this list. With a textile background Kate sees ‘patterns in everything’. She creates beautiful paintings and these are sold across greetings cards, folding cards, prints and journals. Also on her website you can purchase quaint little lanterns too. Hebden Bridge is a big inspiration and this can be seen in the artists work and on Kate’s website she says ‘I want to paint beautiful pictures of the places that I love’. You can see the love in these images, warm with colour, life and happiness. It’s a win buying something from this artist, she’s local and also she creates pieces that are area specific, properly painting a picture of the wonderful area we live in.
So there you have it, our top 5 local makers. Don’t forget to click on the headers to go through to their websites and get following and supporting them on social media!!
Do try and shop local this UK Independents day. It’s about more than just a shop, these indies are passionate people who are dreaming of creating, making a living from something they love. Go ahead and support someone’s dream today
