Small Biz Edition: The Christmas Showcase

29 Nov

*Booted & Looted - Hand-painted and upcyled bits & boobs for your home*

INTRODUCTION

Every small business has a big story to tell. Fuelled by hard work, passion and strong coffee, these companies all have unique foundations that we wanted to shine a light on this Christmas. Anyone living on Planet Earth in 2020 is aware of the struggles small and large businesses are facing globally, but with the holiday season right around the corner, we thought it only fitting to introduce you to five independent creators from The Arena community.

So say hello to Along Jewellery, Booted & Looted, Lucky In Love, Wickpy and Zöe Bonham 👋

What do you love most about what you do?

Along Jewellery: I love that I can make and finish a piece with my own hands, from beginning to end, all in my own time.

Booted & Looted: Firstly we love that we are able to work as a creative duo having known each other from school, which was a long time ago! We love to upcycle and inspire customers that old can still mean fabulous by transforming items into new art works to adorn the spaces they call home. Receiving photos of our products from our customers and their own upcycled transformations into women loving, body loving, self loving gems puts a right smile on our faces. Being able to say we are part of a positive online community which supports small business making a positive impact to our environment and souls is what we love the most.

Lucky In Love: I love people, so the process of drawing people for real people, not just a faceless audience is my favourite thing about having a small business. My cards are my style, humour and heart in a tiny packaged nutshell and I love that people across the world can resonate with them.

Wickpy: Wickpy allows us the space and time to express ourselves and to work together as a couple, which is new for us. Connecting with other creatives, businesses and making new friends has also been really lovely.

Zoe Bonham: Hands down the best thing is being able to do my hobby every day for work. I love having the freedom to create and design, experimenting with new ways of working and learning how to better my practice. I feel so fortunate that I am able to do something I love!

*Lucky In Love founded by Ellie Hawes - Illustrated greeting cards championing underrepresented communities, family dynamics and occasions*

How and why did you start your business?

Along Jewellery: Going back to work as a fashion designer with two young kids in childcare didn't work for me financially so I wanted to find something elseI could do that was still creative. I've always loved jewellery so decided to try a 4 day making course and completely fell in love with it. It's been nearly a year now and I've been developing my skills and making my collection ever since.

Booted & Looted: We both lost our jobs earlier this year and as creatives we were desperate to get inventive on a budget whilst in lockdown. There is a ‘dumping post’ in the middle of our block which is constantly pilled high with unwanted furniture and random bits and bobs, this led to us bonding over raiding the load and using them as a canvas for our very own body loving designs. Realising we were only a lamp away from being professional hoarders it only seemed right to to share our finds and creations and so booted and looted was born.

Lucky In Love: After graduating during the pandemic, it became something to occupy my time and continue to inspire my creativity. Lucky in Love fills a gap in the market for inclusive and diverse greeting cards. It's an issue I personally have come across while card shopping and I hope it grows to meet everyone's needs, everywhere!

Wickpy: We wanted to share our love for making candles with others in a way that expresses us, the things we believe in, like and enjoy. Our goal was to make a candle kit that is kinder to the customer and to the planet in a one-stop candle making shop.

Zoe Bonham: Having graduated in a pandemic, I was finding it impossible to break into the design industry. Starting a shop is something I’ve always wanted to do, but never had the time for. I decided I’d be better off using this time to build the shop than wait around for scarce job opportunities!

*Along Jewellery founded by Anneka Long - Handmade jewellery*

What are your plans for 2021? Anything you'd like to speak into existence!

Along Jewellery: I’d love to learn stone setting so I can add another element to my pieces. Finally get my website up and running. And the dream one day would be to stocked in Liberty’s 😉

Booted & Looted: We will be trialing some workshops next year... watch this space! We want to help people to find their inner scavenger whilst doing their bit for the planet, clearing out local charity shops one vase at a time. We would love people to continue celebrating the body as something to be cherished and loved and not continuously judged. We have been overwhelmed by the response so far so turning booted and looted into a full time job would be the bloody dream.

Lucky In Love: Print more cards and help change the face of inclusive greeting card design (they don't have to be plain and boring!). I would love to see my cards on some shop shelves and available through other online platforms to make them accessible to as many people as possible.

Wickpy: To introduce more people to natural candle making and to educate on its benefits. We will embrace the year with love, optimism and hope. Wickpy's heart is around experiences that connect us and we're hoping for 2021 where we can all spend more time with our loved ones.

Zoe Bonham: I plan to grow the shop collection with new designs and more types of products, not just prints, as well as introduce some more bespoke, commissioned type of work. I am also a brand designer, so I will likely be freelancing on the side too!