Small Business Saturday/Support handmade

Recently there was a new campaign to get the people of the UK to support small businesses; not just on December 7th, but all-year-round- this was to be known as Small Business Saturday. It is a campaign that was started in the USA but now has reached here due to its success that encourages people to 'shop local' and support small businesses in their communities, both on the Saturday and beyond.


I only found out on the day when passing an old town to get to my parents for lunch when I saw most shops had posters up in there windows (this town has many boutique shops) but I will be participating next year helping my community (buy more at craft fairs etc) and hopefully the year after I will be one of the businesses! Also buying locally also reduces your carbon footprint because products haven't been shipped from the other side of the world and also generates money back into your community! Why give the big shops support when they have many around the world and give the smaller business a run for there money (and sometimes a run out of business?) just for most of the time cheap products and hardly any customer service?


Looking at the facebook page it mentions that:

"According to a poll undertaken in the 24 hours following the Small Business Saturday, just under half (48%) of UK consumers were aware of the day. Of those, over half (57%) shopped at a local, independently owned business on 7 December, with 43% of shoppers choosing to do so specifically because of Small Business Saturday. Those consumers who knew about the day and took to their local high street spent between £1 and £2000 on the day, with tills in independent shops and small businesses ringing in an average of £33 per person which equates to a total of £468 MILLION across the UK as a whole. In fact, 45% of those aware of the day who shopped in a small business on 7 December said they spent more than usual, with nearly one in five (19%) saying they had spent at least 50% more than they would usually on a typical Saturday."


So very good outcome and helps promote the buy handmade campaign from UK handmade that could both run alongside each other (if that is your area of business)

Ok I will support small business but why buy handmade?

Buying from small independent businesses and individual makers has never been so important particularly given the current economic climate. A recession can often be a good time to startup a small business.

Not only that but buying handmade has advantages and benefits that you won't get buying from the larger stores on the high street. (Again supporting small businesses) many makers will produce items that are made to order (like I will be) and bespoke so you can get something uniquely personal at surprisingly affordable prices because many designers don't have the same overheads as shops.

Talking of which...


There has been many TV programmes about handmade/do it yourself xmas gift ideas (Kirsty Allsop Homemade Christmas and the Great British Sewing Bee xmas specials to name a few) that just highlights that many people are going back to handmade not mass produced items that give you the personal touch- unique gifts and the joy that comes with making something handmade- I hope there will be many more programmes to encourage people :D

So support your local businesses when your next out shopping (or online buy popping onto sites such as folksy and etsy) and sign the petition to support handmade:

http://ukhandmade.co.uk/buy-handmade-campaign

Did you participate in the small business sat? Let me know how it went!

Thanks for reading!