One way to wisely take stock in life is to look at the company you keep. There’s that old saying isn’t there, that you can judge a man by the company he keeps…
As co-founders we are collaborative to our very core. Not only does that mean we recognise that no idea can’t be made better with another perspective woven in. But we’re committed to not being too precious about our ideas, and to not letting our creations get too wrapped up with our ego. It’s perhaps the greatest failing of all artists to let what they make become their value.
It's this value we place on collaboration that’s led to us building this artisan business: Great House Farm Stores. We have actively sought out creative, independent potters all across the UK and we work exclusively with them, instead of, say, a big soulless factory.
We’re also artisans ourselves: co-founder Abbie hand pours every one of our candles while Roanna writes every single scent recipe.
Some businesses are founded by people who have a great idea and then seek out the creatives and makers to make it happen. We’ve done the opposite. We had a great idea and then skilled up, honing heritage crafts until we learnt to create a peerless product. The result? A celebrated range of refillable scented candles.
In Good Company: Artisan Founders
We were delighted when Lyndsey, of The Artisan Founder sought us out and asked us to join her creative cohort of small businesses.
You can find the company’s raison d’etre over on their website:
“An Artisan Founder creates beautiful functional products. They make with their own hands, or employ in-house or local craftsmanship to bring their designs to life. They value quality over speed. They do one thing well. They are passionate about their raw materials, sustainability and bringing joy to others through their creations.”
The newly launched The Artisan Founder has pulled together a curated collection of small businesses, each with an emphasis on hand made goods and craftsmanship.
The site contains both a journal, visit for inspiring reading, and a marketplace. The marketplace contains a really lovely selection of products, from our refillable scented candles to beautiful hand crafted jewellery.
What Kind Of World Do You Want To Live In?
We’ve said before about how we love approaching our spending by considering every pound we spend as a vote for the kind of world we want to live in. It’s this approach that leads us to buy a packet of seeds, or an organic vegetable box instead of taking a trip to the supermarket.
One thing we love to vote for, as often as possible, is the importance of creativity in this world. We love that Artisan Founders places such value on creativity and craft, we don’t want to even imagine a world without those things.
Here’s to more and more businesses putting an artisanal approach at their core.