Support Small Business, Support Local

As I sit here, I can hand on heart say that this year has been the toughest to date for Nicky & I, and to be fair we haven’t enjoyed an easy year for some time!

This morning I read an article in The Telegraph by Lisa Armstrong and it resonated with me as I had only been discussing the exact subject yesterday with two friends.  Since Covid, Nicky & I have been trying to grow the wholesale side of Arkell & Wills, and for AW25, we have been alarmed at the amount of beautiful, long-standing boutiques that have sadly closed.

On our trade trips, we have also come across traders who have asked to buy “in season” rather than pre-order or have reduced their orders. In this current climate, we can’t blame these boutique owners - we would do the same if we were in their position, however this obviously has a knock-on effect for us as we try to hit minimum orders with our supplier.

As we visit these boutiques, we meet the owners and buyers, and we see the passion they have and hear how they have set up their businesses, they share their histories and we get to know these lovely people first-hand, something both Nicky and I love and enjoy.  We would love to go to some of the big Trade Fairs but for our small independent brand, the costs are just too high, though I think the one-to-one visits have proved more personal and better for us.

However, one thing we have noted on our recent trips, is the difference in these towns. It is heart-breaking to see the number of closed units, the increase in charity shops, nail bars, coffee shops and barbers – while they have a role to play on our High Streets, they are vastly over-represented even our own hometown of Cheltenham.  Once a thriving, beautiful shopping destination Spa town, Cheltenham now looks sad and unloved, with far too many empty shops and tatty areas. It’s so dreadfully sad.

We need to support our independent businesses, wherever they are. There’s nothing better than mooching around unique shops, full of different things, feeling the quality of the fabric, looking closely at the details, and trying something on that in the flesh looks great, but on a screen would be a swipe up.

These wonderful small businesses bring us something different, do we all want to look the same? Do you not admire someone wearing something different, making you ask the question “I love that! Where did you get it?  That’s what you get from a small brand like A&W. There is no large design team, there is no cutting room – it is simply Nicky and I at either a dining table or kitchen island chatting through ideas, looking at the notes of feedback from customers. We consider sheets of drawings, go through colour cards and countless emails to our suppliers to make sure the details are exactly as we want them.  We experience the sadness when a design doesn’t hit minimum order so unfortunately doesn’t make it into production and then the elation when FedEx drop the boxes and we see what a doodle on the dining table looks like in the flesh.

We are thankful, as we hang on by our fingernails, to be doing another season, especially when we see big brands fall, including Samantha Cameron’s business, Cefinn, only yesterday.  So, as we start AW25 and the autumnal chill starts to fill the air, please think independent, think small business, think boutique and special events and support our amazing entrepreneurs, and our future.

Debz & Nicky xx

Arkell & Wills stockists

Crowberry Wood, Helmsley, North Yorkshire

Georgies, Harrogate, Yorkshire

Slate, Broadway, Worcestershire

Slate, Burford, Oxfordshire

Trinity, Richmond, North Yorkshire

Will & Jo, Eccleshall, Staffordshire

Arkell & Wills 2025 Events

Blenheim International Horse Trials – 18^th to the 21^st September

The Curated Store, Stow on the Wold – 1^st to the 31^st October

Fulham Palace Christmas Fair, London, 21^st to the 23^rd November 

Beaufort Christmas Fair, Long Newton, 25th November