DESIGNED & MADE ON THESE SHORES: THE SIMPLE SHAPE USP

SPRING / SUMMER / AUTUMN / WINTER

Sometimes it’s important as a business to turn the magnifying mirror on yourself and make sure you like what you see. It seems like a healthy thing to do to check-in on the USP occasionally, not that businesses can’t change and adapt their unique selling point, of course they can, it’s often essential that you are able to flex as a business (goodness, now more than ever) in order to meet changing market conditions, opinions and situations but it is also good to be clear about your principals.

So, what is Simple Shape’s unique selling point? It struck me that this isn’t something that we shout about, it’s a bit out-of-character to do so to be honest, but actually it’s something I’m very proud of. I’m proud to put these things on our shelves (both literal and virtual).

Simple Shape sells:
HAND-MADE AND CRAFTED HOMEWARES, DESIGNED AND MADE IN BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
That’s it. Simple.

Why is this important? I have loved hand made crafts for a long time but I also have a real passion for simple stand-out design and I wanted to see if there was a way of marrying the two. Buying British crafts supports the creative industry in the UK, it supports individual designers and makers, it supports small businesses and local industry which in turn supports their communities with employment.

Each time you buy something from Simple Shape you effectively send a positive message to the British creative industry and the design community. We are proud of all the makers and crafts people that we buy work from. If you’re interested in finding out more, each one is noted on our Makers page.

There are other good things to note too. Everything we sell has a relatively low mileage, our products haven’t been shipped around the world, they might have travelled down the M1 and at most they’ll have come from Cork, in Ireland. If environmental impact is important in your decision making (it certainly is for us) then this, along side the fact that nothing is mass produced, is a significant plus factor.

And there are other benefits, things I’ve learnt since Simple Shape began. As a buyer, choosing to buy from individual makers and small businesses means I’m able to make selections based on a multitude of different, additional credentials…pioneering environmental considerations, preservation of small industries, personal stories…

• Candles made by St Eval, in Cornwall, a company that can produce their own sustainable energy via wind, solar and biomass and are very close to carbon neutral in their production.

• Haws Watering Cans, Foxford Woollen Mill and Nutscene twine, each one preserving small factories that have been crafting the same thing using time-honoured techniques or machinery since their foundation a century ago or maintaining and industry

• Feldspar, Sue Pryke, Havelock Studio, individual designer-makers striving to perfect their craft, creating excellent product and building brands and businesses.

That’s it. Quite a lot to shout about actually!