#ShopSmall: For International Women's Day
- by Lianne Westwood
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You may have read a few other posts in my #shopsmall series, where I pick my favourite small, independent businesses around a theme. Since it's international women's day on Sunday and since I'm such a fan of the Buy Women Built platform I thought I'd do a women run small business special.
Now before we get started I'd like to flag a couple of brands stocked here at Albert & Moo that are women run brands. First up is Another Studio. They were one of the first brands we stocked and at the time were based just down the road from us in South London. Still Deptford based, not only are they woman founded, but they are a prediminatly female team and design amongst others the ever popular Plant Animals. Next up is Brie Harrison a (now local to us) Suffolk based illustrator who works with a small team producing nature inspired art prints, cards and homeware. Thirdly is Lisa Angel, also localish to us; they are based in Norwich. (And fun fact, Lianne's last role in employment was as the Head of Ecommerce at Sass & Belle, where Lisa Angel were a trade customer. They've since grown massively and now design their own range of products, but are still proudly run by Lisa.
But onto women run brands and businesses that we don't stock:
Some time between 2020 (Covid times) and deciding that I would try to buy as much as possible as ethically as possible (either pre-loved, indie or B Corp), I realised that spending more on things like cleaning products made me feel really good, not just because those brands were generally better for the planet but because they smelt amazing and were a genuine joy to use. And who doesn't want to make wash day better? My favourite of all the brands I tried was Clothes Doctor. The scents are stunning and there's a variety of different detergents for different clothes and materials. Yes, their products cost more than whatever's on offer at your local supermarket but boy, is it worth it.
If you're a 40-something woman like I am, you've no doubt heard of the benefits of taking collagen, and have found yourself bombarded with various adverts on social media, trying to convince you that their brand of collagen is the best. Well, I've tried a few and this is my favourite. They're more of a well being brand, so do lots of other supplements, and also collagen blends. They're also a B Corp, so get bonus points for that too.
One of my best interiors tips is to splash out on linen bedding to really up the luxe feel in your bedroom and you can't really do much better than Piglet In Bed bed linen. Home to very on trend stripes and checks but also fantastic quality, you really can't go wrong with their homeware products. They do fab pyjamas too.
I first discovered Beauty Kitchen a few years ago when I received some of their products as a birthday gift and throught they were wonderful. Natural beauty products that actually work. But then I discovered they were women run and they became a B Corp so my love for them grew.
I've mentioned elsewhere on this website that as well as being plant and inerior obsessed, I'm pretty obsessed with food too. When not sending out orders containing lovely things, I love to travel and find great places to eat. What I've really missed since moving out of London though, is a great takeaway. It's one of the few things Suffolk is lacking. But since we've moved we've got really good at finding substitutes for a great take away amd Holy Cow sauces might just be my favourite. They are super quick - you can knock up a curry in 15 minutes, but they taste like somebody has been cooking for hours for you. Yes, they really are that good.
These may be five of my favourite women run brands, but there are plenty more I love and I really can't urge you enough to check out the brands on the BWB website. You'll probably be pleasantly surpirsed to find loads of brands you already love on there.
