International Women's Day: Celebrating Female Founders
To celebrate International Women’s Day, we’re shining a spotlight on our favourite independent, female-founded brands and businesses that you need to know about.
"I started HUTCH London because I have always been a creative person and after university found that 9-5’s lacked in creativity for me. I have dabbled in everything from, surface pattern design to illustration and jewellery design- all of which I love and have never been able to just stay down one path, but I think that is what makes me unique.
Being able to take my hand to almost any creative endeavour is what brings me joy and after turning my illustrations and jewellery pieces into things that people can purchase, I’ve found that it has given others joy too.
Most of my work is inspired by what is around me, but I thrive of off florals the most."
SHOP: www.hutchlondon.com
INSTAGRAM: @HUTCHlondon
The softly flickering flame from the wicks we use creates a stunning scene, or even as great props for that aesthetically beautiful picture capture!
All this combined with a keen interest and personal experience of how the energy points reacts to key sensory elements, @1_ofseven was born.
The brand is ever evolving. Starting with jar candles, now a series of decorative torso candles based around inclusivity; there is so much more in store for 1 of Seven."
SHOP: www.1ofseven.co.uk
INSTAGRAM: @1_ofseven
"Lauren and I have always enjoyed cocktails together, from celebrating our hard won successes at work through to commiserating harder times. Every week before lockdown we would join the rest of our team at 'cocktail friday' where a different person would make their favourite drink, so it was only natural that we would consider starting a business that involves cocktails. During lockdown we'd call each other and talk about what cocktails we were trying to make and what ingredients we needed and we realised we knew so little about it and we wanted to know more!
We have partnered with a team of experts from the drinks and design worlds to bring the idea to life. Stir-Up is a unique membership where you get to try a different cocktail every month without the hassle of buying loads of bottles of spirits and specialist liquors. We bring the expertise of years of experience in cocktail to people's homes, taking them on a journey each month. We introduce a new drink every month, its origin, the playlist, whilst giving them expert tips, cheats and advice to twist the classic, for delicious drinks you want to share with friends and loved ones.
We want people to feel confident and enjoy making cocktails so that they can try out drinks and flavours they may never have tried or really perfect a classic they love. If you want to try out one drink then you can buy one box, or even better you can sign up for our three to six month membership."
SHOP: www.stir-up.com
INSTAGRAM: @stirupcocktails
Maya Magal is a small London based jewellery brand founded by Maya herself. After learning the ins and outs of jewellery in Hatton Garden, Maya opened up her own studio to hone her contemporary and minimalist style. Whether a pair of organic hoop earrings, a solid gold ring or a birthstone charm, every piece begins in Maya’s imagination. Our jewellery is skilfully made by hand by our jewellers in our London workshop and launched in small and limited runs.
“When designing a new silver or solid gold collection, I draw inspiration from the people surrounding me. Friends, loved ones, women I admire, or simply strangers passing by in the street. I ask myself what jewellery would fit into their busy lifestyles, and imagine what pieces would represent the connection between myself and the people I love. This initiates a truly creative and personal design process. I think I’ll never get used to the thrill of seeing my signature style - of mixed metals, off-centre stones and geometric lines - worn by the women I admire!”
SHOP: www.mayamagal.co.uk
INSTAGRAM: @mayamagaljewellery
"The Clean Dog Company was born out of sheer love for my dog, Pablo. He has been my muse and our rock during times of health woes, which really help offset the anxiety put upon us. Essentially, we had to strip out as many artificial ingredients and toxins from our life, which led us to look at ingredients of everything, including what we used on Pablo.
Having worked in beauty most of my career, we know how magical it is to find that product that just works for you, and we took it upon ourselves to be that voice for our dogs which trust us entirely to make good choices on their behalf, whilst celebrating the fun that dogs are… and The Clean Dog Company was born!"
SHOP: www.thecleandogcompany.com
INSTAGRAM: @thecleandogco
"The Kettle Shed was born out of my love for tea. I wanted to create something different; a range that not only tasted delicious but looked trendy, fun, and fits my own ethical values and personality. I started to blend teas in my own kitchen, then headed to the farmers markets in London to test them out on the real foodies. The range was then developed and The Kettle Shed was born.
We now sell throughout the UK, both Wholesale and Retail, in trendy cafes, restaurants, hotels, health food stores and even a West End barbers! All of our tea is uniquely blended by us and our Bang on Breakfast Tea won 2 stars at the Taste Awards, which makes us very proud as its such a competitive category. We have also won Stars for our Darjeeling Darling and Tutti Frutti blends, and recently won a Chamber award for business in Marketing.
We really do "Give A Cup!" which is why, every time someone buys a box of tea/fuso bags, we donate tea directly to homeless shelters across the UK. We're also delighted to be plastic free! We use sustainably sourced cardboard for all our packaging and our teabags are 100% biodegradable which means they are suitable for composting, which again fits right in with our environmental values."