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In conversation with artisan perfumery 4160 Tuesdays
Published 15 July 20214160 Tuesdays is a London-based artisan perfumery that creates perfumes and home fragrances along with running courses to teach people how to make and improve their own scents. Sarah McCartney set up 4160 Tuesdays in 2012 . They create small batches of interesting scents inspired by people, places or moments. If you’re willing to step […]
Sustainable furniture maker Par Avion Instagram takeover
Published 13 July 2021Par-avion co. is a Norfolk-based design partnership run by Simon and Monica Cass that creates timeless pieces of sustainable furniture and homeware. In keeping with their furniture making and architecture background, all their products incorporate a strong design aesthetic along with combining traditional Japanese and British craft skills with modern styling. They took over our […]
In conversation with sustainable fashion designer Rose Fulbright-Vickers
Published 29 June 2021Rose Fulbright-Vickers is the founder of sustainable fashion brand Rose Fulbright. This is a British lifestyle brand which creates collections of luxurious loungewear and resort-wear garments along with a selection of accessories. Rose incorporates her education at Parsons School in Paris and London College of Fashion in London with her interest in art. She starts […]
In conversation with interior designer Oliver Heath
Published 16 June 2021Oliver is Founder of Oliver Heath Design Ltd, an architectural and interior design practicefocussed on delivering health & wellbeing in the built environment through evidence-basedhuman centred design. Oliver’s work stimulates the adoption of happier, healthier places to liveand work through his projects as designer, writer, and TV presenter. Since 1998 he has presented on numerous […]
In conversation with art and furniture makers Nafisi Studio
Published 2 June 2021Nafisi Studio is a British luxury bespoke art furniture and sculpture studio in Horsham run by an innovative husband and wife team. All pieces are handmade, incorporating progressive concepts with heritage craftsmanship. Kate and Abdollah became inspired to be artists who work together in their studio, combining concepts between furniture and art while exploring innovative […]
In conversation with Glasgow lifestyle store, Hoos
Published 19 May 2021Hoos is a design and lifestyle store located in Glasgow’s West End. Pop in to discover a unique curation of goods from iconic Nordic design houses to handmade, Scottish wares, as well as beautiful things from across the UK. They love simple and functional design that stands the test of time, so each product that […]
Can advertising stop climate change?
Published 19 April 2021Can advertising and marketing campaigns focused on sustainable and ethical business be used to promote sustainability and the vision of a thriving planet? Ads are an excellent way to target specific niches. Used effectively, they can spread awareness of an issue, raise brand visibility or sell a product or a service. According to Statista, the […]
What does Positive Shopping mean for conscious consumers?
Published 31 March 2021As shopping habits move from the real to the virtual world, small businesses in the UK and Ireland must adopt more sustainable practices. This includes introducing the idea of positive shopping to the conscious consumer. The changing face of the high street The most recent hit to the high street is the announcement of 8 […]
Starting a sustainable business, balancing gender roles and thriving
Published 8 March 2021As our CEO Jane Langley recently said at the What’s Next Summit, “Building a business doesn’t happen like magic. It took us 6 years after our launch in 2014 to re-work our business model.” For Blue Patch, this meant that we spent our pandemic months in 2020 redeveloping our website and business model to re-launch […]
How to persuade people to shop sustainably
Published 5 March 2021What motivates eco-friendly, ethical or sustainable choices in everyday living? New research suggests that the memory of the pride that followed on from an environmentally friendly decision or a conscious choice is likely to be a far better motivator than guilt while making future green choices. For example, consumers were more likely to buy an […]
Are circular economy models feasible for mainstream?
Published 19 February 2021A recently published article by The BBC titled ‘Clothes should float in and out of our lives‘ queries whether a mainstream move to circular economy models of business would aid in recovering from the pandemic. Will circular models ever become mainstream? “Yes, absolutely!” is our optimistic answer. In the recent past, sustainable and ethical models […]
Feature by Pebble Magazine
Published 16 February 2021Pebble Magazine has written such a lovely feature on the relaunch of our directory for sustainable British and Irish brands. Thank you! “Our worlds have just become much smaller. With shop closures and restrictions, we’ve had to become more creative in the way we shop, and with more time we are scrutinising practices, and there […]
Unexpected gifts for an unexpected year
Published 3 February 2021When it comes to Valentine’s Day, or any occasion really, I much prefer unexpected gifts. There’s something intrinsically enticing about an unexpected gift. Butterflies of anticipation dancing through curious fingers. A flickering trail of desire urging you to discover what lies within. Then that tiny frisson of delight sparked by an elusive something that you […]
Now introducing Blue Patch 2.0
Published 26 January 2021We’ve got exciting news. For several months now we’ve been working on a complete revamp of the Blue Patch website. Finally, we’re excited to introduce you to the new and improved Blue Patch, a directory connecting sustainable makers and service providers across the UK and Ireland. It’s been a challenging season. Business owners, you’ll understand […]
Gift ideas for Christmas
Published 5 December 2020Sometimes the holiday season goes by so fast that if you blink you might miss it. Food, family and gifts – done and dusted. In the UK, things are a little hazier. The holidays seem like a personal choice that work around school holidays, work schedules, the switching on of the lights on Oxford Street […]
Blue Patch Awards: Winners
Published 25 November 2020This year the Blue Patch Sustainable Business Awards consisted of 8 categories open for application to businesses from the UK and Ireland. The awards celebrate the achievements of small businesses, social enterprises and not-for-profits working in the fields of sustainability, social and environmental impact and the circular economy. Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2020 […]
Manchester Art Gallery hosts the Blue Patch Eco-shop
Published 23 November 2020If you are looking to do a spot of sustainable UK shopping, a new collaborative partnership between Manchester’s historic Art Gallery and Blue Patch, a national social enterprise, is enabling sustainable local brands to sell products through the museum’s online shop. The Positive Shopping campaign is providing essential support during the pandemic both for UK […]
There and back again: 2009 to 2021
Published 5 November 2020How to found a business on holiday! The year was 2009, when on a sunny summer’s day in Canada Jane Langley decided to found a new business. Hold on a sec. Canada? Blue Patch is all about sustainable British and Irish brands. Why Canada? Well, gentle reader, a nice holiday can do wonders for the […]
Blue Patch Awards 2020: Finalists
Published 21 September 2020Here are our finalists for the Blue Patch Awards 2020. This year there were 8 categories to win (including the People’s Prize – now live for voting HERE), which celebrate the achievements of small businesses, social enterprises and not-for-profits working in the fields of sustainability, social and environmental impact and the circular economy. Without further ado, here are […]
Blue Patch Awards: People’s Prize 2020
Published 20 September 2020It’s time to vote for the last category of the Blue Patch Sustainable Business Awards – The People’s Prize 2020 #BPatchAward. There are 21 awesome businesses who have put themselves forward for this award. Take a look at the list below. Some of them have little YouTube videos attached which you can view when you […]
Our big news: Blue Patch 2.0
Published 6 August 2020Last year, in September, we celebrated the 5th anniversary of our launch. In business years (and dog years), 5 years is significant. We’ve had some great successes and also have had to navigate some huge learning curves along the way. Our goal has always been to be a platform where British sustainable businesses can come […]
Meet the Judges! Blue Patch Sustainable Business Awards 2020
Published 7 July 2020At the start of 2019 there were 5.82 million small businesses in the UK (with 0 to 49 employees). SMEs accounted for 99.9% of the business population (5.9 million businesses), three-fifths of employment and around half of the turnover in the private sector. UK Small Business Statistics, FSB. Despite these encouraging numbers, 2020 has been […]
