5 Brighton Businesses to Support Post COVID-19

5 Businesses in Brighton You MUST Support Post COVID-19

Now that life is beginning to get back to normal and restaurants, bars, and shops are slowly re-opening their doors, it’s now more important than ever to support the local businesses that supported us. Being based in Brighton means we are surrounded by amazing businesses who look after the community, so we wanted to show you a few that we’re proud to support.

1. Lucy and Yak

Lucy and Yak are an independent feminist fashion brand with a local store in Brighton. During lockdown, they took a break from fashion and started making scrubs for NHS Nurses, helping combat the PPE shortage.

To say thank you, give them a follow, or have a look at their online store to brighten up your day. If you’re passing by their store once we’ve returned to normal, make sure to stop in and say thank you!

Visit their website here, or find them on Instagram here.

2. Curry Leaf Cafe

You might know the Curry Leaf Cafe for their wonderful South Indian street food - but did you know you can have it delivered straight to your door as a ready meal?

There’s no minimum order, and free delivery to help those sheltering! Just make sure you check the delivery slots, as they deliver to the same area all at once to keep their service low on Carbon emissions.

Visit their website here.

3. Lindsay’s Animal School

Keeping the kids entertained isn’t easy, and that’s without lockdown. Lindsay usually runs an After School Club for children where they can interact and learn about the animals she keeps, as well as visiting Care Homes and offering Animal Experience days in schools.

Since lockdown, she’s started running Animal Art Classes online, so you can keep the kids entertained and educated in a unique way! Be sure to stop by and say thank you once she’s able to reopen, and book an online session for the family.

Visit her website here.

4. Painting Pottery Cafe

Painting Pottery Cafe normally runs fun, in person pottery classes that range from Kids Parties to Hen Parties to Team Building exercises. Since lockdown, they’ve started providing At Home Pottery Kits!

If you’re looking for a sheltering hobby to do with your partner or family, Painting Pottery Cafe might have just what you’re looking for.

Visit their website here.

5. Brighton and Hove Food Partnership

Brighton and Hove Food Partnership have been running a Crowdfunding campaign to get food parcels and pre-prepared meals to those who are vulnerable or self-isolating, ensuring our community is that much safer.

Help protect those who need it most by supporting their Crowdfunding campaign, or go to their website to see what other projects they’re running right now.

You can find their Crowdfunding here, or go straight to their website here.

We hope this has helped you think of a few different places to support once we’re back to normal, or while you’re stuck at home. Brighton is full of amazing independent businesses and we love supporting them wherever we can, especially when they do so much to support our community! Do you know any other local businesses that deserve a shout out? Let us know, tell your friends - let’s support our local economy together!

October - Ruby Moon

CELEBRATING INDIVIDUALS, COMPANIES AND PROJECTS PROMOTING POSITIVE CHANGE EACH MONTH!

RubyMoon is the world’s only not-for-profit swim and activewear brand that positively impacts the social and environmental state of our planet.

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOU

Jo Godden is a lingerie and swimwear specialist, mother and activist. After 25 years working in the unsustainable Fashion Industry, Jo decided to be part of the solution and founded RubyMoon Design CIC. RubyMoon is the world’s only not-for-profit swim and activewear brand that positively impacts the social and environmental state of our planet, whilst investing in women entrepreneurs.

WHAT AMAZING WORK YOU ARE DOING OR INVOLVED IN FOR POSITIVE CHANGE?

Designed according to slow fashion principles, all the RubyMoon active wear is versatile, affordable and easily combined with each other. The prints are exclusive, created and kindly donated by Sarah Arnett, a local decorative artist. Garments are durable, super comfortable, soft, smooth, fully opaque, chlorine and salt water resistant, with long term shape retention and UPF 50+ Protection, PETA-Approved Vegan and Oeko-Tex certified. RubyMoon has certified it’s product to use 42% less carbon emissions when compared with similar products. With a transparent supply chain, manufactured ethically and safely in the UK & Spain, the distribution is managed by bagsofsupport.co.uk a charity employing working mothers.

The RubyMoon collection includes leggings, crop tops, sports bras and swimwear: and each piece can be used for yoga, watersports, zumba, the gym and of course, in the pool.

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOURSELF IN 5 YEARS?

Jo is currently developing a range of sustainable accessories to compliment the clothing, including locally sourced circular economy eyewear, flip flops and snorkeling fins- and she hopes that RubyMoon will be the destination of choice for the conscious consumer looking for sustainable choices.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

If you’re interested in what products RubyMoon are creating next and ways they are helping to create a more sustainable planet, follow them on their social channels.

Website: www.rubymoon.org.uk
Twitter: @rubymoonswim
Facebook: @rubymoon.org.uk
Instagram: @rubymoonswim

Get yourself featured as our next ‘Bloomer Of The Month’. Tell us about your project or business achieving amazing things in the Brighton/Sussex area.

June - The Good Business Club

Celebrating individuals, companies and projects promoting positive change each month!

Ruth Anslow and Sara Osterholzer creating a network of change-makers and expert supporters in Brighton.

Tell us a bit about you!

Ruth Anslow (co-founder of HISBE, ethical supermarket) and Sara Ruth (business coach), really care about you and your business and support their members by understanding their current challenges and offering tailored support based on their needs – whatever they may be. They keep members informed about opportunities, events and secure exclusive offers to help them move their businesses forward. They connect members up to the right people in the network and give entrepreneurs access to business experts in a range of areas. They are there when you need someone to confined in and there when you need someone to shout out about what you’re doing.

What amazing work you are doing or involved in for positive change?

The team of GBC business coaches Pop Up across the city every week to help entrepreneurs get unstuck so that they can do more good work and grow their impact in our city. Join one of their unique Group Problem Solving Sessions that take place every other week to get a taste of what they can do for you.

The Good Business Club only launched in January 2019 and have over 100 members in the network already. In this time, they have moved at least 80 of their members forward through bespoke coaching, advice or connections to the right people.

If you are starting up or are running a business that is doing good in your community or for the environment, Join The Club to get personalised support from their friendly team of business coaches and expert supporters in the network.

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

The GBC team are ambitious and supporting entrepreneurs is the tip of the iceberg. Once they have a network of connected and supported businesses they have plans to campaign to make it easier for the general public to ‘Shop for Good’ and are also looking to create the right infrastructure and bring resources to the city to create an ecosystem where ‘Business for Good’ can flourish.

Social Media Links:

If you’re also interested in what business can do to positively impact out city, follow them on their social channels to hear about the great work they and their members are doing in the city.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheGoodBizClub
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGoodBizClub/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegoodbizclub/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-good-business-club/

You can also sign up to their monthly bulletin – a snapshot of what’s going on in the sector locally.

April - Mid Sussex Wood Recycling

Celebrating individuals, companies and projects promoting positive change each month!

I’m David Treadwell Founder of Mid Sussex Wood Recycling

Tell us a bit about you!

I set up Mid Sussex Wood Recycling in 2007, having left a 'proper job' with IBM in 2006.. I had volunteered with the Brighton Wood Store since arriving in Brighton in 2002 and the lure of setting up another project was irresistible.  My motivation was looking at skips of perfectly good construction timber being sent to landfill and the opportunity to turn this 'waste' into a resource.

What amazing work you are doing or involved in for positive change?

We are a Social Enterprise that looks to employ people that have been marginalised in Society. 12 years on and we are still turning waste into a resource. In 2018 we recycled or reused over 1500 tonnes of timber

We work with all the major house builders in the region, helping them to reduce waste and create a positive social impact. We work with Gatwick Airport and their subcontractors in an educational and practical manner.

We work with Pericles, http://www.pericles.org.uk/  which is a charity that provides training and work experience for adults with learning difficulties. We accommodate 12 of their volunteers on a variety of wood related activities at our barn.

In 2019 we are looking to set up a Community Laundry for the Charity Care and Hospice sector, which will provide a reduced cost laundry service and allow these organisations to have more funds for providing care. We also donate timber for local community and school projects.

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

In the next 5 year we would love to see our Community Laundry expanding to take on more customers in the Care sector, providing extra employment for disadvantaged adults.

Our next project will be to create a growing space for fruit and vegetables in an organic environment, providing local employment and supplying local food markets.

Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.midsussexwoodrecycling.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mid_sussex_wood_recycling/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/midsussexwrp

Get yourself featured as our next ‘Bloomer Of The Month’. Tell us about your project or business achieving amazing things in the Brighton/Sussex area.

March - Clare Talks Rubbish

Celebrating individuals, companies and projects promoting positive change each month!

I’m Clare Osborn, the founder of the platform ClareTalksRubbish.

Tell us a bit about you!

I founded the platform Clare Talks Rubbish to share stories about the amazing eco heroes I have met and to create a destination to support others who want to live a life that is not rubbish.

I am a qualified mindset coach, NLP practitioner, motivational speaker and marine debris expert. I provide coaching for living a fulfilled life, reducing your impact on the environment and I deliver keynote talks on career change, marine debris solutions and facilitate workshops for groups, businesses and events to help you to rid the physical waste and metaphorical waste out of your business, life or brand.

What amazing work you are doing or involved in for positive change?

I quit a successful legal career two years ago to follow my passion for the ocean and wellbeing. I have since paddled both the width of Britain and the Length of Wales fishing rubbish out of our waterways to raise awareness about plastic pollution.

I have just finished a project with the National Sea Scout Leaders to give them the tools to mobilise young paddlers across the country to paddle cleanup and take the message about sustainable solutions into their communities on and off the water. I am now working on a similar project with British Canoeing, and work with schools, businesses and individuals to reduce plastic.

This year I plan to take on my biggest challenge yet, to paddle the whole Welsh Coast, remote beach cleaning along the way.

In April I am launching my Talk Rubbish Podcast showcasing solutions via adventures and life stories. This will start with a series of interviews of the Oceans 8 Brighton women and their various local projects. I have already recorded a couple of episodes and am super excited about the lineup of inspiring activists, adventurers and doers.

All too often the people who have true passion to help our planet get overlooked, so I want to tell their stories, some of these people have been working on plastics for 20 years! They have struggled and overcome so many hurdles along the way so it is great to finally have attention on their projects, but for me the stories behind the projects are just as fascinating.

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

I have changed my life around to live outside the box and I am so much happier for it. I want to help others with the lessons and skills I have learnt and want to encourage people to have a better life balance and get outside into nature more. With that in mind, I am hoping to grow my platform to include toolkits for sustainability, coaching for life balance and adventure.

I am aiming to eventually run wellness retreats with some of the amazing adventurers, yoga teachers and coaches I have met along my journey. I also hope to grow my podcast to get inspiring stories out there about people who are following their bliss and finding doors that open where they didn’t know doors existed.

How can people get involved?

I would love for people to get involved. I am looking for a marketing/ social media intern to help me with the podcast and my platform in general. I am looking for sponsors and partners for the podcast and the kayak expedition and can provide a platform for companies to align their brand with sustainable solutions.

The next event that people can get involved with is the next PaddlePickup Expedition. We will be cleaning remote beaches in the Summer Isles in Scotland and any level of paddler can join us.  I cant wait, it’s going to be the best one yet! Details are here.

Social Media Links:

Website: https://claretalksrubbish.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clareosborn/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClareTalks

Get yourself featured as our next ‘Bloomer Of The Month’. Tell us about your project or business achieving amazing things in the Brighton/Sussex area.

February - Social Brighton

Celebrating individuals, companies and projects promoting positive change each month!

I’m Kerry Watkins, MD of Social Brighton.

Tell us a bit about you!

I founded Social Brighton back in 2010 because I wanted to help businesses develop the skills they needed to use social media effectively to grow their business.

I got into social media by accident really, I was an operations manager in the bar and nightclub sector when social media really took off and immediately saw an opportunity for a more impactful and two-way approach to marketing with our target audience.

I developed a marketing strategy that was built on using social to communicate with our customers and wider audience whilst reducing our print costs and environmental impact at the same time. Over that year, we managed to save tens of thousands and massively reduce our print and waste.

Since 2010 I’ve grown the business and we deliver training and consultancy as well as more hands on support, specialising in social media strategy development and Facebook & Instagram advertising.

I love the variety of clients we work with; one moment we’re creating content for high street retailers and then, I’ll be working on a strategy for a social impact project in Africa. There’s a unique way every organisation can leverage social media and I love working with them to identify and develop that unique approach.

What amazing work you are doing or involved in for positive change?

I have a great team at Social Brighton and we are all very passionate about what we do. We’re currently managing a couple of social media projects in developing countries; one is about challenging social norms around gender equality to improve the lives of women, and the other is improving knowledge around health and hygiene for new mums in poor areas.

I’m also working with Safe & The City, a new app. The aim is to create a world in which everyone can feel safe. Through crowdsourcing user & crime data, our mission is to help them shape smarter, safer streets, communities & cities. We started working with Jillian Kowalchuk, the inspirational founder, last year to develop a social media framework and hope to support them growing the app beyond London.

We also recently partnered with a charity called CALM (The Campaign Against Living Miserably) and are donating 10% of our training course profits to them this Jan & Feb. The team and I are also running the Brighton Half Marathon on Feb 24th to raise money for them.

We are really close to our £500 target and if anyone would like to help us support CALM you can donate here or come along to one of our training courses. Or you can turn up to Brighton seafront on the 24th and clap loudly as we run/struggle past!

It was also great to start working with the London Waste & Recycling Board this month - a brilliant team committed to reinvigorating recycling, accelerating the circular economy and helping London become a zero carbon city. I do feel very lucky to be doing what I love for a living and also supporting organisations such as these to create a positive impact.

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

In 5 years I would love to be working with more organisations who are committed to creating a positive social impact. Despite the negativity that sometimes surrounds social networking, I believe that there are ways we can use social media to improve knowledge and change attitudes and positively impact people around the world.

Social Media Links:

Website: https://socialbrighton.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-watkins/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialbrighton/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/social_brighton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/socialbrightontraining/

Get yourself featured as our next ‘Bloomer Of The Month’. Tell us about your project or business achieving amazing things in the Brighton/Sussex area.