IN Good Company
These are the people we know and love. We have worked with them, we trust them, we recommend them.
Earl of East
An eco-candle and lifestyle brand, with creativity and community at its core.
Earl of East is a lifestyle brand with creativity and community at its core.
Founders, Paul Firmin & Niko Dafkos began hand pouring scented candles from their East London home as a side hustle in 2015.
Their soy wax candles are vegan friendly and made sustainably in their East London studio. All of their candles are crafted using bespoke blends of the finest botanical fragrance and essential oils. They are made out of non-GMO eco wax and self-trimming cotton wicks, ensuring a clean burn and excellent throw.
Alongside candles, they have also launched an eco bathing range that includes scent, bath salts, essential oil blends and aromatherapy sprays.
Their business has four main pillars, of which we thoroughly resonate with: create, curate, collaborate and community.
They support independent brands and curate workshops and events that connect with the local community.
Some other good businesses.
Kingsley Walters Studio
London based designer and maker, specialising in leather goods, canvas bags and homeware.
Kingsley Walters is a London based designer and maker, specialising in leather goods, canvas bags and homeware.
Introduced to us via Mark Shayler and his Reasons to Be Cheerful talks.
Kingsley makes practical and durable pieces by hand, utilising traditional methods. Kinsley merges his Jamaican heritage with traditional British handcrafting techniques to produce thoughtful and unique items. His leather goods are hand-cut and stitched with beeswax coated thread. He uses locally sourced materials purchased in London and traceable to their source.
Some other good businesses.
Tor Workshop
Provenance led furniture and turned wooden vessels, bowls and platters, hand-crafted in Braemar, Scotland.
Provenance led furniture and turned wooden vessels, bowls and platters, hand-crafted in Braemar, Scotland.
Like most good businesses, Tor Workshop started as a sideline project of maker and designer, Tom Addy’s construction business (they were the construction managers on the Fife Arms renovation). At the end of 2020, Tom took the leap towards taking his passion project full-time. Tor Workshop creates traditional Highland Scottish furniture, unique and often bespoke, using locally sourced wood from the surrounding area of Braemar, Scotland.
To get in touch with Tom, follow the link below to contact him via Instagram.
Some other good businesses.
Workhouse England
British sartorial clothing manufactures who prize British fabrics, deadstock and heritage mills.
Workhouse England has been manufacturing sartorial British clothing for twenty years, but their designs and inspiration goes back over a hundred.
Using British cloth, deadstock and working with traditional British mills; Workhouse looks for materials with a story. They prize sustainability and work to build local supply chains. They take pride in their capabilities in-house, such as fabric dyeing, printing, and their pattern cutter who trained at Huntsman on Savile Row. Workhouse evokes authenticity that bridges the traditional and the contemporary through complete thoroughness.
They made our exceptional Workwear Jackets with the same care and precision they achieve with everything they do. We could not have found a more like-minded manufacturer to partner with.
Some other good businesses.
Huddersfield Screenprinting Co
Huddersfield Screenprinting Co is an independent design and screenprinting studio based in West Yorkshire.
Huddersfield Screenprinting Co is an independent design and screenprinting studio based in West Yorkshire.
They offer a bespoke printing service, specialising in hand screen-printed t-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, aprons, accessories, art prints and posters.
They expertly screen-printed the design on the Hawarden Estate Farm Shop uniform, which we L.O.V.E.
With backgrounds in fashion and graphic design and a passion for screenprinting, they originally started out by printing t-shirts in their garden shed. Several versions of home-made kit later, they now run a fully equipped screenprinting studio from the top floor of an old Victorian textile mill, with their small but talented team.
Some other good businesses.
Jeanette Orrell
Jeanette Orrel is an artist and indigo dying expert based in Wales.
Jeanette Orrell is an artist based in Wales whose work is inspired by the natural world and household objects. Jeanette received an Arts Council of Wales award in 2017, which allowed her to travel to Japan and learn techniques of katazome, shibori and indigo dyeing.
We worked with Jeanette on our workwear jackets, where she expertly dyed the natural organic cotton and hemp fabric with indigo.
You can purchase Jeanettes’ work including indigo dyed hankerchiefs, indigo tempera drawings, indigo dyed shibori wool scarfs via her website linked below.
Some other good businesses.
Global Bisque
Global Bisque produce bisqueware for the pottery industry and wholesale using sustainable materials and traditional techniques.
Based in Stoke-on-Trent, Global Bisque produce bisqueware for the pottery industry and wholesale.
Global Bisque is a family run business owned by Mark Garwood. Based in an 18th century building in Stoke-on-Trent, they use ancient, heavy cast iron equipment and traditional techniques to produce high quality ceramics. Their bisqueware can be produced into low-fire earthenware, high-fire earthenware, stoneware, porcelain and fine bone china.
Mark Garwood of Global Bisuqe is the craftsman behind our good mugs.
Some other good businesses.
Stamford Notebooks
Expert bookbinders using traditional techniques and sustainable materials.
Expert bookbinders using traditional techniques and sustainable materials.
Established in the 1950s by Peter Spiegl; Spiegl Press began as a commercial printing and book binding establishment. In 2010, Peter Spiegl’s son Hugo evolved the company into Stamford Notebooks; producing artisanal notebooks and journals crafted by hand, using centuries old techniques.
The company’s aims have always been to bind the best notebooks and journals, using the best handwriting paper, leathers and bookbinding cloths available, using British made, sustainable materials.
These are the makers of our Good Notebook.
Images: Stamford nOTEBOOKS
More good people.
Standard Practice
Standard Practice is a dynamic team of designers and makers who take a DIY approach to the built environment.
Based in Manchester, Standard Practice are a dynamic team of designers and makers who take a DIY approach to the built environment.
Founders, Ben Young, Joe Hartley and Jess Higham seek to actively involve the public as both participant and collaborator in the realisation of their work.
Major projects have included the creation of The Pilcrow, a pub within the NOMA development in Manchester that was built from scratch in partnership with the local community; and Plant, a workshop, gallery and ‘village hall’ space, open for use by the public in the centre of Manchester. Friends of The Good Life Experience, Standard Practice run workshops such as the 'Elevate Yourself’ yourself series, where guests made unique camping stools.
Some more good people.
Yarmouth Oilskins
Yarmouth Oilskins design and produce high quality workwear clothing in Britain, using traditional methods.
Yarmouth Oilskins design and produce high quality workwear clothing in Britain, using traditional methods.
Yarmouth Stores Ltd has designed and manufactured quality workwear garments to the highest standards in Great Yarmouth, Great Britain for over 100 years. Their traditional workwear garments, originally designed for practical use in the workplace, are being reimagined for the 21st century.
Today, they still create our collection in the same factory using traditional methods using many of their original patterns. Yarmouth Oilskins is made up of a team of 20 craftspeople, many of whom have been working with them for 25 years.
We love what Yarmouth Oilskins do. Like us, they have a focus on British craft.
Our sister businesses Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages and The Good Life Experience have partnered with Yarmouth Oilskins for several years.
Images: Yarmouth Oilskins + Department TwoSupport small businesses.
Billy Tannery
A micro tannery focused avoiding waste from the British food industry.
A small batch tannery with a growing range of goat leather goods, entirely made in Britain.
Jack is the founder of Billy Tannery. Having discovered that every goatskin left over from the British food industry was going to waste, Jack decided to do something about it. Today his micro tannery produces a growing range of leather goods.
Some good people for you to meet…
The Whittlings
Unique handmade tableware using traditional green wood working craft.
Unique handmade tableware using traditional green wood working craft.
The Whittlings was founded and is run by David White.
David eats, sleeps and breathes wood. He can either be found out roaming the hills and forestry of the Clywdian Range in North Wales or deep below the Snowdonia hills gathering oak from disused Slate mines. With his finds, David makes beautiful and practical tools, tableware and vessels with just the traditional whittling tools. And some imagination of course.
David filmed a whittling workshop for our sister business The Good Life At Home, and has run workshops at The Good Life Experience for several years. We love working with David.
Some good people for you to meet…
Nellie and Eve
Nellie and Eve is an independent dye business run by founder & maker Helen Hickman.
Plant dyed yarns and wool workshops by Nellie and Eve founder, Helen Hickman.
Helen is an expert with all things wool. With her material source visible from her kitchen window in the Carmarthenshire Hills, she is a true example of the homegrown and homemade craft movement.
Mindful of the environment, Nellie and Eve’s yarns are dyed in small batches and produced using natural ingredients and minimal waste.
Nellie and Eve have come to our festival The Good Life Experience for several years, running workshops in our Makers Row tent, which are always hugely popular.
Image: Heather BirnieSome good products for you to buy…
Alex Pole
British blacksmith, axe maker and bladesmith.
British blacksmith, axe maker and bladesmith.
Alex Pole has a lifelong passion for metal work. He trained originally as a jewellery maker, but has been working now as a blacksmith for 30 years. Using both traditional and modern techniques, and local or recycled materials wherever possible, Alex makes bespoke pieces for private clients or designers, as well as developing his own range, Forge Kitchenware. He also runs regular blacksmithing courses from The Forge in Somerset.
