Page 21 - May #172

The Village, London, UK

London, UK London, UK
London, UK

afternoon teas, cakes and biscuits which are all made with the most the near future it will be launched with select partners globally and is a
exquisite ingredients. Meanwhile the Village Hall offers people a place to project which aims to keep reducing single use plastic in supermarkets
be super creative, changing concept every six to eight weeks. To date it and encourage greater reuse.
has been a hairdresser, nail salon, Christmas grotto, dry off licence and “In all our future projects, we will keep using our platform to drive
currently it is a doggie butchers to celebrate the brands first collection education and discussion around sustainability always paying heed to
for dogs and their owners. The Labelled Store is a homage to Anya’s the mantra ‘progress, not perfection’ when talking about this subject,”
love of organisation and personalisation and The Plastic Store is a space says Hindmarch.
that showcases their work, and the work of others, in the spaces of On the topic of social media and digital mediums, Anya explains that
sustainability, reuse and circularity. she loves having a direct relationship with the community and embraces
“Finally we have the Bespoke store which is our original store. It is a the opportunities digital and social offers to really get to know their
very special place for me, and somewhere you can get something made people and she feels it is this mix of digital elements, along with the
with your name on, not mine. These are special gifts that mark moments brick-and-mortar presence of the brand that will be key to their future
in time and are intended to last for generations,” Hindmarch explains. retail strategy.
As she looks ahead to the next couple of years, Anya explains that “We have a clear and well-defined purpose and reason for being –
the recently launched Return To Nature initiative, which is a collection craftsmanship, personalisation and a touch of humour. It is these three
that can be composted at the end of life and actually benefit soil health pillars, combined with our commitment to making products responsibly,
that moves the conversation on from reduction and reuse to trying to keeps us focused, drives us forward and inspires us,” says Hindmarch.
mimic natures circularity, will be a core part of their collection going “It has been a long journey to get where we are, and one with plenty of
forward and they want to use it as an education platform to share across challenges along the way. The greatest challenge is probably to continue
the world. to navigate the business through an uncertain future for retail and what
Also in the pipeline is the expansion of their Universal Bag, which we cannot yet see. But this is also the greatest joy and why I love doing
has launched in the UK already with Sainsbury’s and Waitrose and in what I do, we can be nimble and responsive and enjoy the journey.”

Lee Garden One
Hong Kong, China