Meet Karen. Karen first laid eyes on Leanne in 2019. Leanne was wearing a fluorescent yellow high vis, steel toe cap boots and a bright pink hard hat. She was balls to the walls, marshalling crosstown traffic on a busy street. THAT, thought Karen, is the kind of person I can get down with. A fierce female who gets the job done! Together, they went on to set up the award winning All Is Good, Yorkshire. A delicatessen togged to the bricks with local goods; cheese, pies, antipasti, loose olives, homemade salads and seasonal soup. Get up and grind with barista coffee, hot chocolate & speciality teas. You’ll also find handmade cheesecakes, fine tarts & good looking buns. They hold down a cool selection of local gift ideas plus cards & household essentials. They also carry a whole bunch of modern, zero waste & refillable dry goods, gin & wines. Go for the Fill Refill cleaning, laundry, hair, hand & body care products – they’ve got good taste, see.
Right now All is Good is looking to raise £18k to help make refill and zero waste shopping even gooder for the people of Penistone, South Yorkshire. They’re looking to build the best refill shop in the North! To do that, they’re asking folks to pledge a donation, no matter how small. All pledges will be fully redeemable against future purchases, alongside rewards, discounts and goodies! Get to know more about their crowdfunding campaign here.
Meanwhile, we were real pleased to catch up with these go-getters for better, to find out how it all got started & to see what makes All Is Good, so good. It’s all gravy baby!
WHO ARE YOU?
Karen Close.
WHAT IS ALL IS GOOD?
Deli, refills, gifts & a coffee shop!
HOW DID YOU WIND UP DOING WHAT YOU DO?
I started my journey 18 years ago with an organic vegetarian cafe in Holmfirth, which I ran alongside a vegetable box scheme. Since then, I’ve owned and run a farm shop, managed a couple of local farm shops and finally arrived here at All is Good, which is a combination of all the things I’ve learned along the way.
WHY IS IT A COOL PLACE TO BE?
You can come in for a refill of wash up and leave with a sourdough loaf, a block of Yorkshire Blue, a refill bottle of gin, a handmade plantable card for auntie Nora, some beard oil for uncle Fred, a recycled handmade silver ring and a tea towel for the next door neighbour who fed your cat. We champion local makers and suppliers. Working together makes us stronger, whilst being mindful of our impact on the planet.
IF YOU WEREN’T RUNNING ALL IS GOOD, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?
I’d probably be working for another business banging the sustainability drum. It’s in my blood.
WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON?
We’re currently crowd funding to make our refill area bigger, better and more accessible. We want to be the best Refill shop in the North!
WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE TO REUSE?
I’ve always been mindful of my impact on the environment and over the years I’ve become increasingly more frustrated at the throw away mentality. I strongly believe people have been misled into thinking that if they put something into the recycling, it’s job done. I try to encourage people to reuse reuse reuse! It stops unneccesary production of packaging at source, rather than trying to deal (or fail to deal) with the problem after. We even encourage people to re-use their compostable take out salad pots here. Last year we had one customer that brought it back and refilled it nearly 100 times before they had to dispose of it!
WHAT DO YOU REFILL?
As well as most of the Fill Refill range, we also fill gin, oils, herbs and spices, coffee beans, dried goods, water & cider vinegar.
WHY FILL REFILL?
I chose Fill Refill initially ‘cos I knew that people would like the bottles and I was right! Everyone loves the design and they are happy & proud to have them on display. Also, they are excellent! They actually work, which keeps people coming back to refill!
COOLEST OTHER REFILLABLE?
GIN!
HARDEST THING TO FIND WITHOUT PACKAGING?
Cases of drinks. It drives me insane the amount of wrap they come in.
HOW DO YOU ESCAPE?
I plug into a podcast and take my Springer Spaniel, Cookie out running.
BEST MOMENT
Winning Sustainable Business of the Year, Barnsley!
A VALUABLE LESSON
Feedback is a gift. When I first started out as self employed, I thought I knew it all. I was wrong.
RECOMMEND SOMETHING
A dirty chai from All is Good. Best served with a piece of chewy biscuit & a toffee brownie.
WHO IS YOUR INSPIRATION?
My mum.
WHY?
She’s now in her late 70s and still runs an amazing business full time. I am so proud of her. She’s a dressmaker who is also big into zero waste. My mum taught me everything I know about never wasting anything. “Stand still and I’ll soup you” is her motto for life.
THINGS YOU COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT
My family. Coffee. My dog. My trainers.
LAST SONG YOU CHOSE TO LISTEN TO
Skinny Love, Bon Iver.
