We’d been picked for a pop-up pitch by Mary Portas and her wonderful team at Thrive Street – a curated market at Altogether Otherwise in NOMA, Manchester.
So, we packed up and left Blue Earth Summit, where we’d met a bunch of 1% For The Planet folks, had some cool conversations & kicked back with some charred Kobacha! Leaving Harriotte to take care of the stand, we pulled away from Woolwich Pier on the River Bus, rode a tube to Kings Cross & took a train to Northamptonshire.
It seemed fitting to be leaving the summit on a Clipper. Riding through the Thames barrier, London’s defence against a flood. While we don’t have the solution that’ll hold back a surge, we’ll keep making sure there’s a whole lot less plastic floating about on the surface.
Meanwhile, Chris was waiting outside the station, crates clinking in the back of the van. We zoomed on up to Manchester, in the rain, half the world away, ready for another leg on the never-ending Refill Revue.
And so we made it to Thrive Street. We sure were in good company. Everyone loves Mary Portas. Us included. She bangs the drum for better business and B Corp & together with her team they’ve built Thrive Street to showcase independents pushing purpose-led products to bring positivity, creativity & community back to the high street. It’s an idea we can get behind. Working with the coolest refill stores & rebel retailers around the UK is what we do. So, it felt good to be in a room with other designers, makers, roasters & retailers sharing stories from out on the road.
Mary chose us because, the way she sees it, we make
“the kind of products you want to keep out on display… thoughtful, responsible design that feels fresh and modern!”
She spoke about the importance of brilliant customer service, DETAILS, having fun & giving folks a reason to choose the things you make & do. I liked everything she said & the way it was said.
Most people who happened upon the event didn’t know too much about us. Many didn’t even realise they had a refill shop just around the corner. They definitely maybe hadn’t come looking to pick up refillable household essentials! So, we took the chance to introduce them to the range, explain the closed loop & point out the nearest stockists. Small conversations, bigger ripples. The kind that slowly shift habbits.
One of the highlights was meeting Plant Shop Manchester, one of the original Fill stockists, in real life. Somehow they were even cooler than we already knew they’d be. If you’re local, keep an eye on their next chapter over at Red Bull Hillgate. Good things are growing there!
Folks sure do dig music in Manchester and they have all the record shops to show for it, so it followed that we homed a lot of Beatdrops refillable record cleaner over the weekend. I even found myself a half hour to go digging too, picking out a couple of time-worn Rolling Thunder Revue bootlegs from Bob’s all star 1975 tour. Support independent record stores!
Thrive Street wasn’t a one-off weekend market in Manchester. It was a reminder to keep on supporting brilliant, independent & local businesses. The folks who bring creativity, connection & soul to the places where we live. It was cool that Fill got chosen to be a part of it.
EPILOGUE
Shortly after Thrive Street, Mary sent me a wonderful note. It was written with kindness, care and class. I’m adding my favourite part here. Like she says… DETAILS.
Thank you Mary!
