From Painswick to Cheltenham: The Handmade Story Continues

When we opened Handmade In - Painswick in May 2021, we really weren't thinking very far ahead.  Our initial idea had emerged during a dog walk around Painswick in the eery months of Covid. In Painswick we were surrounded by an extraordinary number of talented artists and makers, many of whom had diminished opportunities to show or sell their work with the covid generated suspension of exhibitions, fairs and other outlets. We wondered if we could do something about that within our own community. So, we opened a pop-up shop in Painswick, intending it to last for just three months.  We brought together work from 23 local artists and makers in that first venture.  

We couldn’t then have predicted where we would be in five years’ time. Handmade In - Painswick now has a permanent home at The Old Fleece on Bisley Street and that original idea has taken root in ways we couldn't possibly have anticipated. Most recently, it has led us to Cheltenham and the opening of our second shop, Handmade in the UK, in the heart of The Suffolks. For us, Cheltenham doesn't feel like a new start, but much more of an evolution, still founded on the ideas and principles with which we began. 

We still have the same appetite for curating a store built on relationships with artists and makers.  Where the goods we stock are made individually by hand. We have also come to understand our customers and what brings them back to our shop again and again.  They want quality and originality, of course, but they also want to know about the things they buy. Who made this? Where was it made? What is it made from? How was it created? These conversations have become an important part of Handmade.

As the Painswick shop became established, we began to wonder whether the idea could travel.  Could we take what we had learned in our home village in the Cotswolds and create something where we could draw on a much wider community of artists and makers?  Handmade in the UK is our answer.

From local to national

Our new Cheltenham shop at 11 Great Norwood Street, Handmade in the UK allows us to seek out artists and artisans from across the UK. This gives us the opportunity to celebrate not only local creativity but to delve into the superb craftsmanship embedded in the cultural landscape of the UK, working with people whose livelihoods are founded on creativity and keeping traditional skills alive. The scale of our business may have changed but the principles on which it is based are the same.  

Our store is curated by us, we care about who made the items we stock, we want to understand the processes and materials behind the work, we want to build relationships that matter with the people we work with and to create a shop that is more than just shelves filled with products but is an emporium of imagination and discovery.

The Suffolks area of Cheltenham felt like the natural home for Handmade’s next chapter. Its distinctive independent character, shaped by interesting shops, galleries and restaurants attracts people from across the Cotswolds and beyond. Our Cheltenham store has not replaced or superseded Handmade In - Painswick; quite the opposite - without Painswick, there would be no Handmade in the UK.

Looking back and looking ahead

There is something very satisfying about looking back at our pop-up shop ,which had a predicted 3 month lifespan, to see how the idea has grown. Handmade in the UK feels like a new chapter of a story which began in Painswick five years ago.  For now, we will continue to build day by day following our instincts, building relationships, having conversations, learning and leaning into the extraordinary creativity of the people whose work fills our shops.

Our Handmade story has been written alongside the artists and makers who have trusted us with their work and the customers who have chosen to support them. The founding ideas remain very simple - beautiful things, made by real people - we think that's worth supporting.