We often get asked ‘What is Totally Locally about, what do you do?” Coincidentally we have had this sent through from a business in Leek, one of our Totally Locally towns and we thought it explained it quite well:
When I set British Boxers up in 2012 I didn’t think I’d be making boxer shorts quite as locally as I do but finding a factory in Leek and then an amazing packaging supplier in Burslem was like the icing on the cake for my product. British Boxers is a growing brand, we sell nightwear and underwear online and in many exclusive shops up and down the country so why do we support the Totally Locally movement? For two reasons. The first is purely about business. When you set up your own business it’s important to know that there’s someone round the corner who can help you with packaging, that there’s someone who understands marketing, that your mate from the pub is also an accountant. It’s about networking and looking for support whilst keeping those all important costs at rock bottom. You need advice and help and you’ll find that in your community.
The second reason is that it’s just a lovely thing to do. When you leave your fancy London buying job and set up your own business you do it for a reason. Don’t get me wrong we all dream of owning a fancy car and a holiday on the algarve but mainly when I set up British Boxers I just wanted to start living my life with my rules rather than being at the beck and call of my boss and so to put it simply, I wanted to have fun! I love chatting to everyone, I love helping people out and I love that they do that for me too. I love that Totally Locally is about working together scratching each other’s backs and what’s more I love doing the Sunday market in Leek too. It’s called “The Sunday Supplement” and it’s the first Sunday of every month – all the local makers and artists come together to sell their wares. I drop my prices and just chat to absolutely everybody about absolutely everything. I’m smiling from morning until evening selling my stuff *and* letting my customers know that its not just me that they are supporting or shopping with but my independent suppliers as well. You know what’s fabulous? It’s great for cash flow too.
Deb Price
MD British Boxers