Cloud 9 Studio Gallery in Dumfries has been named among the 100 small businesses in the UK to be celebrated by Small Business Saturday, the campaign that culminates in one big day for the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses on December 2nd.
The business will be among those featured one per day for the 100 days leading up to Small Business Saturday itself. As the 5th year of Small Business Saturday in the UK, these businesses will join a cohort of hundreds of businesses that have been celebrated by the iconic campaign since its launch in the UK in 2013.
Cloud 9 Studio Gallery is an artist led gallery, workshop, open studio and craft shop in the centre of Dumfries in Scotland run by artist Julie Hollis.
Julie told DGWGO Business News, “I’m a staunch supporter of shopping locally, sourcing my stockists from my immediate vicinity. 98% of my stock comes from Dumfries and Galloway.
I’m not on the High Street and it’s all too easy for initiatives to focus on High Street shops and regenerating those sectors of towns when, in reality, many of us simply can’t afford to be on the High Street. I want to show my fellow independents that they don’t need to compete with mainstream High Street stores to be deemed successful; being different is often what people want.”
Small Business Saturday is the UK’s most successful small business campaign and is this year celebrating its 5th birthday year. Last year saw £717m spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday, up 15% on the previous year. The campaign trended at number one in the UK on Twitter on the day with more than 130,000 campaign-related tweets being sent, reaching over 140 million people globally. Over 80% of local councils supported the campaign, meaning wherever you were on Small Business Saturday, there was something going on nearby.
“Small Business Saturday has gone from strength to strength in the five years since it launched in the UK. British businesses and customers have taken it to their hearts and now not only make a special effort once a year for Small Business Saturday, but appreciate the value small businesses bring to their communities year round,” explains Campaign Director Michelle Ovens.
“Small Business Saturday is open to everyone. Businesses on the high street or online, trading with other businesses or selling direct to consumers. It is open to every individual who can take this moment to support their local businesses, and it is open to public sector to both support and reflect on the huge value small businesses generate.”
Small Business Saturday, which is a grassroots, not-for-profit campaign, was originally founded by American Express in the U.S. in 2010 and it remains the principal supporter of the campaign in the UK, as part of its on-going commitment to encourage consumers to shop small. The campaign also benefits from the backing of leading business organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses and Enterprise Nation. The campaign is also supported by Facebook, Dropbox, Mercedes Benz Vans, Indeed, Vistaprint, and Lightspeed.
Logos and posters will be available to download from the website from mid September and can be displayed online or on premises. Businesses around the country can also upload information to the ‘My Small Business Finder’ on the website on what special events or promotional offers they will be running for Small Business Saturday.
More information on Small Business Saturday can also be found on the Small Business Saturday Facebook page and Twitter feed (@SmallBizSatUk).
Cloud 9 Application
- Cloud 9 Studio Gallery is an artist led gallery, workshop, open studio and craft shop in the centre of Dumfries in Scotland. As its owner I’m also the resident artist and the face people want to see when they come in. My name is Julie Hollis and I’m a staunch supporter of shopping locally, sourcing my stockists from my immediate vicinity. 98% of my stock comes from Dumfries and Galloway, 99% from southern Scotland. However Cloud 9 is not a High Street store and as such people need encouragement to find it. By offering community workshops as well as unique handcrafted goods, I try to entice people away from the security of shopping on the main street. The gallery has a reputation for not only quality, but also a friendly welcome.
- I believe that my business would benefit from being one of the hundred. As I’ve said, I’m not on the High Street and it’s all too easy for initiatives to focus on High Street shops and regenerating those sectors of towns when, in reality, many of us simply can’t afford to be on the High Street. I want to show my fellow independents that they don’t need to compete with mainstream High Street stores to be deemed successful; being different is often what people want. I want to inspire other small businesses to take the plunge and invest in towns. I also want to help raise the profile of the artists and makers who I support through my business. Their work is astonishing and as a self funded business I can’t always afford to advertise as widely as I would like. I hope that being one of the 100 will help to raise my profile and give me access to help, advice and benefit from the experience of others.
- I usually offer a discount on Small Business Saturday, or a deal for shoppers who buy something from me, but this year I’d like to show off the Cloud 9 welcome and invite shoppers to join me in some free taster workshops. With cuppas served in china cups and traditional shortbread on offer, I hope that my customers will enjoy trying some new skills as well as the Cloud 9 ambience. A series of short workshops will take place throughout the day and shoppers will have the chance to not only enjoy the crafts on offer, but also take something that they’ve created home with them. It’s a lovely way of inviting people in and sharing what I’ve built up.
- I bought Cloud 9 in 2009. It was a dilapidated building which had stood empty for twelve years. Over the next eighteen months my husband and I worked evenings and weekends, throughout Christmases and New Years, to breathe life back into the old Victorian sandstone shell. We did everything we could ourselves; from climbing on roofs to strip off slates and replace timbers to laying concrete floors and reboarding walls. I spent two weeks working in a cellar, filling buckets with rubble which my husband Grant winched up. It was hard graft, but in May 2011 I opened my art gallery! Since then I’ve gradually built the business up, reinvesting what profits I have made and barely taking a wage. I strengthened links with the community through offering non-threatening workshops. I approached talented artisans from around the region and now stock their work, some exclusively. I haven’t borrowed, I’ve had no grants. My business is what I’ve built it to be.
- I use local suppliers as much as possible for equipment, materials and stationary. I support artists and makers from the south of Scotland by selling their work, taking the least amount of commission from them (in comparison to other local outlets). As an artist myself, I know how difficult it is to make a living from art! I head up a local art trail which takes visitors from one gallery to another across Dumfries town centre. As one we can support each other, sending folk on to neighbouring venues. Cloud 9 is the hub for Dumfries Art Trail and I take on the production of the leaflet and events throughout the year. In addition to this Cloud 9 is also a Fairtrade supporter, using only Fairtrade or Forest Alliance products during workshops. Being an ethical business is very important to me.
