This will be our final ‘Meet the Traders’ blog this year and we are focussing on some traders who are based in Harrogate. The full list of the traders who would have been with us can be found here.
We’ve enjoyed browsing through all the socials and seeing not only what our Traders have been up to, but we’ve also been able to let locals know what is going on in the Town. The takeaway offerings during lockdown have been phenomenal – fine dining in your own home – we are so lucky in Harrogate to be surrounded by great restaurants who switched to providing click and collect or delivery service, and some still are doing so! (Check out our shares on social media to find out more.)
We also have a very Naughty Elf causing mischief around the town – read to the end to find out more!
Here are three traders we would like to introduce to you this week:
Harrogate Tipple have been at the Harrogate Christmas Market for a few years and their variety of Gins and Rum are always popular, as is ‘Donnie the Otter’ who appears on their products. During the first lockdown they quickly realised that Hand Sanitiser had become a scarce commodity, so quickly figured out a way to manufacture an 80% alcohol hand sanitiser that meets World Health Organisation standards – and also features ‘Donnie the Otter’ on the bottle! Read more about “From Gin to Hand Sanitiser” on their website.
Based in the village of Ripley, just outside Harrogate, a click and collect, drive-in market was also created during Lockdown, which not only helped residents collect non-contact grocery shopping, it also supported many local businesses whose products they sold in the pop-up market, who weren’t able to trade at this time.
We see this a lot in Harrogate – local independents working together to support each other and provide something unique for residents – and it is heart-warming.
A relatively recent business start-up, Doe Bakehouse, came to the Harrogate Christmas Market for the first time last year, not long after they opened their small Donut shop and café on Bower Street in the centre of Harrogate. We have loved following their story on social media and seeing their wonderful donut and rocky road creations has made our mouth water regularly!! (Christmas Sky Donuts pictured right). By the time we started promoting traders again in September, we noticed they had now opened a second shop in the centre of York, that regularly had long queues outside.
They have risen to the challenge of having to close their shop doors during lockdown by offering click and collect, not only at the shops, but also in random car parks right across Yorkshire it seems!
Doe Bakehouse have some wonderful Christmas Boxes you can order as well as Donut Cakes and Donut Letters to spell out a message for your loved one. Many of their products are available by post and with a small team, we have been amazed how they have kept up with the incredible demand and find ways to not only keep regular customers happy, but widen their reach to new customers who previously could only drool at their donuts on Instagram!
Last, but not least, on to Horticap who are based on Otley Road on the west side of Harrogate where they run a fabulous garden centre where adults with learning difficulties or disabilities are trained in horticulture, allied crafts and rural skills, which supports them getting into the workplace.
Although they haven’t traded at the market for a few years, they help us transport the black ground cover each year which protects the grass around the market stalls. Due to the current restrictions none of their students were allowed on their site during the lockdown, but the team did create a plant delivery service which proved to be a great success. They are currently offering door to door delivery of great quality Christmas trees for those who aren’t able to make it out to the garden centre. As you can see from the photo to the left – these trees are treated with great loving care and attention!
During lockdown they were able to finish the construction of a new Gift Shop and Tea Room. Although the Tea Room is not yet open, the Gift Shop is, along with the adjoining garden centre, so there is plenty to browse – do drop in to see them when you can, you will be made very welcome.
To add to the Christmas spirit in Harrogate, Harrogate BID have introduced the Adventures of the Naughty Elf to Harrogate. Up until Christmas the 12 foot high Harrogate Elf will turn up at nine different venues, causing mischief wherever he goes! He started off tangled in Christmas lights on the first floor balcony of The Yorkshire Hotel – luckily he was rescued by the Fire Brigade! He has since been spotted at Cafe M in the Victoria Shopping Centre, sat on a bench outside Slingsbys Gin in the Montpellier Quarter sipping ‘cordial’, and on Monday morning we were shocked to see he had taken up residence inside the world-famous Bettys Tearooms and was sat at one of the coveted window tables. We can’t wait to see where he will turn up next!!
Visit the Harrogate BID website to download a location map and colouring in activities. There are also links to lots of other wonderful things to discover about Harrogate this Christmas, including the Harrogate Gift Card, which can be redeemed at over 100 local businesses across Harrogate. What more could you wish for for Christmas?!