50 of the best independent design shops in the UK

Supporting independent shops and the makers and craftspeople who supply them is something we feel strongly about at H&G – these are 50 of the best across the UK, according to our team and your suggestions

Aarven in Margate

Joe Lang

One of these was designer Jessica Buckley’s little interiors shop which she has run in Edinburgh for the past eight years. ‘Business is small, but steady,’ she explains. ‘And not without its challenges. The majority of our sales are online and many of our customers are from abroad.’ Why should you make a beeline there? ‘I personally select everything so that all the items we have for sale are items I would happily have in my own home,’ she says.

Small shop owners are often really great at connecting and collaborating with local makers too, so they can be a fantastic place to discover the unusual or the one-off. That’s one reason I love Berdoulat, Patrick and Neri Williams' shop in Bath. It’s only four or five years old but already feels like an institution. ‘Most of what's sold here is unique to our shop,’ Patrick explains. ‘Not only that, but by authoring the pieces ourselves, and working with the makers to produce them, we gain an intimate understanding of the process involved in their manufacture’. They recently restocked their popular confit pots, made just five miles away. ‘And they were still warm from the kiln when we placed them on the shelves.’

Jessica Buckley in Edinburgh

© ZAC and ZAC

This list also has some brand new shops, including Pascale, in Norwich. Pascale’s previous pop up shop was in Woodbridge, Suffolk and she only opened her new permanent space in a long derelict shop just a handful of weeks ago. ‘It’s been very positive so far,’ she says. ‘People are grateful to see such a beautiful building refurbished and back in use. It’s been great meeting customers who are like minded and care about beautiful, well made products of integrity.’

Early in December, we'll be announcing the winners of seven awards, chosen from this list. We'll name an Independent Shop of the Year, plus awards for social impact, lifetime achievement and more. What we need your help with is our ‘Readers’ Choice' award. You have until the end of November to nominate your favourite from our list of 50 to win this award – please read through the list and then click into the form below to make your choice.


Meet the winners of our first ever Independent Shop Awards


50 of the best independent design shops in the UK