A couple is preparing to open a new ethical gift and homeware shop filled with unique, handmade products from Bali. Fat Giraffe Gifts’ new Clifton shop on Boyce Avenue will be the company’s second site after seeing success in Bath.
The business first launched online in 2020 and moved to its first brick-and-mortar site in April 2021 after the UK’s lockdown regulations eased. Owners Josh and Sarah Bevan, who live in Redland, have battled through the challenges that small businesses faced during the pandemic but thrived after travel restrictions were lifted and Bath saw more increased footfall.
Fat Giraffe Gifts was born out of Josh’s travels to Bali in Indonesia, where he lived from 2017 for three years, returning to the UK when the coronavirus began to spread in March 2020. While living in the town of Ubud, Josh was inspired by the skilled methods and techniques used by his neighbours to create handcrafted items out of wood, metal and glass.
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Speaking on the shop’s concept, Josh said: “I still wanted to look after the people I lived around, which was in and amongst the manufacturing locations in Bali where handicrafts were made by the Balinese people. I then saw the idea to help bring their products to the UK and create the Freedom Trade, where it’s not done on mass production, it’s done on smaller, family house scale that supports them.”
All the products are hand selected by Josh and Sarah from a 1,000-metre radius in Ubud as a way of supporting their friends, but also selling unique gift shop items in the UK at a reasonable price. Most notable items include a classic Penny Farthing for £22, wooden sculptures and beautiful glass bowls alongside their extensive range of wooden ducks starting from £10.
“They’re ethically made, it supports the markers and is as sustainable as we can. It’s tasteful with their input and our Western input as well,” Josh added. At Christmas time, Josh and Sarah had to send over suggested designs to sell over the festive season as Bali is a Hindu-majority province.
Another huge factor was that the items mostly used natural wood rather than plastic, which dominates giftwares mass-produced in China and India, making the items much more durable. The gifts are hand-selected by Josh without anyone in between, meaning he can choose the most distinctive items and offer Freedom Trade prices set by the makers in Bali with no negotiation.
“I price everything in the shop to what I pay for it. I’m not trying to put Bath or Clifton tax on it, I’m trying to act as the consumer to say if you would like that item that’s the price you should be paying.
“We’re giving giftware that’s good and affordable, especially in this economic crisis when everyone’s having to put prices up. We have an open, flat, honest policy which I have learnt from living in Bali is the best way to do business, and we love it. That’s how we want to bring customers back.”
The new shop in Clifton Village will be opening this month - managed by Jamie in the former site of Elizabeth James in between Reg the Veg and Otomí. The couple is hoping it will be an ideal spot to attract tourists wandering from Clifton Suspension Bridge as well as loving the area’s community spirit.
Josh added: “To be amongst that community, I almost relate it back to where I used to live in Bali where everyone would be out cooking and speaking to each other. It has such a lovely feel that represents the brand well.”
Find Fat Giraffe Gifts at 5 Boyce's Ave, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4AA. Open seven days a week from 9.30am-5.30pm.
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