A not-for-profit shop in Cabot Circus that sells work by 150 sustainable designers has been nominated for a national award to be the UK's favourite independent business. Prior, which moved from Old Market to Quaker's Friar in September 2021, has garnered a lot of attention this year, with mentions in three national publications alongside the award showcasing the best local businesses.
The shop sells handmade, sustainable creations - clothing, beauty, homewares, jewellery and art - from makers across Bristol with 100 per cent of the profits fed back into the community. Owner Beck Prior, who creates sustainable homewares and bespoke lighting, said she still gets goosebumps looking around at what the team has created.
Beck first set up the independent shop, workshop, gallery and community hub in Old Market in 2019 as a result of a life-changing illness. In 2010, she was diagnosed with leukaemia at 26, and in the three years that she was ill, she couldn’t have a regular job so started doing markets on Sundays as a way to still work and be creative.
