From clothing boutiques to great little cafés, art galleries and artisan food stalls, Cambridge’s fabulous array of independent businesses is a big part of what makes the city special. Happily, the ‘indie’ scene in Cambridge is booming, offering shoppers an ever- evolving array of shops and eateries to explore on their doorstep, and we’re celebrating that this month by once Business Improvement District (BID), for Independents’ Week.
Taking place from 4 to 12 July, this seven-day indie extravaganza will treat shoppers to a host of special offers and discounts at stores, cafés and restaurants across the city, as well as special events and the chance to win fantastic prizes. The scheme, which is part of an annual national initiative, is designed to highlight the important role that smaller, independent businesses play in the community and encourage people to shop local and discover some new gems on their local high street.
‘When you shop locally you are having a positive impact on your community’
“The aim of Independents’ Week is to raise the profile of our wonderful ‘indies’ and encourage people to visit them during July and beyond”, explains Becky Burrell, Marketing and Commercial Manager at Cambridge BID. “When you shop locally you are genuinely having a positive impact on your community! For every £1 spent locally around 50p to 70p of that money re-circulates back into the local economy. But it’s the experience you get with our indies that makes the difference: they are passionate about their business and about their customers. Independent retailers bring something unique to our city (and high streets generally) and we want to shout about it.”
The event will launch at The Guildhall in the city centre on 4 July, with activities and entertainment for all the family (including an appearance from the Cambridge BID mascot, Adam!), and all participating retailers will be proudly displaying their Independents’ Week bunting to make them identifiable.
Among the offers planned are 10{b486c5a37ab2d325d17e17d701cb2567b1ecd1814e8ceb33effa2a4f1f171d46} off your bill at Regent Street’s stylish Italian restaurant De Luca, and a ‘Pink Provence Party’ at Cambridge Wine Merchants featuring free tastings, special offers at the wine bar, masterclasses, food matching and in-store competitions. At Fitzbillies meanwhile you can enjoy a free round of Raspberry Fizz with your dinner (yum!), or over at the Grand Arcade The Little Cupcake stall will be offering a buy two get one free on their delicious sweet treats throughout the week.
Down on King Street, award-winning fashion boutique Boudoir Femme will be giving away a luxury gift bag worth £500 in a prize draw, as well as celebrating the ninth birthday of the store in style with cakes, fizz and discounts. Also on King Street, Afternoon Tease will be running a cake loyalty card (in addition to their usual card for hot drinks), meaning that cake lovers can enjoy a slice of whatever they fancy free of charge once they’ve reached six stamps – which we reckon is easily enough done when the cakes are as irresistible as they are at this local favourite.
Afternoon Tease’s owner Jo Kruczynska is a passionate supporter of independent businesses, and believes that change is in the air locally, especially when it comes to the food and drink offerings in the city. “The indie scene in Cambridge is going from strength to strength”, she says. “Having been born and bred in Cambridge it’s been really interesting to see the city change and develop, and the most exciting development for me is the increase in amazing independent cafés, restaurants, street food traders and supper clubs! It’s obvious from the popularity of these ‘indies’ that it’s what the people of Cambridge have been waiting for. The camaraderie and support between independents is fantastic. We’re all in it together, saving Cambridge from the chains and injecting some personality into our city! However we can’t do it alone, without loyal customers we cannot survive in a competitive marketplace the support of our local communities is greatly needed and appreciated.”
‘We’re all in it together, saving Cambridge from the chains and injecting some personality into our city! However we can’t do it alone’
Also flying the flag for local independents is Bridges café, which has been trading at its Bridge Street location since 1996, and will be serving up a special range of picnic food and giving customers free sweet treats with their purchases.
“We are surrounded by lots of great independent businesses, and we all support and keep in contact with each other”, say the team, when asked why they’re getting involved with the event. “We see Independents’ Week as a great way to showcase the small family businesses that are thriving in our city – it’s a fact that by shopping in local businesses, you are directly putting money back in to the local economy. We feel this is very important for our community, and where we can, like to shop with indie companies too. It’s a real joy to see established indie stores evolving, moving in to bigger premises and growing their brand. It invigorates the city, and offers a diversity of products to tourists and locals. There is a good mix of larger chains that you would expect to find in a city, and quirky individual businesses which give the shoppers and diners a truly ‘Cambridge’ experience.”
Elsewhere in the city you can meet the team and enjoy a glass of French wine at the Alliance Française Open Day, get a free necklace at Modish when you spend over £30, and have fun trying on fabulous headwear (with the chance to win n a hat!) at Laird Hatters.
With chocolatiers, craft shops, bookshops, beauty salons and plenty more of Cambridge’s brilliant independents getting involved as well, there promises to be something for all tastes, so be sure to get out and about and celebrate the businesses which make Cambridge great.
Trinity Street Live: Saturday 11 July, 10am-4pm
Retailers in Cambridge’s historic Trinity Street are celebrating Independents’ Week by hosting a unique ‘live window’ event for shoppers on 11 July. This innovative event will see Trinity Street’s many fantastic indies bringing their shop windows to life with live action including toymaking at When I Was a Kid, crochet at Brora, makeovers at Space NK and live yoga at Sweaty Betty. At Jack’s on Trinity meanwhile, they’re marking the ocassion by knitting Cambridge BID Ambassador dolls (we approve!). There will also be the usual craft market in All Saint’s Garden, sample menu tasters in the street from Strada, and a Gruffalo’s birthday party at book store Heffers. There will be plenty more to enjoy too, including performers and nibbles, so be sure to stop by!
Selfie competition
To give you an extra incentive to visit your local indies, we’re running a special social media competition this month, offering one lucky reader the chance to win £100 to spend at their favourite local independent shop. To enter, simply take a photo of yourself outside your chosen business, upload it to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tag it #CambsIndie2015, and make sure you follow @CambridgeBID. We’ll choose our favourites at the end of the month – good luck!
