Hatch

SHOP DESIGN GRAND

Glasgow’s Hatch is offering a colourfully curated space for indie makers to sell their wares. Kevin Fullerton chats to owner Jessica Cora Taylor about the origins of her business and creating a sense of community

Situated on the creatively vibrant West Princes Street in Glasgow, Hatch has spent the past two years establishing itself as a valuable hub for small-scale designers. The boutique shop is owned and carefully curated by graphic designer Jessica Cora Taylor who, after deciding life was too short, opened this bricks-and-mortar shop in August 2020, shortly after the first lockdown ended. ‘I viewed the premises in February,’ Taylor told us. ‘And then, obviously, the lockdown happened. I wasn’t able to get the keys until June of that year, so I spent that time building the website.’

An online presence laid a solid foundation for her business when she finally received keys to the shop. ‘I relied on that online network first. I managed to build about 1000 followers before I even got in the shop. There are people that say, “We’ve been following your journey. It’d be great to pop in and support you”.’

The wellspring of support surrounding Hatch seems more than appropriate for a brand dedicated to bolstering the success of makers across the UK. Its brightly coloured shelves are teeming with apparel, prints, cards, coffee, pet products and homeware, with a focus on indie sellers whose work Taylor enthusiastically champions. ‘When I first opened the business, I had 40 different creatives I’d met through markets with my own designs. Everything’s UKbased and small brands, and everything’s got that personal touch to it.’ Since then, her roster of talent has ballooned to 120 sellers, including several who are stocking their work in a shop for the very first time. Brands like Edinburgh-based printmaker Alexandra Snowdon, candlemakers House Of Rothach and Glasgow-based jeweller Aillie Anderson have all worked in collaboration with Taylor to create exclusive products for the shop.

From its mission statement to the brands on display, Hatch feels like an extension of Taylor’s personality. ‘I find Hatch is like a home from home. Everything there is something I would use and recommend. We’ve run out of space at home to decorate so I put prints in the shop too.’ This is a shop about personal connections, those made in the creative community, those between the local businesses of Glasgow’s West End, and those formed by visitors to the shop itself, many of whom become repeat customers. Hatch’s logo was even designed by an old friend Taylor met at Glasgow Caledonian University in 2014.

Community and inclusion form the backbone of Hatch’s creative workshops and talks from local artists, and its focus on sustainable brands. The sense of togetherness means Taylor is attracting a broad range of customers beyond the makers and craftspeople of the local area. ‘We’re getting a mix of people. You never know who’s going to walk in the door, which is great.’

SHOP what’s in the bag?

With the passing of another month, it’s time, once more, to rummage through the possessions of a stranger. This time, Megan Merino peaks inside the bag of Larah Bross, founder of Bross Bagels

MAMA BROSS’ SIGNATURE SCENT

This is my smell. They make it in front of you at Le Labo and look super-sciency. During the pandemic they closed and I panicked because I can’t smell of anything else! I think I was their first customer back after they reopened. I need to smell like this scent; if I don’t smell like it, I’m off. I limp, my sentences aren’t complete, everything is just wrong!

POO BAGS

I always have poo bags for my dog Dude. Actually my daughter got some new school shirts from M&S the other day and they came wrapped in plastic. I thought, ‘oh well, I’ll re-use this’, so ended up using it to pick up some poo. So that wasn’t just any poo bag, that was an M&S poo bag [holds for applause].

TOOTHPICKS

A bagel lady always needs her dental picks because you don’t want a poppy seed lodged in your tooth.

SUNGLASSES

The sunglasses that never leave the case because it’s never sunny in Scotland. To be fair, sometimes I do use them when I’m leaving Casablanca (cocktail club) at 4am.

MANTRA ON A NAPKIN

This is always in my bag but I can never remember when or why I wrote it . . .

LAMINATED PRINT OF GRACE DENT’S BROSS BAGELS REVIEW

We didn’t know she had come in. There’s a line at the end where she wrote: ‘the gang down at Beigel Shop in Brick Lane have been serving some of Britain’s greatest bagels since 1855. They didn’t see Larah Bross coming.’ I was like, ‘YES!’ It ended up great. In fact, it couldn’t have been better.

The Leith Collective shop talk

Leah Bauer checks out a trio of recent openings in our shopping column

THE LEITH COLLECTIVE AT FORT KINNAIRD

After making history as the UK’s first single-use plastic-free shop in 2021, The Leith Collective is expanding. A multipurpose space, The Leith Collective At Fort Kinnaird is bringing together over 130 local artists selling a range of repurposed and pre-loved items, as well as helping emerging artisans find their niche with a business mentoring programme. n Fort Kinnaird, Newcraighall, Edinburgh, theleithcollective.co.uk

BARE BONES CHOCOLATE

Focused on producing organic single-origin, microbatch chocolate from bean to bar in their Glasgow factory shop, Bare Bones Chocolate is leading the way in sustainable confectionery production. Learn about the process and try one of their limitededition collaborations (a salted dark chocolate bar with Maldon Salt or a croissant chocolate bar with Southside bakery two.eight.seven). n 7–9 Osborne Street, Glasgow, bareboneschocolate.co.uk

ROSE’S WARDROBE

With a focus on creating inclusive, generationlasting and sustainable vintage fashion, this virtual shop makes chic frocks inspired by the 1940s to 1960s, using textiles produced close to their Langholm-based workshop. Designs are handdrafted by co-founder Leanne, offering garments in UK sizes 8–26, as well as custom sizes on request. n Online shop, roseswardrobe.co.uk

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