These Two Hands

Hello. I’m Naomi and this is my shop These Two Hands on my local high street in Bristol. The area I live in is a small creative community surrounded by so much green space and nature, which suits my shop perfectly as my collection is all about nature. All the designs I choose and commission are inspired by nature and made from natural, sustainable materials in the UK, mostly in the south west but all over. I stock the work of over 85 different small makers, almost all women and women that I know or have a connection to through our shared love of nature.

I started with an online shop 7 years ago after the birth of my daughter went very wrong and led to me being given art therapy and starting my own making journey. I opened the online shop with just 5 other local makers and did a few local craft markets. I opened my bricks and mortar shop at the end of October 2021 as we were coming out of Covid. I craved physical connections having not been able to do craft markets for a long time. I’d been packing orders in a room in our music studio as that had also been empty during Covid, but I wanted my own space. My initial plan was to have a pop-up shop until Christmas and a space became empty at the right time on my local high street. My husband and I built the displays, painted and kitted it out in under 2 weeks and I opened on 21st October. I had a good couple months and when Christmas came, I was too tired to think about packing it all down so I decided to stay on and here I am 2 and a half years later.

My shop has become a key part of the local community and a place where people come to escape for a while and feel calm and connected to nature. I have got to know customers’ kids, dogs and parents. People bring visiting friends from all over the world. People share photos and stories with me. They call my shop a treasure trove and the best place for gifts. I can’t imagine not being here. Over the past 2 years, I’ve had some wonderful women helping me in the shop. I currently have an brilliant weekend assistant called Raisa who is a nature lover and artist and gives so much love to the shop