Just in case you missed the awards the first time round here is the script that Nigel and Chris were supposed to follow during the awards ceremony so you can see what we said about each award. The list of award winners are under the main menu bar above cleverly entitled, Awards 2011 if you just want the highlights.
TOTAL LOCAL HEROES AWARD
The first set of awards tonight are for our Total Local Heroes.
This award goes to six people who have helped to make Totally Locally blossom and become a reality over the last two years. These people haven’t been paid to do it, they are not part of Totally Locally, Marketing Halifax or Calderdale Council but each one of them has a passion for their area of Calderdale to be a little bit better. They have got behind us at Totally Locally in an effort to achieve that.
From Markets to Magazines, from Todmorden to Brighouse, Free printing to encouraging others to get involved, and from shop door to shop door our heroes have embraced Totally Locally as their own and made a huge and vital difference to its success.
The first winners of this award believed in and promoted the Totally Locally idea before it was even a success, and this had encouraged many more people to become involved and help out Totally Locally. Evidence of this is being seen now in Elland, Brighouse, Halifax and other towns in the UK.
There are several occasions for each of our award winners that we can point to of how they helped to move Totally Locally forward but in an effort to spare their blushes and ours. I would like to invite up Lesley Adams, Amy Leader, Andrea Karabel, Rachel Taylor, Sara Jo Cooper, Lynne Midwinter and Craig Simcock to receive, quite deservedly the very first Totally Locally awards.
INSPIRATIONAL PRODUCERS AWARD
This award is for two companies that have (in our eyes) done it right.
Their product is about as good as it gets, their ethics are superb and they know how to get their message across to make people excited about what they do. And that’s no easy task.
Our first award goes to Makepiece Clothing, two friends Nicola & Beata who set up a business selling “beautiful clothes with ethics”.
They have their own sheep, which live on the slopes above Todmorden, they take the wool and make incredible clothes that have graced national magazines, daily newspapers & mainstream TV. BBC1’s Countryfile recently did a big piece about the company – two great people who have ploughed their own furrow, created something unique and told the world about it. If you want inspiration for your business, or if you’re a lady who just wants to buy some beautiful, unique clothes, visit their website or their amazing shop in Todmorden.
On our award votes one person wrote ““Sheep on a hillside, Shearing your own sheep, Making ace clothes and sending them around the world. What is not to like?”
Truly inspirational People.
Our Second Producer Award goes to someone who rather than start something brand new, has taken her family tradition and turned it something unique. With a family background of 100 years in baking, Lottie Shaw has taken her Family Recipes and breathed new life into them. Packaged and promoted in a way that many multi nationals would be proud of, Lottie has created a real ‘brand product’.
With a real “keep it local” policy, Charlotte is a inspiration in how to juggle family life, a great business all the while staying true to her beliefs. Oh & watch out for her new ginger biscuits (which we got to try. A right kick on em!).
So for an example to all who want to set up business, and those who already have one, lets have a big hand for our Inspirational Producers – Lottie Shaw’s & Makepiece.
GLOBALLY LOCALLY AWARD
The Globally Locally Award category is to celebrate companies in Calderdale who make an impact on a wider stage.
We love the company that has been chosen for this award because they do things that little bit differently and from a business point of view often go where others fear to tread.
How would you run a company where every employee get a vote, there are over 150 of them and they are all being paid at the same rate from the cleaner to the sales staff, the receptionist to the warehouse? That is not only a brave, clever undertaking but one in which all of the staff that we have talked to find totally rewarding.
They have also helped Totally Locally, by giving us their experience and time for free in putting together our next project Totally Locally Shops which has been awarded funding thanks to Calderdale Council and partners.
Suma, in Elland, are and absolutely fascinating company at pretty much every level. They have managed to create and sustain an extremely ethical, responsible approach to business and are very much a growing and successful company.
In my book they are also a company that every other business could learn something from.
They are the UK’s largest workers cooperative, and now the first recipient of our Totally Locally Global Award.
I would like to invite someone from Suma to come up and accept this award with our admiration and thanks.
TOTALLY LOCALLY MARKETS AWARD
Next Up is out Totally Locally market awards.
We are blessed with fantastic Markets here. There’s lots of towns and cities that make a huge song and dance about markets that can’t hold a candle to ours. Yet in true West Yorkshire style, we find it hard to shout about the great things we have on our doorstep.
I LOVE our markets, and they have been a huge inspiration to the whole Totally Locally campaign.So here’s where we shout out loud about what’s best about both Todmorden & Halifax Markets.
Again we’ve chose two very different businesses, but both with a unique take on how they go about what they do.
Bracewells is family run business first started over 30 years ago.
and they’ve been a cornerstone to Todmorden Market ever since. Family team of Mum Dorothy, Daughter, Helen & her husband Simon are on view, while James runs the farm, an can be occasionally seen weilding a cleaver on a busy Saturday.
Bracewell’s sell their own produced lamb, pork & beef from their farm in Cliviger as well as other sourced locally eggs & meats. They even supply Ham Corner (which is in the market hall) who cook their meats and sell them on.
Bracewells is all about working together, especially with people in Tod market hall. A great example of a family business, quietly getting on with what they do well, all the while affecting those around them in many good, often unseen ways. It’s what people talk about when when they say “You don’t get shops like that any more”. Yes you do – it’s Bracewells. Visit the Market, and get in the queue. And their sausages are amazing!
Our second award goes to two friends Michael Bryson and Arthur Dow, who have grown from boys to men all within the walls of Halifax Borough Market.
They took an ailing business in 2005 and turned it on it’s head with new and innovative products, a massive can do attitude, with big grins and cheeky banter thrown in for good measure.
They source a lot of their products locally, while pulling exotic international meats and breads from their fine straw hats. Grosvenors Butchers and Delicatessens is who I’m talking about. (and you’ll have seen them on the video earlier).
You’ll know their place by the big queue the attentive staff and the wall of pies, meas, sauseges, cakes pastas… the list goes on. Join the queue, ask for some advice and walk away with great local produce at a bargain price. It’s what markets are all about.
So out Totally Locally Market Awards go to Bracewells of Todmorden & Grosvenors of Halifax.
TOTALLY LOCALLY CHOICE AWARD
The Totally Locally Choice Awards have been chosen by the Totally Locally Team. We were originally going to call it the “Because We Can” Award but it didn’t feel that it did it justice as to how good we think they are.
Each of our chosen shops and businesses has something both dear to our hearts and has at some point really stood out in terms of impressing us.
Whether it is with expert knowledge, great quality, absolute passion for what they do or just great friendly service , these are the people that we would not hesitate to recommend to anyone.
These are the shops that we go out of our way to buy from.
It’ll come as no surprise to those who know the Totally Locally team that our nominations revolve around Food, Drink and Bikes.
Spuds N Stuff in Halifax is one of those shops that if you blink you might miss it and not know it was there as it is nestled just outside the market next to the fish sellers, and in our opinion if you didn’t see it you would have missed out.
The fresh food that they create, prepare daily and serve is simply outstanding…just go and try it and we reckon it’ll bring a smile to anyones face at lunchtime.
Halifax Wines is another great Totally Locally shop that you need to find, but when you do you will be rewarded with a treasure trove of grape based delights.
You are also rewarded with someone whose passion and knowledge is fantastic, some that can find the right wine for anyone no matter what price bracket, palate or experience.
The whole visit is fun and one in which you can experiment, stick to what you know or just take their recommendations. We’ve never had any complaints.
Lastly, but not leastly…we have all developed a passion for bikes whether it is people like me who need to shed a few pounds by cycling to work and with the kids or by careering around the canals and tracks of Calderdale.
Blazing Saddles in Hebden has the perfect blend of being experienced enough to talk at the top end but also gives the right practical advice at the other…means that you never feel that you are being sold something that you don’t need.
We love the fact that their back door is always open to anyone to pull up and check over their bikes.
We know that there are specialist bike website, but the great myth is that they are not necessarily cheaper…but they certainly never say come back in a week so that we can check it, or when I did this or have you considered that.
This is the type of shop we want to keep in our area.
So I would like to invite up Spuds n Stuff, Halifax Wine and Blazing Saddles to come up and accept the Totally Locally Choice awards truly with our thanks.
MOST TALKED ABOUT ON OUR TRAVELS AWARD
Well we’ve just passed the halfway stage in the awards and everything seems to be holding together…
Our next award is a bit of a different one. Wherever we go, people tell us about shops, businesses and the experiences they’ve had when they visit them. And most of all how much they love them.
But certain ones keep comping up again & again. These are the shops people genuinely love and are happy to share with others. they are the ones that give amazing customer service and an experience that keep em coming back for more.
When people tell us over and over you know these businesses are doing something right.
First up is a tiny shop in the corner of Brighouse. Wherever we go, people mention them. Their place has been described as the “Harrods Food Hall of the North”. Their Saturday Wine tastings are legendary, and their knowledge and service is put up there with the best. When we did the recent Totally Locally Market in Brighouse we handed out cards to get people’s favourite shops, and most people went “That’s easy – it’s Czerwiks”. Over & over again. This is the sort of shop that makes people WANT to shop locally. And it brings people into the town, so the other shops around benefit too. Long may they continue.
Our second Most Talked about on Our Travels award goes to one on the most stylish, flambouyant and just plain wonderful shops in the whole of Yorkshire. We’ve been told “There should be one of these in every town”, “I was blown away with the whole place”, “This shop has changed Market Street into something special” “The perfect Shop!
Marcus and Warren of Yorkshire Soap Co. need no introduction to anyone who has passed through Hebden in the last couple of years. Their shop stands out a mile in both how it looks and in what it sells. They make their own soaps in the kitchen upstairs, and on making days, bubbles fly across the town, drawing queues out of the door. But on top of that, they are genuinely lovely people, who care about their neighbours, support the businesses around them and are generous to a fault when it comes to supporting things like tonight. They wanted to contribute, so they have give us 120 of these gift bags to give out to you lovely people tonight. A fantastic shop, run by fantastic people!
So a big hand please for Czerwiks & Yorkshire Soap Co.
NEWCOMERS AWARD
Well from those companies that are setting the benchmark for great independent shop to those that are blazing a trail for the youngsters of the world…The Totally Locally Newcomers Award.
There are new businesses and shops starting up every week in Calderdale and this award is to celebrate two young shop and business owners who have taken the idea of Totally Locally completely onboard. As well as running successful fledgling businesses they are giving back to their communities through charity work, through trying to better the place that they work and live, and by supporting the business around them. Both of these companies are trying to change people’s perceptions of their towns by doing good things.
Perhaps they will be the next Roger Harvey, Donald Gill or Ben Aaron’s of tomorrow.
816 Espresso really have made a difference since they started out.
They are passionate about their coffee, their food and their customers. In fact Pete’s passion for coffee has taken him all over the world so that he can get his blends just right, and Jo’s apple pies were one of the first things we ever blogged.
As part of their Tea for Two campaign they have provided over 15,000 meals for a school in Brazil.
Closer to home it is probably best left to those that voted for them to explain…
“The coffee is the best in town, the delivery service is efficient and the people are really customer friendly. Oh yes and the carrot cake is divine!!!”
“There own blend of coffee is locally sourced and roasted; and is the best in town.”
“Terrific team, have always delivered excellent service and its a business with a heart. The buying of coffees and feeding of children in Brazil makes this business totally unique.”
Anon Lingerie has just sold out a Fashion Show in Elland that will raise at least £3,000 for charity and along with other shop owners is getting Totally Locally firing on all cylinders in Elland.
There aren’t many 21 year olds today who would take on the challenge of starting a business and shop from scratch, and the passion that Rebecca puts into her shop is a real inspiration to all. We know that her family and friends are extremely proud of her, and so are we.
What do people say about Anon Lingerie?
“You see a friendly welcoming face when you enter, there is no pressure to buy and within the selection of underwear there is something for everyone. You are not disappointed and enjoyable experience.”
“Friendly, chatty, honest opinion without any embarrassing moments which could quite easily happen in a lingerie shop! Excellent Service. I shall be spreading the word about Anon.”
“Great products, excellent service, pleasure to shop here. Rebecca is brilliant and very approachable. Caters for all sizes. Really, really love this shop – much better than the department stores in Leeds and Manchester.”
These are two young companies that are flying the flag for the future and for Totally Locally and long may they continue. It gives us great pleasure to invite 816 Espresso and Anon Lingerie up to come and collect their awards.
THE MAGIC TENNER AWARD
The Magic Tenner Award is a celebration of the very ethos of what Totally Locally is about. It’s about the impact of how when you spend locally, the money goes around and around in the local economy.
And when someone goes out of their way to embrace this way of thinking and make it central to their business we want to shout about it.
Our first award is very close to my heart. Paddy & Michale of Triangle Emporium have turned their business from a place where people dropped in when they forgot the milk & toilet roll, to a destination shop full of local produce.
At last count they stock over 30 local producers, and best of all Paddy & Michael love what they do! They are passionate about the food and things they sell, and, contrary to what most people believe, prove that a tiny shop can undercut the big boys on price. From farm produced ready -meals to chocolate made in Wainstall, to Lottie’s Parkin and Suma foods & even food from local allotments, plus on the way making stars of Triangle’s bee population.
They keep prices as low as they can, and I’ve seen loads of things MUCH cheaper than Tescos (including like for like wines!). And here’s a thing. Since they did this, business has never been better.
Triangle Emporium is the village shop extraordinaire. Michael & Paddy deserve huge praise for their determination to run their business in a way that not only serves the people of their area, but for creating a place where every pound you spend has a huge impact on the people around you.
If you take this very same thinking and apply it to arts, crafts, jewellery & gifts, you get Hebden’s very own Heart Gallery. Alison activly encourages new artists and creators, gives them an amazing platform to sell their goods and strikes up great relationships with them all. Her relentless blogging is an example to us all, and her passion for finding local talent knows no bounds. Heart Gallery is an brilliant example of how to create a destination shop, that people will travel miles to visit, all the while making a conscious effort to impact on the local economy. Again when you spend your hard earned cash at Heart Gallery, you know it has a knock on effect on the place we live. Splendid!
So please welcome, to collect their awards, Michael & Paddy of Triangle Emporium & AlIson of Heart Gallery.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD – MOST POPULAR CAFE
Well we are down to our last two awards of the night. The people’s choice awards.
With over 1,100 nominations for shops and cafes registered online and some nifty Excel spreadsheet work we have been able to wade through the entries to come up with the top 5 cafés and shops that were voted for.
More importantly we have been read some truly wonderful and inspiring comments from people which you may have seen already on screen before the awards started.
We will post a list of all of the award winners on our website and also a list of all shops and cafes that were nominated. We will also pass on the comments to the shops and cafes as well.
So…to everyone who voted – Thank you.
Although a café and a shop will win the most popular award tonight Totally Locally has never really been about someone being better than another. It has always been about choice. So even if a shop or café only received a single vote it meant that it was special enough for someone to take the time to vote.
So the People Choice Most Popular Café award was hotly disputed right up to the final hours before nominations closed.
I would first like to invite up 4 of the top five cafes that received the most votes to receive their Top Five certificates.
Café No 5, Copa House, Gabriel’s, The Milk Bar
The People’s Award for Favourite Cafe has been a real eye opener for us. It’s not a place that serves a mocha chocca grande frappucchinolatte with a dash of syrup & sprinkles. It’s not one with a trendy shop front and squashy leather sofas, and it doesn’t train it’s staff to try & sell you a muffin every time you order a drink.
The winner of The People’s Award for favourite Cafe is for a traditional, specialist. Where the food is at the centre of everything they do, and the owner’s heart is worn well & truly on their sleeve.
In these days of slick corporate, target drive, cloned cafes it’s just great that the people of Calderdale chose a vegetarian one, set out of sight above another shop as their absolute favourite place to eat & drink.
And the fact they source nearly everything locally has created one of the lowest food miles menus possible.
Claire & Mark have built something unique here, a business they have every right to be proud of.
Rather than us tell you about it, here are just a few of the comments that you’ve said (it is the people’s award after all!)
“Clare makes the most lovely of cakes and desserts, and Marks vegetarian dishes are always excellent and tasty. Oh, and the coffee is second to none.”
“Not only do Mark and Claire at Ginger try to use as much local produce as possible they also always have vegan options available including cake. It is a rare treat to get vegan cake without having to make it myself”
“The Ginger Cafe is a true representation of ‘Totally Locally’, the meals are delicious, healthy, reasonable and the service is warm and friendly.”
“Italian Girl, Non-vegetarian, enjoyed a really good meal in that quiet, cozy little café. Unusual attention kindness and service right in the middle of Halifax”
“The warmth shown from the owners and constant promotion of their locally used ingredients, leading to the widest range of vegetarian food I’ve witnessed in Yorkshire.”
So without further ado, we’d like to present The Totally Locally People’s Award for Favourite Cafe to Ginger cafe of Halifax!
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD – MOST POPULAR SHOP
And now onto the most popular shops.
There were over 150 different shops nominated for the award. All of which had heart-warming comments and little stories attached…even M&S.
For us at Totally Locally, that means at least another 100 or so hidden gems to be written and surely is proof that the high street and independent shops are not really dying, they are just re-emerging and need to be found again…and for the doubters? The towns and areas in Calderdale can’t be all bad if you read through the comments when we publish them.
We would like to invite up and celebrate the following top 5 shops all of which really are fantastic in their own ways.
Anon Lingerie, Gallery 339, Heart Gallery, Something Sweet.
And now to the People’s Award for Favourite Shop In The Whole of Calderdale. That’s a big title!
We thought this would be tight, as we’ve come across some amazing places, any one which could be classesd as outstanding in their field.
But this one tiny shop, romped away with the votes (even when we discounted the blatently obvious self promotion submission Because the Ginger guy behind the counter it is hot – oh, shops alright too!). They stock 160 (yes you heard right!) expertly kept cheeses, and hundreds of beers and wines from around the world.
Father & son Tag Team Martin & John have built something special. It DID cause our spell checker to go into overdrive, and wins the most different spellings for a word we’ve ever come across award, but Yes you may have guessed – they have already been up here once tonight, and their place is a mecca for everything to do with quality service, foods & wines.
But just to let you know why people chose this unique shop, here are a few things that have been said about our winners.
“Great wine, cheese, beer, I love this shop because it has it all. Most importantly all the wonderful special extra bits to accompany that cheese selection or specialised collection of spirits that so often have made my parties! Mostly though, it’s the fabulous team who put the love into the shop and make me want to return time and time again!”
“A huge selection of cheese and every type of alcohol you could think of – oh and always service with a smile – what more could you want?!”
“The customer service is outstanding; world class. If you could replicate it across all local shops, supermarkets wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“If you have to ask the question, you obviously haven’t been inside!”
“Everything!!!!!!!!! (but mostly the free wine tasting) … Just the best shop for getting your weekend indulgences.”
So The Totally Locally People’s Award for Favourite Shop Goes to Czerwiks of Brighouse.
THANKS
Well we have nearly reached the end of our Inaugral Awards Night…and as is the tradition I have a few Thank You’s that are important.
Thank you to Sara Jo and the staff at the Works. The Works nominated charity is the Special Care Baby Unit, which if you have enjoyed the awards tonight it would be great if you could pop something in the collecting bins over there…Thank you to Calderdale Council, Briggs Priestley for providing the Trophies, Marketing Halifax, Claire at Sweet Sugar Sixpence for the marvellous and tasty cake, Psychoslinkies and Elvis (although I am not sure if I should thank them until after but never mind), Simprint for their help and lone of our excellent DJ and Sound man (Paul…and Sam too from the Works), Zebra Photography, Yorkshire Soap for the goody bags (much appreciated and will now give me a pass out for another night), Kerri Goulden for her amazing videos, Totally Locally Sam, whose new but coped with this particularly deep end superbly, and anyone else who feels they need a bit of our love.
But before you get back to mingling, celebrating, partying, etc. I want to send you away feeling warm and fuzzy with another Totally Locally Short film to enjoy.
…and that was pretty much it for the script.
Cheers, Totally Locally Team
