East End Trades Guild partnership

A new partnership between Roman Road Trust and East End Trades Guild means the first ever East End Independents Days is coming to Roman Road and your shop could be on the map.

East End Trades Guild is a new co-operative made up of small independent traders working together to celebrate and champion proprietor-owned-and-run-businesses shops and businesses in the East End of London.

East End Trades Guild has launched East End Independents Day to help promote the great businesses of East London. It will be held on Small Business Saturday on the 3rd December 2016 so that it can piggy back on national exposure. There will be a map of featuring all the businesses who have joined East End Trades Guild to take part in East End Independents Day.

Roman Road Trust has joined forces with East End Trades Guild to ensure that Roman Road, the street, will be included on the Independents Day map, literally putting Roman Road on the map.

East End Trades Guild has been founded by Krissie Nicholson who believes that globalisation is threatening the diversity and distinctiveness of local economies, by displacing even the most viable of small independents. Nicholson believes independent shops are the “face of the community” and the very thing that makes the East End of London attractive to both local residents and international visitors.

“The thing that unifies all our members is that they are small, that means they have between 0 and 50 employees,” says Nicholson. “Small means authenticity, distinctiveness, enhanced customer service and local knowledge, and a more creative and authentic end product. Our members have a strong connection to the neighbourhood, many have been in the same place over generations and they employ local people. While these values are often implied some businesses are also explicit about their social purpose, and many take on civic roles that support communities.They are important because they are essential to a healthy economy and to the life of the community.”

Get your shop listed on the East End Independents Day map

Roman Road Trust’s community group membership to East End Trades Guild means Roman Road, the street, will be included on the map for East End Independent’s Day.

However, if you want to get your shop listed on the map, you’ll have to join the East End Trades Guild too. It costs from £100 and offers other benefits too, including shopping events, guided tours, business advice and being part of a collective voice that can help campaign for change.

You still have time! Local businesses will have to join by August 26th to be included in the Independent’s Day map on Saturday 3rd December 2016.

What others say about East End Trades Guild

“I think it would be a good idea to get all the small businesses together, so they can relate to what is going on. We all help each other, and to get together will be a very, very good thing”

Carol Burns, C.E Waste Paper Merchants, EETG founding members.

“We at The Five Points are proud to be members of the East End Trades Guild. East London and our home borough of Hackney are very much part of what makes our brewery what it is, and we support many other businesses, enterprises and charities based in the area. We hope our membership in the Guild provides us with new opportunities to work with other producers and small businesses based in East London”

Five Points Brewing Company.

“I’m a proud to say that Lily Vanilli bakery is a new member of the East End Trades Guild. After eight years trading in East London and five in my bricks and mortar on Columbia Road, it’s safe to say that East London has been a huge part of shaping what my business is today. It’s also been exciting to watch how supportive the community has been to other young businesses and entrepreneurs setting up for themselves – long may it continue to thrive!”

Lily Jones, proprietor of Lily Vanilli.

“We joined because it’s really important to keep the heart and soul of the East End. We’ve always had change but we don’t want it to become homogenised and all the same. I think everyone with all their little quirks, it’s what makes the East End and we need to keep that heart and soul alive. Otherwise it will become like everywhere else with all the chain stores. It needs to be a mashup of anybody and everybody, we need to keep the roughnecks like the Pellicci’s here!”

Anna Pellicci, Pellicci’s

Existing East End Trades Guild members

Over 100 shops and businesses have joined East End Trades Guild so far including:

Roman Road members of East End Trades Guild

Remember, to be part of Independents Days 2016 and to have your business included on the map, you need to apply to East End Trades Guild by 26 August.