Eve has ‘gram’ designs to support Edinburgh’s indie shops

A communications manager working in Leith has created a dedicated Instagram page to support independent businesses by connecting retailers and shoppers.

Typewronger Books, Haddington Place, Edinburgh

As a self-professed advocate for small shops, Eve Smith launched the project shortly after lockdown to provide information, at a glance, on those offering safe deliveries around the Capital.

The platform, called Bonailie, now features a range of local retailers offering everything from plants and jewellery, to clothes, board games, honey, housewares, books and artwork to homes in EH postcodes and sometimes further afield.

“While not every small business can logistically switch to an online model, home schooling and other commitments aside, I have been doing my best to help support the ones that are rapidly adapting to this strange new Edinburgh we’re all living in,” says Eve, 27.

“With each addition to Bonailie, I aim to describe what can be delivered, to where, and how the business is keeping it safe.”

With city residents spending more time indoors, Grow Urban on Grove Street caused a storm when they announced home deliveries of their plants, while board games delivered by Black Lion Games on Buccleuch Street have been a hit among those with younger families.

Run and Become on Queensferry Street has developed an online gait analysis tool to help people select the right trainer for their daily exercise before having them despatched to their home.

Others on Bonailie, or soon to be added, include Century General Store, Hannah Zakari, Biscuit, Black Moon Botanica, Paper Tiger, Treen, Lifestory, Elk and Wolf, Edinburgh Honey Co, Lighthouse Books, Golden Hare Books and Pekoe Tea.

Eve is encouraging other small businesses in Edinburgh who are working to current health guidelines to get in touch with her through Instagram. She adds: “A thank you note tucked away here, or an unexpected gift there, are both small touches that make independent businesses so appealing to me.

“While most have been forced to close amid the uncertainty, one advantage of being small means that many local businesses can continue to work away safely behind closed shopfronts. They deliver safely, and often more quickly than those online giants operating out of warehouses.”

Bonailie is on Instagram @bonailie