About The Artisan Founder
The Artisan Founder is an independent online publication and curated directory dedicated to showcasing exceptional artisan brands from across the UK. We exist to make it easier to discover thoughtful, well-made products and the people behind them, without the noise of algorithms, marketplaces, or fast-moving trends.
At the heart of our editorial focus is an appreciation for natural materials and skilled making. Many of the products we feature begin life in its simplest form: a piece of wood, a lump of clay, a length of cloth, or a raw ingredient waiting to be shaped by hand and experience. These materials carry history, texture, and possibility, and it is the maker’s knowledge that transforms them into objects of use, beauty, and longevity.
We feature founder-led brands, where the person who shapes the vision is closely involved in the making, sourcing, or direction of the work. These are businesses placing value on process, quality, and integrity over scale.
By directing readers to brands’ own websites, we encourage a more direct and meaningful connection between maker and customer, supporting independent businesses to be discovered on their own terms, without taking a portion of their sales.
The Artisan Founder is a place to slow down, look more closely, and develop a deeper understanding of what it means to build and buy well.
Winter at The Artisan Founder
AN EDITOR’S LETTER
December 1st | 2025
The season has settled, and the familiar hush of winter has started to gather around us. On morning walks the scent of wood smoke hangs low in the air, drifting from cottage chimneys and giving the lanes that comforting, lived-in feel. The dampness of the season leaves you returning home with the kind of fresh-faced glow that only winter can bring. What remains of summer’s flora and fauna now stands in rigid dried forms, sometimes edged with frost, turning hedgerows into a quiet wonderland.
This winter at The Artisan Founder carries that same sense of stillness and anticipation. Our Product Guides continue to grow as we discover more beautiful artisan businesses to share with you, each one a reminder of the skill and character that defines this community. There’s now a Brand Directory too, offering a growing list of brands you must explore.
You may have noticed our Journal evolving, now holding space for news from makers and creative businesses across the country. It feels like a natural widening of the path as our readership grows.
The Newspaper is beginning to take shape and we now have a cover, a significant moment as this project comes to life. Much of our focus behind the scenes sits here, crafting pages that honour the season and the founders within it.
Our Sunday newsletter also continues to flourish, with almost six thousand readers choosing to welcome it into their weekend. It remains one of my favourite parts of the week to write.
Looking ahead, the Podcast will be returning in Spring with a refreshed, seasonal style to sit alongside the printed edition. We are weaving together founder stories, simple recipes, and gentle seasonal notes, along with features inspired by our expanding directory.
Thank you for being here as this community continues to grow. Winter invites us to pause, to take stock, and to enjoy the quieter beauty of the season. I hope you find moments of joy in our pages.
Lyndsey James | Editor
FOLDED CORNERS
The Inspiring books gracing our coffee tables this month
We’ve partnered with bookshop.org to support independent book stores. Your purchases help our beautiful high street book shops to thrive.
