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ABBEY ENGLAND

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the abbey information exchange

helping everyone we know develop and grow.




People working on laptops

Let's share



Welcome to The Abbey Information Exchange.

At Abbey we believe strongly in continuous professional development and we’d like to do all we can to help our customers, suppliers, colleagues – in fact everyone we know – develop and grow.

So in this forum we’re going to be sharing tips, articles, news, videos, in fact anything and everything we think will give your personal and professional efforts a boost.


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2025 ARTICLES

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How to Grow Your Contact List

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Expanding your contact list is a key strategy for gaining new business, as each new connection can lead to potential clients.
By tapping into their networks, you can further widen your business's outreach. 
We’d all like to secure new business, and growing your contact list can help achieve this. New contacts can potentially mean new customers, especially if you can then reach their contacts, thereby expanding the reach of your business.

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Top Awards to Enter in 2025

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Entering industry awards is a fantastic way to gain recognition, boost your brand's credibility, and set yourself apart from the competition. But with so many options available, how do you know which ones are worth your time and effort?
Entering – and winning – an award is the ideal accolade for any individual or business. Not only does it provide recognition for your craft and skills, either from being shortlisted or even winning the award, but also provides fantastic validation for yourself and with the buying public, especially if you add your shortlist or award win on your social media and website.
Discover some of our top recommended awards to enter this year:
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Top Tips From Jo Heard for Making a Video Tutorial

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Did you know, YouTube is the second most visited search engine in the world, after Google. This makes it the ideal platform for your business to reside on, where you can provide videos about your business, products, and the chance to share your craft skillsfor others looking to get started in teh same field. 
This article focusses on making a video tutorial so, we have teamed up with Jo Heard (Youtube superstar) to share expert advice on the best techniques.
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Dates for Your Diary - Top 10 Events To Exhibit At In 2025

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Another year, another diary, and plenty more opportunities to showcase your business and products to a whole new audience. The rush of Christmas may be over, but it’s not too soon to start thinking about the next gifting opportunities or key events to sell your wares and promote your business. Here are our top 10 events to exhibit at in 2025:
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National Apprenticeship Week: Why Businesses Should Invest in Apprentices and How to Support Them for Success.

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Held this year from 10 – 16 February 2025, this week-long celebration will bring together businesses and apprentices from across the country to shine a light on the positive impact that apprenticeships can make to individuals, businesses and the wider economy. This is especially true for the crafts industry, where apprenticeships are essential in passing on skills and learning to keep traditional ways of making alive for future generations. 
Some of this knowledge can only be learned whilst being applied practically on the job and talents are honed and developed through each project. 


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The Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts
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There is an incredible range of heritage craft skills here in the UK, from blacksmithing to leatherworking, tanning to saddlery, these are all timeless skills. However, according to Heritage Crafts – the national charity set up to celebrate, support and safeguard traditional craft skills – more and more traditional craft skills are becoming endangered, or are even already ‘extinct’ in the UK. 
 
Find out how to preserve your craft in our newest article.

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2024 ARTICLES

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Scaling up- How to take your business to the next level
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Whether you’re just starting out as a sole crafts person, establishing your brand, or you’ve managed your own business for years, there’s no timeframe on when to look at how best to scale up your business.
Whatever your level of business, here’s our top things to consider if you wish to take your business to the next level.

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How to beat a sales lull
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If the order book goes quiet, what can you do to drum up extra business? In this week’s article we look into just that!

We explore proven techniques including promotions, seasonal gifting, refocussing your social media and levering your customer base.

Weather you are looking for fresh approaches to engage customers or ways to reignite momentum this article provides great tips to get your sales back on track. 


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Harnessing social media for your business
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With more than half of the world’s population using social media, be that Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or any other platform, it’s never been more important to harness social media for your business. 
People all use social media for different reasons, and engaged users will keep coming back to the platform and your brand’s profile to see what is new and to be entertained, educated or inspired.

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Benefits of joining the Guild of Master Craftsmen
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Supporting tradespeople, craftspeople and artisan makers, such as carpenters, upholsterers, leather workers, blacksmiths, and saddlers, for over 40 years, The Guild of Master Craftsmen is the UK's most established trade association.
Being a member of a guild has long been associated with quality, and is a tradition that dates back centuries. Established in medieval Europe, guilds were formed by groups of craftsmen bonding together for mutual support and the protection of their interests. Today, the Guild of Master Craftsmen continues this legacy of representing skilled craftsmen for the future.

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Touching Base - How to keep your cutomers returning
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A business is nothing without its customers. While it is always a challenge to attract new customers, it’s also essential to turn customers into returning customers.
Returning customers are customers who have made more than one purchase, and have a 70% higher chance of buying than new customers, as they already know and like your business. Whether it’s for your competitive prices, ease of purchase, excellent customer service, fast delivery times – whatever the reason, a return of customers shows trust and loyalty to your business.

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AI- Does it help or hinder your business?
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AI is not just the future, it’s here and now. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is becoming more and more a part of our daily lives; from customer service chatbots to Google and Amazon voice assistants Siri and Alexa.
Utilising AI for your business can bring a host of benefits, which can be a boon when looking for time-saving methods to further concentrate on the minutiae of driving your business and stock forward.

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The top free courses to look out for this year to help grow your business.

At Abbey England, we strongly believe in the importance of professional training, to help a business not only develop and grow, but thrive and survive in today’s every changing markets. Whether it’s sharpening your practical skills in your trade, or learning extra hints, tips and advice to help your business stand out in this digital age, here’s a roundup of some of the most engaging and useful training available online.

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Bursaries for Business, what's available to you

Whether you’re just starting out in leather working or crafts, looking to turn your hobby into your career, or need assistance helping your business in its next steps, there is plenty of financial support available to help things along. Here is a round-up of some of the available grants and bursaries for leather crafters, makers and small business owners.

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Top Tips for applying for a QEST Scholarship 


QEST offers scholarships worth up to £18,000 to support the training and progression of craft professionals, whether through studying a course at college, undertaking one-on-one training with a master craftsperson, or a bespoke programme of short courses.
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Bayes Business for Creatives Programme


If you're a saddler, leather-worker, jewelry maker, artist, or any creative practitioner, this short course from Bayes Business School equips you with the essential skills and knowledge to enhance your business.

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2022 ARTICLES

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The Importance of Following The Green Claims Code


Being an environmentally friendly business is something to shout about. These days, terms like ‘sustainable’, ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘recyclable’ are commonplace. However, unless there is evidence to back these green claims, it is illegal to use them in your marketing.

That's where the Green Claims Code comes in. What is the Green Claims Code and why should we follow it?  Find out in this week's article.
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Making an exhibition of yourself – top tips on exhibiting at live events


In this week’s article, we seek advice from executive Director and Secretary of the British Equestrian Trade Association, Claire Williams on the importance of taking part in trade exhibitions post-covid. The article includes some helpful tips and advice on how to make your business stand out from the crowd.
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Making an exhibition of yourself – Jumping on the bandwagon of events.


Many events are returning to in-person, but even if you aren’t quite ready to attend yourself, there are still plenty of ways in which you and your business can jump on the bandwagon of these to generate new business.

In this week’s article, we talk you through how your business can support international awareness days and events relevant to your business to increase you brand awareness. Find out the ways your business can make the most of jumping on the bandwagon, with helpful tips and advice on how to plan for these events and promote your products on social media.  
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National Apprenticeship Week: Everything You Need to Know.


National Apprenticeship Week takes place this week so we thought it would be the perfect time to explore what apprenticeships have to offer. We discuss what types of apprenticeships are available within the leather and equestrian trade and how your business can benefit from hiring an apprentice.
Hover image
What you need to do to export to the EU.


We know the setbacks and difficulties of trading outside the Single Market and Customs Union having been bombarded with returned parcels at the start of 2021. We therefore thought it is important we shared the updated EU trading rules.

Here we give you a step-by-step guide so you can successfully export to the EU.

If you are planning on exporting to the EU in 2022 or need a quick refresh on the rules and regulations, then this is the article for you.

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2021 ARTICLES

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Top Tips for working from home during COVID-19


As a result of the pandemic, many of us have had to adapt the way we work and lots of us are still working from home now.
Here are seven tips about how to get the most out of working from home. Plus we have advice from Master Saddler, Helen Reader from HR Saddlery.
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Apply for a QEST scholarship funding of up to £18K


The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, or better known as QEST, offer scholarships and apprenticeships of up to £18,000 to help fund vital training and education for over 140 craft disciplines including leatherwork and saddlery production. Find out how to apply and our top tips for the application process by reading our exchange article.  
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A Guide to T.E.S.T


Don't sell, tell! Marketing is not about selling your products to an individual but showing that individual that you'll look after them if they choose to become a customer.

Find out the four ways you can ensure customers choose your business, which we like to think of as the Customer T.E.S.T.

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2020 ARTICLES

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How to grow your hobby and craft business online.

 

Are you an independent hobby and craft business? Have you struggled to get footfall to buy your goods since the recent pandemic, and are wondering how you can keep your craft business sales up?

If the answer is an astounding “Yes!”, then this is the Abbey England information exchange article for you.

If you are just getting started or need that extra push, we give you some useful advice about growing your business online such as how to rank your website in Google and more!
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How to write a press release.


A press release is a great way of promoting your company, its products and services to a much wider audience. Once shared by an online or print publication, it can be seen by hundreds – sometimes thousands – of people, which can be highly beneficial to a business.

Here are our top tips for writing a press release, to help ensure its success.
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5 Courses to Improve your Leather Skills.


Leatherwork is a skill which needs to be taught. Here we run through some of the top leather courses for novice leatherworkers which are available in the UK today. We look at location, online v face-to face learning and course lengths to ensure our readers have a comprehensive range to choose from.
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Product Liability Insurance? We have you covered.


Here we discuss product liability insurance, a word many of us dread. However, it is important that your business has the right protection. We spoke with PLI expert Paul Winterbottom from Gallagher Insurance brokers to offer his guidance on the matter.
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Receive a £500 grant from the HCA.


We wanted to draw attention to this opportunity to apply for a grant of up to £500. The Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) grant is open to craftspeople operating as sole traders and small businesses to invest in something that will help make their business more sustainable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Why Content Curation is Key during COVID-19


If you're a SME’s you may not have a huge marketing budget but that should not stop your business from creating content.

Here we discuss the importance of creating content and give you advice on what you need to think about when writing or making new content in order to keep in touch with your customers and remain present.
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COVID-19: A guide to Government Help. 


Struggling to understand how your business will be looked after during the pandemic?
Read this simple guide to government help as our Non Exec Director, Ian Traynor, from Luminate Ventures shares the advice he received from the Chambers of Commerce.
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Warming up to Cold Calling.


Cold calling is your first interaction with a potential customer so it is important you get it right. Here we share Vicki Culverhouse, owner of Straightahead’s top tips for cold calling.
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Why we should all be adopting Agile Project Management.

After adopting Agile Project Management at Abbey, we wanted share on our exchange how you can apply this technique to your business. Agile project management scales down projects and splits them into shorter, more achievable projects so you can achieve your goals much quicker.
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The best free tools to help with your social media strategy 

Social media is an incredibly powerful tool for any kind of business. Here we outline the best free tools to help you manage your social media accounts saving you valuable time.
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 Abbey Brand Story 

Rich Wilson, Director of Cake Marketing and Advertising takes us through the process of how to position a brand and what better case study to use than Abbey England itself.
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 Cutting Strips with a Jerry Stripper

In this week’s exchange we have put together a short video showing how to assemble the Jerry Stripper and discuss the benefits of owning one.
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 Receive up to £175k with an RDPE grant.

This article provides a summary of the handbook of UK Government’s Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). Find out key information such as how to apply for the grant and more. If you are a small or micro business, that is rural based, you are eligible to apply.

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2019 ARTICLES

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Add invaluable skills to your business and apply to Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses. It’s FREE.  

For our first ‘The Abbey Information Exchange’ article, we share with you our experience of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK Programme and see if your business can also benefit from the scheme.

ABBEY ENGLAND

_________________________________________________

the abbey information exchange

helping everyone we know develop and grow.




People working on laptops

Let's share


Welcome to The Abbey Information Exchange

At Abbey, we’re passionate about continuous professional development. We believe learning should be shared, accessible, and practical — and that growth happens best when knowledge is exchanged.

The Abbey Information Exchange is our space to support customers, suppliers, colleagues, and the wider community. Here, we share insights, tips, articles, news, videos, and resources designed to inform, inspire, and help you develop both personally and professionally.

Whether you’re looking to sharpen your skills or stay informed, you’ll find something here to help you move forward.

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2026 ARTICLES

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2025 ARTICLES

Keeping healthy and looking at the bigger picture

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There’s a saying that goes something like, ‘choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.’ And while for many of us, working with leather and in other heritage crafts is an absolute gift and we do realise how lucky we are, it is still work – and you still occasionally need a break from it.
For many crafts people, their work is – first and foremost – their hobby, their love, their passion. This is an incredibly fortunate place to be, but no matter how much you enjoy what you do, there are many reasons why it is still important to build in time off. And don’t forget, a healthy work/life balance relies on more than just booking in your annual holiday. It is also equally about having clear, work-free evenings and weekends.

Your guide to E-newsletters

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Your email database is invaluable. Your contacts actively want to hear more from your business, otherwise they wouldn’t have submitted their email address to be contacted. So, you know that your email subscribers are invested in your brand and what you have to say. One of the best ways to reach these contacts is through e-newsletters.
E-newsletters are a visually appealing, bite-sized news email, designed to provide engaging and meaningful content, to keep your customers or clients up-to-date with your latest business news and offers. So why are e-newsletters so important, and how can they benefit your business?

Heritage Crafts - investing in the future

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Heritage Crafts is a national charity which celebrates, supports and safeguards traditional craft skills in the UK. This is with the aim of keeping heritage methods of making alive for future generations to come.
Heritage Crafts recognises nearly 300 historic crafts, from blacksmithing to basketry, to leatherworking and saddlery, to weaving and woodturning.
So these historic crafts and skills are not lost to time, Heritage Crafts provides training bursaries and a Maker Relief Fund. Targeted at new entrants and early-career craftspeople experiencing financial hardship, these bursaries, worth up to £4,000, aim to encourage young makers to continue to pursue their careers in these traditional crafts.  

Passing it on

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Many of us consider our legacy at some point, but in the day-to-day minutiae of running your business, have you considered what will happen to it once you’re gone?
Are you currently working with or training a member of your family to carry on the business? This is common in family-run businesses. Abbey England itself is a family-run business, founded in 1982, comprised of 11 family members and three generations, all striving to keep our legacy and values alive for years to come.
 
However, if passing your business on to a son, daughter or other family member isn’t an option, another viable option is to consider passing your business on to a valued member of staff or training an apprentice in the art of your craft, to safeguard your business’ future and keep your legacy alive.

Keeping it local

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Regardless of how good and beautifully crafted your finished products are, you still need to find – and reach – your audience. While online selling will undoubtedly play an important part in your marketing strategy, nothing beats your potential customers being able to see, touch and smell your work in person. 
While for many small businesses, a shop is too big a stretch, these days there is a vast array of live events where you can successfully showcase your wares. Whether you are designing and making beautiful saddlery, stylish pet accessories or incredible handmade jewellery, clothing or accessories, the time, effort and materials that go into their creation may mean that your products have a premium price point.

Networking - your happy place or a neccessary evil?

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There are many reasons you might attend networking – which can be either in person or online – and these include raising awareness of your business or product and developing your customer-base, finding quality suppliers and developing trusted work friends.
Networking formats vary from group to group, and some are very formal and formulaic, while others adopt a more relaxed approach. The times that the sessions are held can vary too – from early breakfast meetings to after work drinks, as well as the obligatory mid-morning, lunch and afternoon sessions. You will also find sessions that are industry specific, business-led or even single gender only. 
Not everyone will want to network in the same way and it’s OK for you to try out various different groups before you find one that works for you, your business and your individual approach.

The best sock and AI image banks

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Once the work of science fiction, artificial intelligence (AI) is here and now, and is proving a boon to businesses, big and small, in helping to streamline and assist with time-saving activities.
One of the ways in which AI is proving most helpful is with the supplying and editing of stock images. For either a small fee or for free, nearly all stock-based image libraries have some form of AI image generator option.
 
Using AI, you can either adapt an existing image, such as remove the background or add in or take out elements of the image. You can also edit and extend images to your desired height and width, to fit different social media image requirements. This is essential as social posts with images gain three times more engagement than posts without images.

Top tips for writing a press release

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A press release can be highly beneficial to a business. Whether you’re promoting your business, or a new product launch, collaboration or charitable endeavors, if published – in print or online – a press release is a great way of promoting your company, its products and services to a far-reaching audience. We seek out guidance from friends at Zebra Marketing &Communications to share best practices and tips when writing your own press release.
A press release always needs a catchy title, to gain a journalist’s attention. It should sum up what the article is about in a short and snappy way. The first paragraph should also summarise and get to the point of what the press release is about.

Your guide to E-Newsletters

______________________________________________________________________________
Your email database is invaluable. Your contacts actively want to hear more from your business, otherwise they wouldn’t have submitted their email address to be contacted. So, you know that your email subscribers are invested in your brand and what you have to say. One of the best ways to reach these contacts is through e-newsletters.
E-newsletters are a visually appealing, bite-sized news email, designed to provide engaging and meaningful content, to keep your customers or clients up-to-date with your latest business news and offers. So why are e-newsletters so important, and how can they benefit your business?

How to Grow Your Contact List

______________________________________________________________________________
Expanding your contact list is a key strategy for gaining new business, as each new connection can lead to potential clients.
By tapping into their networks, you can further widen your business's outreach. 
We’d all like to secure new business, and growing your contact list can help achieve this. New contacts can potentially mean new customers, especially if you can then reach their contacts, thereby expanding the reach of your business.

Top Awards to Enter in 2025

____________________________________________________________________
Entering industry awards is a fantastic way to gain recognition, boost your brand's credibility, and set yourself apart from the competition. But with so many options available, how do you know which ones are worth your time and effort?
Entering – and winning – an award is the ideal accolade for any individual or business. Not only does it provide recognition for your craft and skills, either from being shortlisted or even winning the award, but also provides fantastic validation for yourself and with the buying public, especially if you add your shortlist or award win on your social media and website.
Discover some of our top recommended awards to enter this year:

Top Tips From Jo Heard for Making a Video Tutorial

_____________________________________________________________
Did you know, YouTube is the second most visited search engine in the world, after Google. This makes it the ideal platform for your business to reside on, where you can provide videos about your business, products, and the chance to share your craft skillsfor others looking to get started in teh same field. 
This article focusses on making a video tutorial so, we have teamed up with Jo Heard (Youtube superstar) to share expert advice on the best techniques.

Dates for Your Diary - Top 10 Events To Exhibit At In 2025

_____________________________________________________________

Another year, another diary, and plenty more opportunities to showcase your business and products to a whole new audience. The rush of Christmas may be over, but it’s not too soon to start thinking about the next gifting opportunities or key events to sell your wares and promote your business. Here are our top 10 events to exhibit at in 2025:

National Apprenticeship Week: Why Businesses Should Invest in Apprentices and How to Support Them for Success.

______________________________________________________________________________________________
Held this year from 10 – 16 February 2025, this week-long celebration will bring together businesses and apprentices from across the country to shine a light on the positive impact that apprenticeships can make to individuals, businesses and the wider economy. This is especially true for the crafts industry, where apprenticeships are essential in passing on skills and learning to keep traditional ways of making alive for future generations. 
Some of this knowledge can only be learned whilst being applied practically on the job and talents are honed and developed through each project. 


The Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
There is an incredible range of heritage craft skills here in the UK, from blacksmithing to leatherworking, tanning to saddlery, these are all timeless skills. However, according to Heritage Crafts – the national charity set up to celebrate, support and safeguard traditional craft skills – more and more traditional craft skills are becoming endangered, or are even already ‘extinct’ in the UK. 
 
Find out how to preserve your craft in our newest article.

_________________________________________________

2024 ARTICLES

Scaling up- How to take your business to the next level
​________________________________________________________________
Whether you’re just starting out as a sole crafts person, establishing your brand, or you’ve managed your own business for years, there’s no timeframe on when to look at how best to scale up your business.
Whatever your level of business, here’s our top things to consider if you wish to take your business to the next level.

How to beat a sales lull
​________________________________________________________________

If the order book goes quiet, what can you do to drum up extra business? In this week’s article we look into just that!

We explore proven techniques including promotions, seasonal gifting, refocussing your social media and levering your customer base.

Weather you are looking for fresh approaches to engage customers or ways to reignite momentum this article provides great tips to get your sales back on track. 


Harnessing social media for your business
​______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

With more than half of the world’s population using social media, be that Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or any other platform, it’s never been more important to harness social media for your business. 
People all use social media for different reasons, and engaged users will keep coming back to the platform and your brand’s profile to see what is new and to be entertained, educated or inspired.

Benefits of joining the Guild of Master Craftsmen
​______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Supporting tradespeople, craftspeople and artisan makers, such as carpenters, upholsterers, leather workers, blacksmiths, and saddlers, for over 40 years, The Guild of Master Craftsmen is the UK's most established trade association.
Being a member of a guild has long been associated with quality, and is a tradition that dates back centuries. Established in medieval Europe, guilds were formed by groups of craftsmen bonding together for mutual support and the protection of their interests. Today, the Guild of Master Craftsmen continues this legacy of representing skilled craftsmen for the future.

Touching Base - How to keep your cutomers returning
​_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A business is nothing without its customers. While it is always a challenge to attract new customers, it’s also essential to turn customers into returning customers.
Returning customers are customers who have made more than one purchase, and have a 70% higher chance of buying than new customers, as they already know and like your business. Whether it’s for your competitive prices, ease of purchase, excellent customer service, fast delivery times – whatever the reason, a return of customers shows trust and loyalty to your business.

AI- Does it help or hinder your business?
​________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

AI is not just the future, it’s here and now. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is becoming more and more a part of our daily lives; from customer service chatbots to Google and Amazon voice assistants Siri and Alexa.
Utilising AI for your business can bring a host of benefits, which can be a boon when looking for time-saving methods to further concentrate on the minutiae of driving your business and stock forward.

The top free courses to look out for this year to help grow your business.

At Abbey England, we strongly believe in the importance of professional training, to help a business not only develop and grow, but thrive and survive in today’s every changing markets. Whether it’s sharpening your practical skills in your trade, or learning extra hints, tips and advice to help your business stand out in this digital age, here’s a roundup of some of the most engaging and useful training available online.

Bursaries for Business, what's available to you

Whether you’re just starting out in leather working or crafts, looking to turn your hobby into your career, or need assistance helping your business in its next steps, there is plenty of financial support available to help things along. Here is a round-up of some of the available grants and bursaries for leather crafters, makers and small business owners.

Top Tips for applying for a QEST Scholarship 


QEST offers scholarships worth up to £18,000 to support the training and progression of craft professionals, whether through studying a course at college, undertaking one-on-one training with a master craftsperson, or a bespoke programme of short courses.
Bayes Business for Creatives Programme


If you're a saddler, leather-worker, jewelry maker, artist, or any creative practitioner, this short course from Bayes Business School equips you with the essential skills and knowledge to enhance your business.

_________________________________________________

2022 ARTICLES

The Importance of Following The Green Claims Code


Being an environmentally friendly business is something to shout about. These days, terms like ‘sustainable’, ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘recyclable’ are commonplace. However, unless there is evidence to back these green claims, it is illegal to use them in your marketing.

That's where the Green Claims Code comes in. What is the Green Claims Code and why should we follow it?  Find out in this week's article.
Making an exhibition of yourself – top tips on exhibiting at live events


In this week’s article, we seek advice from executive Director and Secretary of the British Equestrian Trade Association, Claire Williams on the importance of taking part in trade exhibitions post-covid. The article includes some helpful tips and advice on how to make your business stand out from the crowd.
Jumping on the bandwagon of events.


Many events are returning to in-person, but even if you aren’t quite ready to attend yourself, there are still plenty of ways in which you and your business can jump on the bandwagon of these to generate new business.

In this week’s article, we talk you through how your business can support international awareness days and events relevant to your business to increase you brand awareness. Find out the ways your business can make the most of jumping on the bandwagon, with helpful tips and advice on how to plan for these events and promote your products on social media.  
National Apprenticeship Week: Everything You Need to Know.


National Apprenticeship Week takes place this week so we thought it would be the perfect time to explore what apprenticeships have to offer. We discuss what types of apprenticeships are available within the leather and equestrian trade and how your business can benefit from hiring an apprentice.
What you need to do to export to the EU.


We know the setbacks and difficulties of trading outside the Single Market and Customs Union having been bombarded with returned parcels at the start of 2021. We therefore thought it is important we shared the updated EU trading rules.

Here we give you a step-by-step guide so you can successfully export to the EU.

If you are planning on exporting to the EU in 2022 or need a quick refresh on the rules and regulations, then this is the article for you.

_________________________________________________

2021 ARTICLES

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Top Tips for working from home during COVID-19


As a result of the pandemic, many of us have had to adapt the way we work and lots of us are still working from home now.
Here are seven tips about how to get the most out of working from home. Plus we have advice from Master Saddler, Helen Reader from HR Saddlery.
Hover image
Apply for a QEST scholarship funding of up to £18K


The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, or better known as QEST, offer scholarships and apprenticeships of up to £18,000 to help fund vital training and education for over 140 craft disciplines including leatherwork and saddlery production. Find out how to apply and our top tips for the application process by reading our exchange article.  
Hover image
A Guide to T.E.S.T


Don't sell, tell! Marketing is not about selling your products to an individual but showing that individual that you'll look after them if they choose to become a customer.

Find out the four ways you can ensure customers choose your business, which we like to think of as the Customer T.E.S.T.

_________________________________________________

2020 ARTICLES

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How to grow your hobby and craft business online.

 

Are you an independent hobby and craft business? Have you struggled to get footfall to buy your goods since the recent pandemic, and are wondering how you can keep your craft business sales up?

If the answer is an astounding “Yes!”, then this is the Abbey England information exchange article for you.

If you are just getting started or need that extra push, we give you some useful advice about growing your business online such as how to rank your website in Google and more!
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How to write a press release.


A press release is a great way of promoting your company, its products and services to a much wider audience. Once shared by an online or print publication, it can be seen by hundreds – sometimes thousands – of people, which can be highly beneficial to a business.

Here are our top tips for writing a press release, to help ensure its success.
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5 Courses to Improve your Leather Skills.


Leatherwork is a skill which needs to be taught. Here we run through some of the top leather courses for novice leatherworkers which are available in the UK today. We look at location, online v face-to face learning and course lengths to ensure our readers have a comprehensive range to choose from.
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Product Liability Insurance? We have you covered.


Here we discuss product liability insurance, a word many of us dread. However, it is important that your business has the right protection. We spoke with PLI expert Paul Winterbottom from Gallagher Insurance brokers to offer his guidance on the matter.
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Receive a £500 grant from the HCA.


We wanted to draw attention to this opportunity to apply for a grant of up to £500. The Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) grant is open to craftspeople operating as sole traders and small businesses to invest in something that will help make their business more sustainable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Why Content Curation is Key during COVID-19


If you're a SME’s you may not have a huge marketing budget but that should not stop your business from creating content.

Here we discuss the importance of creating content and give you advice on what you need to think about when writing or making new content in order to keep in touch with your customers and remain present.
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COVID-19: A guide to Government Help. 


Struggling to understand how your business will be looked after during the pandemic?
Read this simple guide to government help as our Non Exec Director, Ian Traynor, from Luminate Ventures shares the advice he received from the Chambers of Commerce.
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Warming up to Cold Calling.


Cold calling is your first interaction with a potential customer so it is important you get it right. Here we share Vicki Culverhouse, owner of Straightahead’s top tips for cold calling.
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Why we should all be adopting Agile Project Management.

After adopting Agile Project Management at Abbey, we wanted share on our exchange how you can apply this technique to your business. Agile project management scales down projects and splits them into shorter, more achievable projects so you can achieve your goals much quicker.
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The best free tools to help with your social media strategy 

Social media is an incredibly powerful tool for any kind of business. Here we outline the best free tools to help you manage your social media accounts saving you valuable time.
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 Abbey Brand Story 

Rich Wilson, Director of Cake Marketing and Advertising takes us through the process of how to position a brand and what better case study to use than Abbey England itself.
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 Cutting Strips with a Jerry Stripper

In this week’s exchange we have put together a short video showing how to assemble the Jerry Stripper and discuss the benefits of owning one.
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 Receive up to £175k with an RDPE grant.

This article provides a summary of the handbook of UK Government’s Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). Find out key information such as how to apply for the grant and more. If you are a small or micro business, that is rural based, you are eligible to apply.

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2019 ARTICLES

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Add invaluable skills to your business and apply to Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses. It’s FREE.  

For our first ‘The Abbey Information Exchange’ article, we share with you our experience of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK Programme and see if your business can also benefit from the scheme.