A time to focus more on compassion over consumption

With consumption levels at a high during the Christmas period, there is much debate whether or all this indulgence and rash buying is necessary.

A small business owner in particular who is determined to maintain self-awareness on this issue is Kaitlyn Bullen, 29. Her small business based in Leeds ‘Honeysuckle studio’ is a place where this mindfulness is at the core, making useful everyday objects like trays and pencil pots out of dried flowers to preserve their life.

Kaitlyn focuses on giving large amounts of her profits to charities now she has started doing regular ‘sample sales’. This is where she sells her imperfect or trial items in a huge sale on her Instagram with the profits donated to a chosen charity.

Kaitlyn started her business in the first UK lockdown back in March, where she would collect dry and fallen flowers from her everyday walks to extend their life. Very little waste is generated by her business as she uses locally sourced materials as well as floristry waste which is given to her by florists ‘Gabflowerz’, ‘Hyde park flower club’ and ‘Flower tonic’.

She also works at Blue Rinse Vintage, Leeds dealing with unwanted clothes and figures out how to upcycle them. This is why it was so important to her that her small business ‘Honeysuckle Studio’ didn’t cause unnecessary waste, after seeing first-hand the long- term effects of overconsumption.

Kaitlyn says: “Even before setting up Honeysuckle Studios I never wanted to push the narrative of over-consumption, so I make sure my items are timeless and not too seasonal or trend driven… I didn’t want my products to last a couple of months then be thrown away."

The idea of giving back was a huge priority in the businesses most recent ‘sample sale’ on Black Friday. 100% of the profits for these ‘imperfect’ products made was donated to Simon on the Streets, a Leeds based independent charity that offers unlimited emotional and physical support for homeless and vulnerable people.

Simon on the Streets have been running for 21 years and rely completely on donations and volunteers as they receive no government or local authority funding. 

Fiona Hobson, 32, admin, communications and volunteer coordinator at the charity says: “Working for a small, local charity is so rewarding and you really do see the positive effects directly. We’re always so thankful that people think of those less fortunate at this time of year.”

She continues to say: “One of my co workers met a gentleman who was rough sleeping and couldn’t speak English. She would check in with him frequently and use google translate to communicate. She found that he had been trafficked to the UK and was able to get him support through contact with a national human trafficking website. She also helped him track down his family on Facebook and was with him when he spoke to them on the phone for the first time in years."

Homelessness is a huge problem which often gets overlooked. On average, a person who is homeless has an average life expectancy of just 44 years old. 80% of people sleeping on the streets have a mental health problem and homeless people are over nine times more likely to take their own life than the general population.

Kaitlyn Bullen says: “When I went to the shops during the first lockdown I talked to someone outside for a while that looked like they needed help. He said the government assured him that he could be put in a hotel but that wasn’t the case, it was only the people that were in shelters in the first place. This meant that the absolute most vulnerable who were on the streets at the start were being ignored. I was shocked and was just thinking how is no one helping these people? The government are just using lies for false hope.”

This year, homeless statics are notoriously difficult to quantify. Charities including Simon on the Streets are doing all they can to keep on top of things during these challenging times. A few ways you can help are…

• 1) Taking part in their reverse advent calendar:

The reverse advent calendar is simply the opposite of a normal advent calendar. Instead of receiving gifts each day, participants donate to Simon on the Streets for each day of advent. Donations will go towards supporting the homeless and vulnerable this winter.

• 2) Donate on their website via justgiving: simononthestreets.co.uk, you can make this a one-off donation or a regular donation.
• 3) Leave a gift in your will

…and many more which can be found on their website.

Since this ‘sample sale’ she has since done another with 100% of profits donated to @lilycraig1 on Instagram’s new project: matching elderly people with pen pals. She hopes to continue doing these to raise money for good causes.