Published: Wednesday, 16th March 2022
Spindles pop-up shop Oldham Made has added three new brands to its roster of 16 Oldham Makers; Donkeystone Brewing Co, luxury bathing brand Bave and gin distillery, Defiance Gin.
Oldham Made opened at the start of March as part of Oldham Council’s initiative to revive the town centre, providing a platform for some of the borough’s most exciting emerging talent.
And three new makers joined the store this week, adding to the variety of goods on offer.
First up is the Donkeystone Brewing Co, made in the heart of Saddleworth, which started out in 2017 when two
friends decided over a pint to pursue their love of real ale.
There began a journey of sourcing the best brewers and using the highest quality ingredients to create a range of beers for "proper" beer drinkers like themselves. The range includes traditional cask ales, IPAs, and more unusual offerings such as coffee and vanilla stout.
Sales and Events manager James Uttley said: “Donkeystone are really pleased to be teaming up with Oldham Made, selling our range of canned ales in store. It is fantastic to see the quality of products on display from other independent retailers, showcasing the array of creativity in our town”.
Over the last five years Donkeystone has gone from strength to strength, leading them to now open their own
tap house in Saddleworth. The two friends hope their participation in Oldham Made will allow them to open Donkeystone up to the wider community as they add street food, wine and gin to their offer in the coming months.
Bath product brand, Bave is also joining Oldham Made this week. Bave was founded by Joe Henshaw and Reece Best who, as lovers of a good soak, were fed up with the glittery bubble bath and floral fragrances on offer that often left skin dry and irritated.
Designed to help people relax, recover and recharge, Bave's products are 100% vegan and cruelty free, using essential oils and natural therapeutic salts to create the ultimate bath time experience.
Reece said: "Bave’s mission is simple, to promote the health benefits of bathing. According to a study in Germany, a 30-minute soak in a warm bath daily can improve mental wellbeing.
"Those who enjoyed a bath everyday scored overall three points better on the depression scale than those who were asked to do 45 minutes of aerobic exercise. There’s goodness in the water and we want to embrace that."
Rounding up the new additions to Oldham Made is the Defiance Distillery, launched in 2017 and voted best in the world at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2020 against 3000 other gins.
Made in Lees, Defiance Gin it is blended from a unique combination of 16 foraged British botanicals including sweet cicely, tangerine root, as well as the tips of spruce.
Paul Sheerin, owner of Defiance Gin, said: “I’m very proud to be supporting Oldham Made. Everything we produce in our award-winning distillery is made here in Oldham and it’s great to stand alongside some of my fellow Oldhamers and show just what the borough has to offer.
"The name Defiance is drawn from the idea of nature’s defiance - it goes through the cycle of life, growing, blooming, dying and then after a barren winter, nature fights back to bloom in spring once again.
"I feel like not only is this representative of our brand, but also of some of the brands here, they’re on the backfoot after the pandemic, but we’re coming back stronger”.
Cllr Arooj Shah, Oldham Council Leader and founder of the Oldham Made campaign adds: “These are three wonderful new brands to get behind as they launch in Oldham Made this week.
"It makes me so very proud to uncover all this wonderful talent in the borough - so make sure to show your support and get down to the store, before it closes at the end of March."
Oldham Made is open Monday to Saturday from 9am until 5pm and is funded by The Welcome Back Fund, set up by the European Regional Development Fund and Her Majesty's Government.