Sustainability-focused venture The Leith Collective tapping into Dundee creativity at new Overgate branch

The site, which opened at the weekend and is located in the Overgate Shopping Centre, is another showcase of The Leith Collective’s offering uniting “creatives of every kind who each share a passion to reuse, recycle, and relove items that may otherwise have been destined for landfill”.

The community interest company (CIC) debuted in Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal in 2020, followed by Edinburgh’s Fort Kinnaird in 2022, and Glasgow Fort last year, relocating from its premises in the St Enoch Centre.

It says consumers can browse an eclectic range of locally made items including arts and crafts, homeware, clothing, jewellery, and gifts. Billed as a completely single-use plastic-free shop, all featured makers are urged to consider their environmental impact at every stage of their creative process.

The space in addition offers free additional support to all resident makers, including access to a business mentorship programme, while the space will host various “inspiring” events and workshops, designed to support the local community.

Thomson says the move to Dundee came on the back of an invitation, and on a recon visit was impressed with how busy the city centre was compared to peers. “It was actually buzzing,” she says, adding that she didn’t think The Leith Collective site there (formerly a baked potato shop) would prove as much of a hive of activity as it has.

Some of its customers have come from a visit to the nearby V&A Dundee, which earlier this year secured a £2.6 million boost from the UK government for an overhaul and expansion of its showcasing of Scottish design.

Thomson says of The Leith Collective’s new local branch: “People have come in and said, ‘we're so happy you're here. We've been to [your shops in] Glasgow, we’ve been to Edinburgh, we didn't think you were coming here – this is brilliant.’ And, yeah, they're coming back [for several visits].”

The CIC’s progress comes alongside that of peers such as the Scottish Design Exchange whose locations include Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow - and helping fill an escalating number of empty retail units to breathe new life into the beleaguered high street.

The Scottish Retail Consortium has found that April 2024 saw a hefty 4.8 per cent year-on-year fall in total sales by value, once adjusted for the effects of inflation. However, when correcting for the distortion created by the earlier timing of Easter this time round, the average decline for March and April 2024 combined was 0.2 per cent, and the trade body said there were “some grounds for cautious optimism”.

Thomson believes one key point attracting people into The Leith Collective’s shops is that they can chat to a variety of craftspeople in the shop (“people really engage with that”), something she sees as not so readily available when shopping at a branch of a corporate giant.

On the flipside, she states that it also helps the businesses present to get feedback from their customers, helping them refine and grow their offering.

The Leith Collective says it showcases the work of more than 400 artists and makers altogether from all over Scotland, united by a common aim to “reuse, recycle and relove items that may otherwise have been destined for landfill”. And it believes Dundee “has a long and proud history of inspiring artists, makers, and crafters – it is, after all, a Unesco City of Design”.

Thomson is hoping to recruit more such creatives in the Dundee area to help meet the shop’s demand – while she is mulling further locations across Scotland, with customers asking her to open in Aberdeen, for example. “I don't open shops out of greed, I open shops out of necessity, so if I think there are enough makers to fill another shop, and it gives them a chance to build their own business, that's why I'll do it,” she says. “[Our shops] work well with their communities – it's a whole different take on retail.”

In terms of her motivation for starting the initiative, she explains that she didn’t have a background in business, so had to learn the right skillset to create something with positive social impact but also a future that is sustainable both in terms of longevity and positive environmental impact. “It's about helping your community. It's about bringing people together. All these things, if we have communities built back up, this will help us in the future.”

Now, both The Leith Collective (which has also launched online marketplace We Relove and runs a winter coat exchange) and Thomson individually have picked up awards and other prestigious accolades for the venture’s work.

That includes the socially minded entrepreneur being invited to 10 Downing Street on behalf of various Prime Ministers and have a video chat with the Queen.

And The Leith Collective founder is now due to head back to Number 10 next week to help celebrate the tenth anniversary of London Craft Week, a festival that brings together more than 750 makers, designers, brands and galleries from around the world. “I'll be meeting a lot of people, and I’ll be telling them all about Dundee, and Edinburgh, and Glasgow – and how creativity is very much alive in Scotland.”