5 sustainable homeware brands in the UK for nesting in autumn

I think of autumn as a cosy layering on of chunky knits, crunchy leaves and time at home as the evenings get darker. That's why it's also a season for nesting, thinking about small changes for a home that feels good to you. It can be about adding something that gives you a glimmer, or taking clutter away.

One thing's for certain. These days any choice we make about our home is blended with thoughts about sustainability, who we want to support and, very likely, a tight budget too! As the candle and skincare designer behind my own small business Authentic House, based in Cardiff, I've come across a fair few wonderful makers and indie shops. I lean on them for home inspiration, designs I love and gifts for friends too. Come window shopping with me? Here are 5 sustainable homeware brands in the UK for nesting in autumn.

 1. Winter's Moon in Chichester for scandi style and colour blocks

If you ever went into a shop and found yourself oohing over a pair of secateurs, a mug or a box, just because of the joyfully bold colour of them or a papery handmade texture, Winter's Moon is a shop for you.

Winter's Moon is a homeware shop based in Chichester for 'beautiful things for living and giving'. I love how Winter's Moon manages to translate that finger-tingly, gorgeous shop feel online too. That way, you don't have to be in Chichester to browse.

Winter's Moon is my go-to shop for pick-me-ups and gifts. It's a bit like Tiger, but everything is sustainably sourced and supporting ethical small businesses too. My favourites are the tri-colour 'wash' mugs and the mini Japanese buckets for whenever your kitchen compost needs a pep talk.

 2. Shiny Happy Pottery in Bristol for froufrou, frilly, joyful ceramics

At the start of autumn in 2023, I brought my candles and skincare to Swindon's Craft & Flea. That was when I met Emily Craig and her lovely mum. They were not only great company all day, but I fell in love with Emily's maximalist pottery.

To get a sense of Emily's ceramics, go take a look at her Instagram. Of all the UK sustainable homeware brands I'm sharing, she's probably the only maker it's best to message directly to get access to her whole range.

Emily makes her pieces by hand. This means they have almost childlike, playful, wobbly shapes and luxuriously big handles (take a look at the mugs!) She then paints them with all kinds of cute designs from checks with strawberries and oranges to croissants.

Most recently, Shiny Happy Pottery has mugs with little picture frames with strawberry plants inside! I could melt, they're so cute.

3. The Basket Room in Oxfordshire for ethical baskets handwoven in Africa

If you ever read, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, you'll know a big part of having a home that feels good is having a place for everything. Enter... baskets. The Basket Room is a brilliant UK sustainable homeware brand for all aspects of life neatly stored in basket form. Think laundry, plants, picnics, bicycles and more.

Holly McMullen started The Basket Room after a road trip through Africa with her dad which introduced her to basket weaving. A big part of The Basket Room is celebrating their weavers. Each basket is made entirely by one artisan, who'll carry a basket with them throughout the day from their home to the farm and the fields.

What I love about The Basket Room is its transparency. The website is full of photos of the different people making their baskets across Kenya, Ghana, Eswatini, Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda. Look closely and you can see how the styles and materials change too.

4. Lisa Valentine Home in Cardiff for beautiful minimalist homeware

In 2018, I joined a local startup accelerator with Authentic House. It was a great way to make friends, and I got to know Lisa Valentine. We worked together on my first eco-friendly subscription box and she spoke at my launch event too (imagine IKEA champagne glasses and green piped AH cupcakes and you're spot on!)

Lisa Valentine Home is centred around Lisa's eye for beautiful, everyday things. Her inspiration comes from William Morris' famous saying, 'have nothing in your home unless you know it to be useful or beautiful.'

When we bought our home, we celebrated by buying a dish, dustpan and brush and duster from Lisa. It felt like thereon in, everyday things could be special and we'd proudly display our cleaning tools. Of course, real life is a lot messier. What I love about Lisa Valentine Home though is how everything looks slightly turn-of-the-century rustic precisely because it's made to last. And that's more sustainable too, that idea of buying well just once, and treasuring what you have forever.

5. Yogipod in Oxford for ethical yoga bolsters and meditation cushions

One of the best ever gifts I accidentally ended up keeping is a fabulous, block-printed bolster from Yogipod. While it spends a lot of the time sitting cosily on the sofa, it's for yoga that this bolster comes into its own. If you've ever been to a yin yoga class, you'll know how you can lie back on a bolster to open your chest. You can cuddle it in a foetal position (which feels so good!) Or, if you're not very stretchy, like me, you can support your head with it in a wide-legged forward fold.

 The designer Ingrid Fetell Lee has a great article on dopamine décor. In it, she writes about how you can create good habits by making their associated spots bright and colourful. When I have a pretty meditation cushion or an inviting yoga bolster in my life, it's easier to pause and follow up with the habits that make me happier. (If you're ever unwell in bed, or pregnant, these bolsters make life a lot comfier too.)

As you'll probably see is a theme, I came across Georgie Davies and Yogipod through running my small business. Georgie is a yoga teacher with a background in fashion. When visiting Jaipur, she saw reams of beautiful, block-printed fabrics in the local markets and was inspired to start Yogipod. It's hard to imagine, but Georgie sews every one of her bolsters and cushions from the fabric. In this way, she's working in collaboration with artisanal family workshops to share their meditative, age-old practice with the world.

A final note on ethical and sustainable homeware brands

And there you have my 5 sustainable homeware brands in the UK for nesting in autumn. Do you have a favourite you'd add? I'd love to know in the comments below. Actually, even writing this made me think there are so many more I could share.

If anything though, I'd like to leave you with the idea that styling your home sustainably is a balance of tuning into what feels good to you, aligns with your values and what you'll use enough to justify the resources that went into making it.

For more ideas on creating a sustainable home and to follow my own small business life with Authentic House, you can join my mailing list here. And, if you have gifting dates coming up, bookmark this page to come back to for some home gift ideas (or just for yourself to cosy up browsing on those rainy, autumnal days!)