Do You Thing Well: Business of One.

Chosen to reflect Paul Jarvis’s manifesto: small, intentional, sustainable businesses (many solo-founded), each doing one thing very well. They are content to fulfill their mission without growing beyond their capacity. 

 

Angela Flanders Perfumers
Established in 1985 in East London, Angela Flanders Perfumers offers a range of in-house scents like Amber Noir and Bluebell, crafted with a focus on quality and individuality.

 

Colhays
Founded by a Commercial Lawyer who left the law to follow his passion for great wool products, Ronnie Chiu has created a collection of incredible knitwear that rivals many established players both in quality and design.

 

Starter Story  - Pat Walls
Pat built a tight, interview-driven publication that shows how founders actually started — published revenue and lessons — and monetises through memberships and sponsorships while staying small and disciplined. If you want honest founder stories and actionable ideas, this is a clean, no-hype resource.

 

Roger W. Smith - Watchmaker
Independent Watchmaker - One of Britain’s few truly independent, hand-making watchmakers: Roger designs and builds mechanical watches almost entirely in his Isle of Man workshop, with an old-school, in-house approach to every stage.

 

Jo Downs — Fused-Glass Artist (Cornwall)
Working from a Cornish studio, Jo Downs designs and fires fused-glass pieces herself: jewellery, small objects and panels that play with colour and light in a way only kiln-made glass can.

 

Angela Benjamin - Jeweller
Ange makes fully ethical jewellery that is as sustainable as it is beautiful. Where possible she saves and re-uses all her scrap sterling silver to create new work. Her unique silver jewellery designs are timeless, using traditional production techniques.

 

Maria Popova — The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)
One person who turned a longform, curated newsletter into a beloved cultural publication: deep essays, a loyal readership, and ethical monetisation (reader support) — sustained, thoughtful, and independent.

 

Kate Davies Designs
A small creative publisher and knitwear designer based in Scotland who produces books, yarn and careful7ly curated patterns — values craft, locality and pace over mass output. If you like thoughtful product design and regional storytelling, KDD models a sustainable creative business.

 

Justin Jackson (Calm Company / Transistor founder)
A founder who writes publicly about bootstrapping, calm companies and building sustainable products; Transistor started small and stayed focused on doing podcast hosting and analytics well. Useful reading for anyone who wants to balance product quality, independence and a life outside work.

 

Barnaby Carder (known as “Barn the Spoon”)
Barn carves greenwood spoons by hand in his London workshop and runs one-day courses that teach the simple, slow skills behind each finished tool; his pieces are functional, tactile and utterly personal.