Zoe the founder of minor goods has worked in the fashion textiles industry for 23 years in development and production. She has been lucky enough to have met and worked with many creative people. After many years of travelling and meeting the makers Zoe created minor goods in 2014 to showcase and work with a collective of artisans, small and traditional suppliers and niche brands mainly within Europe, to showcase craftmanship and creativity.
After our discontinued vintage mugs with strainer proved so popular last year, we have worked with a traditional porcelain factory in Poland to re-design the concept and streamline the look, with a more delicate shape and contemporary lid but still incorporating the brilliant practical removable strainer. We worked with a family run factory who have been making porcelain ceramics for over 30 years. They combine the tradition of manual pottery creation with new design trends. It was a pleasure to collaborate with Alex and her father on this project to create our exclusive slow brew mugs.
Zoe studied constructed textiles at university and in the last few years she re-discovered her love of craft and photography. Our handmade tea towels are made in a simple traditional checked fabric which is produced in the oldest Lithuanian flax mill, founded in 1928. All of the production process is made in house, from yarn spinning, weaving and dyeing. The fabric is woven on a narrow width loom, so you appreciate the simple woven edges. The handwoven Inkle loom tabs are all about the minor details, adding a pop of colour and texture to a simple beautiful everyday item. The term Inkle means ribbon or tape and the weaving is made on a basic loom structure, where the warp yarns are manually raised and lowered to create a warp faced structure.
Our handmade reusable linen filters were developed to work perfectly with our new slow brew mugs. After testing out different fabrics and shapes, we decided to use doubled natural linen. It is a lovely durable fabric and holds its shape when used. The fabric is sourced from a traditional Lithuanian flax mill. As tea and coffee lovers they were also developed to be mindful of the environment and reduce waste.
Our textiles are handmade in the UK by Zoe (founder of minor goods). Her inspiration is taken from the everyday minor things in life…..
After several months of research, trial and testing, we have developed our own natural wax blend, using beeswax and pure rapeseed wax, combined with pure essential oils to produce natural kitchen candles that complement your kitchen. Rapeseed wax is made from rapeseed oil. Rapeseed has been grown in the UK and Europe for hundreds of years for oil and animal feed. It is also used as a seasonal cover crop to protect and increase soil fertility for future crops. It is a natural, renewable and sustainable wax. Our beeswax is produced in the UK. We use unrefined wax which is a natural yellow colour with a beautiful honey scent. Beeswax is a natural air purifier. It releases negative ions when it burns, helping improve the quality of air by neutralising air pollutants (positive ions) such as dust, pollen and dirt. Blended with the rapeseed wax, it produces a warm honey candle colour with a cleaner longer burn time and a lovely gentle scent throw. We only use pure essential oils in our candles, no chemical fragrances or additives. Combining natural herb, spice and citrus scents, our Kitchen candle scents have been blended to complement your kitchen. Our wicks are natural unbleached cotton, which are hand primed in beeswax to keep our candles 100% natural.
They are hand poured in small batches into Weck jars, which are traditional preserving jars, so you can reuse for your store cupboard favourites and your homemade jams and chutneys.
After researching to find a natural wood conditioner to preserve our beautiful wood wares, we began developing our wood butter. We use only natural ingredients in our ‘food safe’ wood butter, natural beeswax which is produced in the UK, organic unrefined coconut oil and lemon essential oil. That’s it! There are no hidden nasty ingredients. Beeswax has been used for centuries to protect wood and combined with coconut oil, it replenishes dry wood and gives the surface a lovely protective sheen. We added lemon essential oil to help deodorise stale food smells. When applied with your hands, our butter will leave your wood and hands super smooth, with a lovely natural coconut lemon honey scent! Our wood butter is handmade in the UK in small batches.
Our wooden lids and utensils are made in Portugal by a family run factory consisting of fifteen family members (fourteen brothers and their mother). Founded in 1962, they have been making wood products for over 50 years using local Portuguese woods, their knowledge and craft has been passed down through the generations. Our wooden lids are bespoke made to fit our vintage beakers, in a simple style they complement the clean shape of the cylinder beaker. We selected timeless everyday utensils made from Plane Wood which are hand finished and protected with our natural wood butter to highlight the beautiful wood markings. Wood products by nature are unique and we love the variants in the plane wood stripey patterns, shapes and sizing
Our ceramics are made in Portugal by a small family run factory, managed by three brothers who have been making stoneware since 1980. They are made by creating moulds for the clay to be formed in and all the glazes are developed and mixed in house. Around 80% of the production process is done by hand and the reactive glaze creates beautiful iridescent colour variations so each piece is unique. Due to the hand finished nature of the stoneware there may be slight imperfection markings which should not be considered defects, this is the beauty of these ceramics. The stoneware pieces were selected for their timeless simple forms and versatile colours from the factories collection and archives bringing back the divided plate trend. Stoneware is known for being sturdy so these pieces are perfect for everyday use.
Our leather accessories are made in Portugal by a small supplier who has been producing leather goods since 1979. The accessories were developed with the help of Maria who has been working in the industry for 20 years, working with her expertise and knowledge of leather craft. In classic timeless shapes and versatile colours our leather accessories are designed to integrate into your daily life with interchangeable straps so you can mix and match.
After many work trips Zoe the creator wanted versatile simple accessories that would work well for all occasions. The accessories are like Russian dolls, they all fit within another so you can edit as you wish and take you from day to night. The short straps can be used for the clutch, inside the tote bag, for the purses and your keys , the perfect solution for our busy ever changing lives.
