Luckily, part of the charm of Leeds city centre is the opportunity to wander around the Victorian shopping arcades that sit alongside the newer developments, discovering new gems which you can’t wait to visit again! Publications such as this can give you the perfect launch for your journey of discovery – simply pick a starting point and plot a trail across the city to visit a whole host of amazing independent businesses that will bring you the best in fantastic foods, delicious drinks, great days out, and of course, super shopping!

And while you are visiting a local independent business, you can be safe in the knowledge that you are supporting real people with hopes and dreams and a passion for their craft, people who take immense pride and joy in what they do, people who have quite literally poured a piece of themselves into their work. Every single purchase made with a local business puts much needed funds back into the local economy and enables that economy to thrive once more.

You may have heard of initiatives in the mainstream media and social media such as Small Business Saturday, Totally Locally, Shop Small and Just a Card, to name just a few. These campaigns all champion the importance of supporting the small, local, independent businesses within your local community, businesses who go above and beyond to provide great customer service, local produce and products which are not available from every mainstream retailer on every high street across the country.

By regularly shopping local and small, the independent landscape of Leeds will remain the amazingly welcoming, unique and vibrant community that it is, a creative hive of personality and originality that we are very proud to be a part of.

Photography by Jeremy Kelly