Falkirk’s Sisters & Misters up for national award

The owner of a one-stop-shop for men’s and women’s clothing in Falkirk has spoken of her passion for supporting the town centre and the importance of retail theatre on the high street, after the store was nominated for a national award.

Sisters & Misters, located at Lint Riggs, is one of the businesses nominated in a national UK’s Favourite Local Business competition, sponsored by Miconex.

Lauren Brown started her first club-wear clothing business in Falkirk in 1996, expanding into women’s casual wear and high end fashion through the Sisters store. In 2019, Lauren added men’s wear to the offering through Misters, completing the Sisters & Misters brand.

The business has been awarded Drapers Best Young Fashion Independent Business in the UK and featured in the Drapers Top 100 Inspirational Independents, while Lauren was voted Best Individual Womenswear Buyer.

Designing football strips for Falkirk FC in 2015, 2018 and 2019, regularly raising money for charity, and an active campaigner for the area, Lauren says it’s vital for Sisters & Misters to take an active role in the community.

“I’m passionate about the town centre, and giving our community a voice and it’s important for me that Sisters & Misters is a community business that reflects the needs of people who live here. I realised through the shop that there is a desire to ‘wear Falkirk’ which led me to designing not only the Falkirk strip but other Falkirk inspired items like t-shirts.

“Sisters & Misters is a lovely shop and the customer service is second to none. In fact, we still have the bell that we introduced during covid because it gives people that special introduction into the shop. We’re not pushy salespeople though, customers are asked if they want help but if they just want to browse, they can just browse.

“I like to think of what we create as ‘retail theatre’, presenting a curated collection of items with pieces that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. We have a specialist room for proms and weddings, and a service where you can have a bespoke fascinator or hat designed to go with your dress. The great thing about having Sisters & Misters in one place is that we can arrange coordinating elements for couples dressing for a special occasion.”

Sisters & Misters is part of the District Towns Gift Card which is led by Falkirk BID and can be accepted at over 160 local businesses. Lauren says the gift card is a fantastic idea:

“The town centre management team has lots of great ideas, including the District Towns Gift Card. It can be so difficult to get customers to walk through your door as a business. The gift card encourages people to look at what’s on their doorsteps and actually visit. I especially like that you can use the card to get your hair done, go for a meal or buy a pair of jeans, it’s versatile. A lot of organisations use the cards as staff rewards, and that’s a great idea too, to give staff choice and support local.

“Being nominated as the UK’s Favourite Local Business is amazing. To know that people have taken the time to vote for Sisters & Misters is wonderful.”

Shops, restaurants, salons, hotels and attractions in Falkirk district – and right across the UK– are all eligible to be the UK’s Favourite Local Business 2024. People can nominate their favourite local business in the competition free at lovelocalwin.co.uk, giving the name of the local business they think deserves to win and a reason.

The UK’s Favourite Local Business will be the business who has the most nominations and will win a £500 Town & City Gift Card, such as the District Towns Gift Card, with one person who nominated the winning business receiving a £1000 Town & City Gift Card.

Other Falkirk district businesses nominated in the national competition so far include Piccolina Children’s Wear, Jolly Tots, The Lonely Broomstick, With Love, Vikki, Acacia Beauty, The Corner Café and Rod Smith Hairdressing. Businesses can find out more about the competition online.

Stefanie Paterson, Assistant BID Manager at Falkirk Delivers, said she is thrilled to see the nominations rolling in for Falkirk district businesses: “There is a good variety of local businesses in Falkirk and surrounding areas being nominated to be the UK’s Favourite Local Business, including retail, health & beauty and hospitality. And this reflects the choice and variety that the District Towns Gift Card offers too. Please keep on voting for your Favourite Local Business.”

Fintech Miconex, founders of the Town & City Gift Card concept, is sponsoring the UK’s Favourite Local Business 2024. Over 20,000 local businesses are part of Miconex’s local gift card programmes around the world with over £30m spent locally through the cards.

Colin Munro is the managing director of Miconex and said: “As we approach the key Christmas trading period, there has never been a better time to support local businesses. Nominating a business to be the UK’s Favourite Local Business helps to shine a light on local businesses of all types and sizes, so we can show the positive impact they make in our towns and cities.”

Enter the UK’s Favourite Local Business competition free at: www.lovelocalwin.co.uk

The competition closes on the 31st October 2024.