Pride Month: Businesses run by and for the LGBTQ+ community
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Posted: Mon 17th Jun 2024
June doesn't just mark the start of British summertime but is also the month when everyone comes together to celebrate the progress made towards equality and raising awareness about LGBTQ+ rights.
With this in mind, we spotlight Enterprise Nation members who run businesses by or for the LGBTQ+ community.
Freja Designer Dressmaking
Mette Baillie set up her business in 1999 to provide an alternative to fast fashion, as well as design and make sustainable clothes. However, she ended up doing a lot of wedding outfits. Mette explains:
"When civil partnerships and gay weddings became legal, we were one of the first companies to embrace same-sex weddings. We have since done so many of those and recently did a documentary about non-binary bridal wear.
"We are now firmly established in the LGBTQIA+ community."
Alex Costin Photography
Alex Costin is an art creator, who started the business in 2020 as a freelance photographer. He explains:
"I am a queer trans photographer who strives to make photography accessible with sliding scale prices and accommodations. Lots of my projects focus on queer and trans relationships."
ChokuReiki Healing
ChokuReiki Healing is a queer-owned business based in London and has been in the market since 2019. Emy Mendoza started the business to help people through their healing journey. He explains:
"We focus on wellness, mental health and energy. We consider ourselves a lifestyle brand that supports people’s energy through our handmade Reiki-infused products (healing candles, oils/salts and crystal jewellery).
"We also offer yoga classes, sound healing, Reiki therapy and retreats. We are all about positive vibes only!"
Bombshells Pole
Savanna Jacqueline credits Enterprise Nation's seminars for her entrepreneurial success. Although her business is just a year and a half old, Savanna says her pole dance studio is run entirely by LGBTQ+ instructors. She explains:
"I started in a small town and wanted to create an accepting and fun space as that was currently lacking. We run weekly courses but also work with the Midlands LGBTQ+ community to run subsidised courses for the community."
Uncomfortable Oxford and Uncomfortable Cities
Olivia Durand co-founded Uncomfortable Oxford in 2018 and registered as a social enterprise in 2019. It now also operates in Cambridge and York. Olivia explains:
"Our organisation runs walking tours to collaboratively discuss and understand the uncomfortable histories and legacies of privilege, power, inequalities, imperialism and discrimination around the world in their manifestations in urban environments and our daily lives.
"Central to our activities is to highlight overlooked voices, among which are LGBTQ+ narratives. This is central to our Hidden Histories tours of the cities."
Use this list as a starting point and if you feel inspired, explore Everywhere Is Queer, which consists of both a website that houses a worldwide map of LGBTQ+-owned businesses and an Instagram page that shines a spotlight on some of these companies.
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