ANN Street based arts and gift shop Born and Bred have been turning heads on social media with their eclectic mix of gifts with that local Belfast charm.
 
From enamel mugs emblazoned with sayings such as “a wee cup of tea” to “awk hiya love” facemasks, their products have taken the world by storm.
 
Last month, Hollywood actor and Director, Paul Feig posted a photo on social media with one of their mugs whist he was in the city working on the upcoming Netflix production, A School for Good and Evil.

Brains behind the business, Linzi Rooney, explained how she came up with the idea for what is now travel guide Lonely Planet’s top choice for arts and crafts in the city.
 
“We were originally set up as Studio Souk then we rebranded to Born and Bred in 2018 when we opened in Belfast City Airport.
 
“I had set up my first shop in Spires Mall when I was a silversmith. I had my studio space in the shop and the main focus was to have indie artists working in their spaces so that they were not working from home which is ironic now that everyone is working from home.”
 
“We still have the artist studio space on the middle floor but it is so funny that we were having the conversation about artists not wanting to work from home but now loads of people are happy to work from home.
 
“We then moved from Spires Mall to Castle Lane and the main thing that I noticed was that a lot of shops that sold locally made products were off the beaten track and were not based in high footfall spaces.
 
“I decided that it would be a great opportunity to be based in that space so that we could properly promote local artists.”

Born and Bred support over 100 local artists, producers and designers and have recently launched their own Born and Bred collection which they manufacture on their third floor studio space. 
 
Discussing their own range, Linzi said: “We worked in conjunction with Translink to launch our first face masks and designed masks for them. We also make enamel mugs with the likes of ‘Born and Bred in Ireland’, ‘A wee cuppa tea’ and ‘a cheeky wee Buckfast’ printed on them. Ten per cent of all the profits from the range go to a local mental health charity called Cause.
 
“We do our wooden Ireland maps made from laser cut plywood which can be personalised and we have our candle range and beanies which are some of our top sellers.
 
“We are also going to be launching a range of ‘all right big lad’ and ‘awk hiya love’ socks.”

Like most businesses, covid-19 has meant that Born and Bred have had to evolve and develop their online presence.
 
“The website and social media were a lifeline during lockdown as our main location on Ann Street wasn’t open. Now I am having to do TikToks. I am 35 and I feel old doing them but you constantly have to evolve and learn,” Linzi added.
 
“We also have a lot of posting on social media with their beanies or hiking up the Mournes with their mugs and it is great that so many are posting themselves with the products. We have also had a number of influencers coming into the shop which has been great.”

Born and Bred have also worked with Bullitt, the Grand Central Hotel and the Malone Hotel to supply them with products such as their famous mugs.
 
“We have also worked with a number of big companies such as Guinness and Tourism Ireland to send gifts to their customer base and staff who are working from home. Working with our corporate clients during lockdown that has been a real lifeline for us and it is something that I have enjoyed doing and hope to continue as we come out of lockdown.”
 
To view Born and Bred’s product range, visit their website or call in to their Ann Street store.