Target reached!
Holy cow we reached our goal of £25,000, you legends! You are now all part of our st...
Forge Bakehouse: to the Train Station, and beyond!
Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Bringing wholesome, handmade bread and pastry to central Sheffield and a more food, events and jobs to Abbeydale Road.
We are looking to our community to help us build a new prep room, walk in chiller and freezer. This additional space will allow us to create new products, evening events, and cater for large special orders. Most importantly it will create the essential capacity needed to cement our presence at Sheffield Train Station, breaking through the chain store monotony to champion the independent spirit of the city. New breads, new pastries, new customers, new market.
Forge Bakehouse started life back in 2012, in a tiny former hairdresser’s salon on Abbeydale Road, which at the time was a road with very few stand out shops. In our first year we sold bread and pastries to our new inquisitive customers, attended local Farmer’s Markets and celebrated our first birthday with a pizza night, but before long we outgrew the confines of the space.
After two years we moved to bigger premises on the same road, which had quickly developed into a thriving food scene. We were part of the reason other small businesses were coming to the area and it felt like there was real momentum in the community. Moving gave us the opportunity to open a small café space on the ground floor, we began teaching bread classes, sharing our knowledge and passion with others, and hosting quarterly supper clubs, with diners squeezed into the tiny seating area and shop we had downstairs.
As our reputation and customer base grew, our downstairs space just didn’t cut it for the Saturday crowds, who sat in lines along our outside wall, precariously balancing baked eggs and French toast on their laps. So, two years ago we took on the flat above the bakery to expand our café seating, run evening events and private functions.
We have grown from a team of 3 to an army of 30 bakers, pastry chefs, baristas, chefs and front of house staff, working together to serve you all, 7 days a week. We are all driven by our passion for food, our respect for the ingredients we use and a hunger to always learn more. We are an award-winning independent producer of some of Sheffield's finest food.
For the past 11 months we have been selling our wares at Sheffield Train Station each Friday afternoon. This was a foray into a new location and customer base, the first of its kind in Sheffield. We are a unique service and product in a sea of large franchises run by a single corporation. The response has been overwhelming, there is obviously a demand, customers want us to be a more permanent fixture. We want to be there more often.
Our current capacity means we offer a limited range and very restricted trading hours. This campaign will expand our product range, championing locally made, quality produce, not available anywhere in the Train Station, as well as extra hours and days each week to serve more people. It’s important that everyone coming into Sheffield can enjoy what our city has to offer.
At our home on Abbeydale Road, extra capacity means finally saying YES to large orders. We are currently swamped with our daily production, spelling disappointment for so many looking to include us in their special occasions. This project will also allow better planning for seasonal rushes and busy days, stopping our shelves running dry so quickly, serving more customers each day of the week.
This is where you come in. We need your help to develop the last bit of no. 302, our little back yard. Adjacent to our pastry section, (an old scooter garage affectionately known as “The Cave”), is enough space to build a temperature-controlled prep room, dry store and walk in chiller and freezer. A dedicated space will allow our talented staff to be more creative both in process and product, rather than working within the limitations of a small kitchen.
Your pledge will pay local tradespeople to complete the groundwork, electrics and installation of the cold rooms at our leased premises. This is an essential project to ensure we can serve more people, more often, in a sustainable way.
A successful campaign means opportunities for further job creation and will keep us at the heart of the community that has been so supportive of us from the very beginning. We want to stay in this neighbourhood and continue to grow in the footprint we have, rather than move elsewhere.
We are fully independent, with no secret money men behind the scenes and we’d like to keep it that way. Over the years we have kept our head above water, when so many independents around us have closed their doors. We consistently reinvest any small success back into the business, which is still the case now. We have a third of the money ready to go, and with your help we can solidify our future and our ability to grow on our own terms.
If we don't reach our goal, this project can’t happen. You can help us in lots of ways, by pledging, re-posting, or talking to anyone who will listen! Should funding be successful, everyone – customers and staff – should be enjoying the benefits of this project by Christmas!
In exchange for your generosity we’ve got a wicked list of rewards for all budgets, ranging from limited edition merch to private dinner parties. You can even design your own flavour doughnut! We also want to give backers the opportunity to pay their generosity forward to the community, either through our Suspended Food Scheme or a charity brunch club, where we will take our pastry and coffee service to a charity or a good cause of their choice.
Over the past 7 years we have been completely humbled by the support of our incredible customers. You come and try everything we do, support our events and know our staff by name. Your enjoyment of our collective hard work makes us so happy. We hope you will now be able to continue that support by backing this campaign to push us into the future.
THE REWARDS
Here are just a few of our brilliant rewards, keep scrolling for the full list!
£1 or more - The best way to support us if you don't want a reward. This means we can invest as much of your money as possible into our project.
£12 or more - Limited Edition Enamel Pin Badge. Dazzle the world with this enamel pin, showing your love for our infamous Portuguese Custard Tarts. You'll be the talk of the town, probably.
Designed by Elizabeth Fortnum
£15 or more - Forge Bamboo Coffee Cup. Available in navy blue, purple, dark green or grey, these 8oz eCoffee bamboo cups feel as lovely as they look.
£25 or more - Limited Edition Tote Bag. A dancer wrestling with dough from Laura Wilson's performance Fold and Stretch, this large gusseted tote bag will hold a tonne of shopping.
Designed by Laura Wilson
£30 or more - can't decide between the enamel pin and tote bag, have both!
£45 or more - Suspended Food Scheme. We run this scheme so customers can make an extra purchase alongside their regular order; a coffee, a pastry, a meal. We then 'suspend' that purchase in the window of the bakery, for someone else to come in and claim.
£60 or more - Pizza Masterclass
£60 or more - Date Night for Two. Book onto one of our Late Nights, run monthly. Examples include...
£65 or more - Merch and Goodies Hamper (Worldwide). Are you far away but would still like some of our goodies? We make all our own jams, chutneys, granola and cookies which we'll send worldwide along with our merchandise.
£75 or more - Festive Hamper (Crowdfunder Exclusive). A beautiful modern hamper, for collection any date in December up to and including Christmas Eve. This hamper includes exclusive products that aren't available in our standard Christmas Hampers.
The kinds of deliciousness you can expect in your hampers!
£100 or more - Become a Baker
£200 or more - Design a Doughnut
£5000 or more - Bread 'Til Dead. For the ultimate carb fiend and life long friend of the bakery. Help yourself to a loaf of your choice, everyday, for the rest of your life. Mix it up and grab a pastry instead if you wish. You'll have our undying gratitude and love. We'll even make you a super cool ID card so everyone knows who you are.
This project successfully funded on 9th October 2019