about us

FREE DELIVERY ON EVERYTHING THIS WEEKEND ONLY*
*Offer excludes Express and Next Day Delivery. Offer excludes delivery to all international and non-mainland UK addresses. Offer ends 11.59pm on Sunday 12 October 2008.

Welcome to notonthehighstreet.com… and to hundreds of wonderfully creative, imaginative, high quality small businesses, selling thousands of gorgeous, unique, carefully made things. Things for your home, for your friends… and for you.

Started in April 2006 by Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish, notonthehighstreet.com arose out of their passion... and their frustration.

our passion
your passion
how it works
how to pay
delivery
overseas delivery
gift wrapping
returns & refunds
ask a question
finding things on the site
do you have your own creative small business?
our promise

our passion

You know those people who have gorgeous houses filled with the most amazing, unusual things? And whose children wear the cutest, prettiest clothes… ones you’ve never seen before? Who arrive at parties bearing the most charming, thoughtful, original or personalised gift ideas? Things you’d never find on the average high street?

Oh, yes, they make us green with envy too. But we’re not proud. We admit it. We wanted to be like them too! We knew this amazing stuff exists. But not how to find it.

That was the frustration.

But there’s more to it …

Once in a while, we’d hit upon a really special little business. One that had that certain notonthehighstreet-style about it, hidden away somewhere at an urban market, or a country fair, or in a tiny village lane. We’d meet the owner, passionate about their products, buy up half of them for our homes and families, then want the whole world to know about them. The thing is, there’s often no room for them on the high street; big retailers don’t stock small brands… yet they’re utterly, utterly fabulous.

That’s the passion.

We believe passionately that everyone should be shopping with these wonderful small businesses. That you should be enjoying the personal service, delightful products, original ideas and exceptionally high quality that they offer. And that they should enjoy huge success and masses and masses of warm appreciation.

notonthehighstreet.com just had to be.

your passion

Happily, our first, lovely customers seemed to feel the same. But don’t just take our word for it. Below is just a taste of the feedback we've enjoyed; please click here for more comments from some of our wonderful customers.

‘What a fabulous website! All I have ever dreamed of in one perfect place. Brilliant!’

‘Amazing site. I have been searching for a birthday card book and was so excited to find one on your site. Thank you.’

‘Love the site! It’s so good to be able to find something different… added to my favourites already.’

‘I think your site is great. I do most of my shopping on the internet so it’s great to find a site with quality products.’

‘I have safely received all my items.I have been delighted with the service provided by you and have added your web site to my favourites list, as well as recommending you to friends and colleagues ’

What can we say? We’re thrilled. Thank you. Please keep the comments coming.

Because when you’re happy, we’re even happier. It just makes our day!

how it works

notonthehighstreet.com isn’t just different to anything you’d find on the high street – it’s not like any other shopping website either.

Simply find what you’re looking for, using our many browse and search facilities, and then drop as many things into one shopping basket, from as many different small business sellers as you wish.

Each seller will add a delivery charge to your order, then you can pay in one, easy checkout.

Once that’s done, it’s simply a matter of sitting back and waiting for your goodies to arrive. We’ll notify each seller of your order, as well as confirming it to you.

Each seller will then get in touch to confirm that your things are on their way, and dispatch them directly to you. No central warehouse, no giant retailer volumes, just you buying direct from those small creative businesses you never seemed to be able to find... until now.

how to pay

We accept all major credit and debit cards, including Switch, Visa, Delta, Maestro and Mastercard. Our online payment processing is, of course, completely secure and endorsed with VeriSign and McAfee certificates. Your card will not be charged until your order is accepted by the seller.

Your payment passes briefly through our own processing system, and is then passed directly on to the seller, less a small share to us (we do have to make some money so we can promote and support our small businesses!)

delivery

We want each order to reach you as quickly as possible, and ensure that our sellers’ delivery charges are fair and reasonable.

The great thing about having no central warehouse or bulk manufacture is that each item is dispatched directly to you (often after being made specially). Of course that means that for each seller to deliver directly, safely and securely, a cost is naturally incurred for each order they send out.

So that you know what to expect, our sellers follow a clear guide to delivery charges and timeframes which you can see if you click here. Each individual order arrives on your doorstep directly from the small business who created, designed or selected it, so please note that charges and delivery times may vary from seller to seller.

delivery charges

Almost all standard orders are delivered within the UK for under £2.95 per seller, many will be FREE.

delivery times

Unless an item is being specially made for you or ordered, delivery is normally within seven working days, often much sooner.

The partner will post details of delivery times on their product pages, and again notify you on receipt of your order notification.

If you have a query about delivery for a product which you have already ordered, please contact the seller concerned. You can do this using the contact link on your order confirmation email and it is for them to deal with such enquiries in the first instance. We will of course be very happy to help once you have first done this.

All of our sellers take pride in giving a great service, and that includes efficient delivery. However, there are rare occasions where external factors completely outside of their control can delay a parcel, despite their best endeavours, so we do ask for your patience and cooperation in these circumstances.

UK delivery of standard items

We encourage all of our sellers to offer FREE delivery for all products (especially those over £30). If a product is delivered FREE this will clearly be displayed on each product page.

If a product has an allocated delivery charge, it will be in accordance with the size and weight of the product.

UK delivery of non-standard items

Non-standard products are those which are deemed to be fragile, perishable, high-value, large or heavy, or those which involve other such exceptional delivery requirements. For these products, the above tariff will not apply; instead, please see the applicable delivery costs on the relevant product pages.

UK express delivery

Express Delivery is offered on certain products to Mainland UK addresses only. If the product you wish to purchase is available for Express Delivery please order before 4pm. Express Delivery facilities are excluded from all special offers and promotions.

international delivery

International Delivery is available on certain products, indicated by a flag on the product page. Delivery is charged in accordance with the size and destination address of the order as outlined on our delivery pages. International Delivery facilities are excluded from all special offers and promotions.

Products offered for sale by notonthehighstreet.com sellers are directed solely at UK residents. Notonthehighstreet Enterprises Ltd and its Member Partners makes no representation that any products sold through this website are appropriate or available for use outside of the UK. If you choose to purchase from this site from locations outside of the UK, or for delivery outside of the UK, then you are responsible for compliance with all applicable local laws.

You, or the addressee, may be required to pay import duties on receipt of your goods anywhere outside of the UK. Please be aware that these are the responsibility of the customer.

Please always contact us enquiries@notonthehighstreet.com if you want to check timing or costs of delivery; we’ll be very happy to help.

gift wrapping

Many of our sellers routinely send out your products beautifully wrapped and packed at no extra cost… so before you’ve even opened them you can instantly see the care and love they put into their products.

Others offer a high quality, competitively-priced gift-wrapping service which you can find on their product pages.

Either way, the wrapping itself is often unique and imaginative: recycled wooden cartons, ribboned-and-jewelled boxes, tissue, cotton bags, and satin, organza and velvet pouches all add to the notonthehighstreet.com experience.

If you’d like to know more, just email info@notonthehighstreet.com

returns & refunds

We want you to be thrilled with your purchases - and come back for many more. So standard items can be returned or exchanged for any reason, within 28 days of receipt.

All returned items must be unused, in their original packing, and returned to the small business from whom they came: their address is on your correspondence. Obtain proof of posting. We cannot refund any item not returned. Made-to-order, perishable goods, earrings and personal items are non-refundable, unless faulty. See our returns page for guidance, but CHECK with the seller too.

Refunds must only be made by notonthehighstreet.com via SECPay, but only the seller can organise this for you, so all communication will normally be through them.

Do make sure that you look at the seller’s returns policy before you order, because some things are specially made and not so easy to exchange.

Please read returns policy in the menu below, too, to ensure that anything you send back is returned safely and in good condition.

ask a question, please!

The best thing for you – and so for everyone – is that we all get your order right first time, so we’re always delighted to answer your questions. You can email info@notonthehighstreet.com or click the link to ‘ask the seller a question’ on every product page. We’ll get back to you just as soon as we possibly can.

finding things on the site

There are thousands and thousands of pieces of perfection here at notonthehighstreet.com, so we’ve made it super-easy to browse, search and find them. There are two ways:

Either: enter a search term into the main search box, and refine the search to a particular product area if you wish. The searchbox will also deliver a person's wishlist, if you enter their email address, or a seller's homepage, if you enter just their name with no spaces.

Or: use the drop down menus from each department. These really do make the hard to find ridiculously easy! Each department is divided into categories and sub-categories so it's easy to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Gifts: can be found in much the same way, only this time we give you great gift ideas by letting you sort out gifts according to everything that might please the lucky recipient. Their interests, their personal style, their age, as well of course by price and by occasion, resulting in the ultimate personalised gift.

can't find what you're looking for?

We know all the products on notonthehighstreet.com inside out, because we’re always drooling over them. So if you can’t find quite the perfect thing, then do ask by emailing info@notonthehighstreet.com

Or have you found the perfect thing, but the colour’s just not quite right? Often, because sellers make things specially, you can ask for something to be a bit bigger, or smaller, or in a different fabric, or with a personal message, or…

So whether you want a full personal shopping service, or just have a quick question on the off-chance, we’re bound to have the solution.

do you have your own creative small business?

We’re always on the lookout for new wonderful products and talent to join us at notonthehighstreet.com, so please click here to find out more or email us at info@notonthehighstreet.com to tell us about your own small creative business.

our promise

Our promise is simple: Everything you see or buy on notonthehighstreet.com will come direct from a creative small business who wants you to enjoy shopping this way as much as we do. Buying like this will directly support the future and growth of Britain’s creative, stylish talent.

And we also promise that if you’re not happy, we truly want to know about it. That’s the only way that we can continue to ensure you experience the service, standards and quality that shopping with notonthehighstreet.com is all about!

So do let us know, good or bad, by emailing info@notonthehighstreet.com

We hope you enjoy notonthehighstreet.com as much as we do.

Holly and Sophie
THE NOT GIRLS

the legal bit

The Site is operated by Notonthehighstreet Enterprises Limited ("we"). We are registered in England and Wales under company number 5591382 and with our registered office address at T22 Tideway Yard, 125 Mortlake High Street, London SW14 8SN. Our VAT number is 872468392.

Please see our full terms and conditions by clicking terms below.