North Sky Yurts

Small businesses make a big difference as they join forces to give support and donate money to Mail Force Ukraine refugees appeal after call from entrepreneur and TV presenter Alison Cork

Britain’s small businesses are today joining forces to boost the Mail Force appeal helping Ukrainian refugees.

An interior design entrepreneur, a jeweller, a yurts rental firm and a single mothers network are among the first to offer their support – and money.

Each has come up with an innovative way to donate to the cause, such as giving £1 per client or £10 per booking.

As more firms join in, donations will soon add up – with the scheme given the tag ‘small business, big difference’.

The idea is the brainchild of entrepreneur and TV presenter Alison Cork, who is donating £10 per order received by her online interiors business Alison At Home.

She said: ‘As a business owner myself, I knew our most resilient and resourceful community of entrepreneurs would rise to the challenge of donating to the Ukrainian people.’

Miss Cork, 58, who presents ITV’s Don’t Move, Improve and Channel 4’s Cowboy Builders, is also a business ambassador for the British Library.

She said: ‘By nature, entrepreneurs like me sit and twitch, and want to do something to help.

Becca McClure decided to act after seeing the heartbreaking pictures of fleeing families with small children.

Her Leeds-based glamping and events hire business North Sky Yurts will donate £10 from each booking to the appeal.

Mrs McClure, 31, mum to two-year-old Kellan, said: ‘As the mum of a toddler, the thought of being uprooted, forced to run out of your house, your city is unimaginable.’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10591729/Ukraine-campaign-gets-big-boost-small-business-add-support-cash-refugee-appeal.html

About us

We are Becca & Charlotte – founders of North Sky Yurts. We are two friends with a mission: to provide magical spaces for events that don’t cost the earth.

We love events, the planet and of course yurts; which is why North Sky Yurts was born!

We both live in Leeds and wanted a business that would take us all over Yorkshire. We’d been dreaming of creating, building and owning our own business so in October 2020, after 8 years in the corporate world, we took the plunge and registered North Sky Yurts.

After lots of research, we sourced our yurts in Yorkshire and created a bespoke design to make them as light and spacious as possible. We then trained to put them up and down ready for 2021. Then another lockdown hit but we used our time wisely building our network, finishing our website and growing our social media following.

On top of that we also acquired a bell tent hire business providing mobile glamping; which has always been a dream. We are now the proud owners of 37 bell tents and we hit the ground running with lots of garden bookings and now our summer is full of bell tent villages for weddings.

We are learning all the time and it’s not easy work but it never really feels like work. We love getting to spend our summer outdoors and visiting lots of amazing venues. We love meeting our customers and making them smile. We were made for this.

We work perfectly together, bringing two different but complimentary skill sets to both businesses. You’ll often find Charlotte chatting to our customers making sure we’re all set for their event and Becca dreaming up new ideas.

Becca

Director of Joy & Chief Faffer

After an eye-opening trip to Mongolia in 2017, I fell in love with yurts. I’ve always dreamed of owning a business and knew I wanted it to be something unique.

I love to be outside, party and I believe in magic! Happy to impart enthusiasm and ideas on styling, fun additions to your event and throw in some sustainability tips.

Charlotte

Director of Calm & Chief Looker Afterer

After being in the corporate world since leaving university I knew I wanted to do something fun and full of adventure – which is exactly what we’re about!

​I love being outdoors and obsessed with making sure everything is just right for our customers. It’s so exciting being a part of someones special day whether its a wedding, birthday, festival or retreat.

our sustainability mission

We provide magical spaces for events that don’t cost the earth. Literally.

We all have a duty to protect the environment and reduce our emissions. We want to provide an event space that allows our customers to host incredible events without the negative impact.

The events industry is known for it’s use of single use materials, lots of waste created and moving lots of people around.

We’re demonstrating how you can reduce your impact by:

• Going local – We had our yurts built in Yorkshire and we always prioritise working with local suppliers and partners.
• Recycle, reclaim and reuse – Where possible we will follow the 3R’s and encourage our customer’s to do the same.
• Long life – We choose things that will last a long time and for lots of events. Some events companies use single use flooring, we have chosen Dandydura a flooring that will last years as it’s durable and can be washed. Our bell tents are made from high quality canvas which is built to last.
• No single use plastics – Cable ties are useful for yurt events but we’ve opted to use velcro instead so we can keep re-using it.
• Reduce emissions – Our goal is to also transport our yurts and bell tents in an electric vehicle; however until then we are offsetting our emissions with More Trees! We also prioritise local events to keep our travel miles low.
• For every booking we plant a tree with our partner More Trees to reduce the carbon footprint of each event.
• Reforestation is vital to reversing climate change, protecting animals, encouraging diversity and supporting communities.
• Each customer will get a certificate from More Trees to say where there tree has been planted.
• We like to work with customers hosting events in Yorkshire to reduce emissions. However, if your event promotes sustainability and is a bit further afield, please still get in touch.
• From using reusable velcro cable ties to our uniform made from recycled plastic bottles, we always make sustainability our priority.
• We try to source all our styling second hand to give it a new lease of life and make sure we buy responsibly where we need to buy new.
• We also use a hard wearing canvas and flooring which can be used again and again for years to come.

making your event more sustainable

Choose somewhere nearby to put the yurt. Travelling further afield equals more emissions and more travelling for all your guests.​

Ditch the plastic in party favours (that never get used!) and opt for bee bombs or seeds. Your guests can take them home to plant – giving the bees a great place to hang out and providing a lasting memory of the great time they had!

Hire crockery or use compostable plates and cups. Although disposable plates and cups are easy to clean up, they are not always recycled in the way they were intended. If you hire your crockery you can match it to your theme and style.

Make sure all rubbish is cleared up afterwards. This is the bit nobody enjoys but it’s necessary to make sure that we leave nothing behind.

Get your guests to lift share or use public transport. Equally you could reduce the number of guests and have an intimate celebration.

Hire décor items. Buying décor for your event means it’s likely to just be used once. Hiring decor also allows you go to go bigger and bolder.

Choose suppliers who are local, sustainable and ethical.

Consider a plant based menu for your party food

We have lots more tips and often share them on our Instagram!

#PlantsTrees