about us
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 businesses (we call them our partners - the sellers of the products) as you wish.
Each partner 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 partner of your order, as well as confirming it to you.
Each partner 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 ControlScan certificates. Your card will not be charged until your order is confirmed.
Your payment passes briefly through our own processing system, and is then passed directly on to the partner, less a small share to us (we do have to make some money so we can promote and support our small businesses!)
delivery
delivery times
Each individual order arrives on your doorstep directly from the small business who created, designed or selected it. Unless an item is being specially made for you or ordered, delivery is normally within 3-5 working days, often much sooner. Many partners use next day delivery as standard. Others offer it as an added extra.
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 a delivery for a product which you have already ordered, please contact the partner concerned. Their details are provided 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 partners 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.
delivery charges
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 partner to deliver directly, safely and securely, a cost is naturally incurred for each order they send out.
Almost all standard orders are under £2.45 per business, many will be FREE. To keep the costs to a minimum, the following applies:
UK delivery
Standard items and deliveries:
Items or orders from one business OVER £30 will always be FREE.
Items or orders from one business UNDER £30 will be charged no more than £2.45. Many will be FREE.
Heavy, fragile, valuable, perishable or bulky items:
Each Partner stipulates their own cost, depending on the item. Maximum charge of £10.
Bespoke, custom and specially made items:
Each partner stipulates their own cost, depending on the item. Maximum charge of £2.45.
Please always contact us info@notonthehighstreet.com if you want to check timing or costs of delivery; we’ll be very happy to help.
All prices and delivery times quoted above are for UK ONLY. Offshore delivery within the UK may require supplementary delivery charges which will be advised to you upon placing your order.
If you wish to order an item for delivery overseas, then please contact us, giving full details of the item(s) you wish to order and where you would like them to be delivered to. We’ll get straight onto the partner concerned to try to organise it for you.
gift wrapping
Many of our partners 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 purchase. 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 partner too.
Refunds must only be made by notonthehighstreet.com via SECPay, but only the partner can organise this for you, so all communication will normally be through them.
Do make sure that you look at the partner’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 Partner 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 partner'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 partners 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 SophieTHE 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.
