Our Purpose
Bourgeois Boheme is a celebration of life!
We are a compassionate fashion boutique with an ethical-business model that aims to facilitate an attitude of compassion towards animals, humans and the environment. We believe in the consumer’s voice and, by providing compassionate fashion alternatives, we hope to educate consumers that their conscious choice of an ethical product does make a difference in how people, animals and the environment are treated in the commercial world.
We offer a range of ethical fashion accessories for both men and women. Every product is free from animal ingredients (suitable for vegans) and we are committed to increase our range of natural, organic products. Our range includes footwear, bags, wallets, belts, cosmetics and more.
We aim to provide a solution to those seeking a compassionate lifestyle by:
- Offering high quality products that meet our ethical business ethos
- Ensuring a fun and inspiring experience for customers by providing exceptional customer service
- Creating partnerships and supporting individuals, businesses and customers who share our philosophy to facilitate a lifestyle attitude that is compassionate to animals, humans and the environment
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Our Inspiration
We believe in non-violence in all that we do: our words, actions and thoughts. We believe in fostering kindness and respect in our interactions with all living beings and mother earth.
Bourgeois Boheme was born out of a desire for a cruelty-free lifestyle where style and fashion need not be sacrificed.
We are inspired by every animal that lives a life in a cage and without nature or nurture.
We are inspired by every fashionista and every shoe that walks down the road because we know that we can make an animal-friendly alternative.
We are inspired by the idea that we can bring fashion products that are compassionate to each and every consumer not only because it is animal-friendly but also because it is really stylish too!
We are inspired by a compassionate lifestyle in all we do, say, give and consume.
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Our Ethics
We are:
Idealists
We are against human, animal and environmental exploitation. We invest a substantial portion of our research and development resources in making sure that the products we offer you are vegan, ethical and cruelty-free.
We only source products from companies who can ensure an ethical supply chain and can provide us with written confirmation of their standards.
We aim to support good causes by donating products or funds.
Perfectionists
We source and manufacture products of the highest quality possible. We aim to provide excellent customer service- we are here to delight and will accept nothing less.
We are constantly working on improving our range, materials and business practices; your feedback, positive or negative, is important to us.
We have ambitions to conquer the world, so your suggestions on how we may improve are always welcomed.
Green fanatics
We aim to provide quality that lasts and style that is timeless so that you can wear this summer’s sandal (and last winters boot) year in and year out- there’s no need to throw away!
We give preference to products with natural and organic ingredients.
We use packing materials that are recycled or renewable.
In our everyday office life we try to adopt best energy conservation practices- we use eco-friendly products and recycle anything and everything we can!
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Creating Partnerships
We believe that nothing can exist in isolation. By creating partnerships with like-minded individuals, businesses and customers we believe that the voice becomes more powerful in encouraging the greater awareness of a lifestyle that is both contemporary and compassionate to humans, animals and the environment.
In addition to being a Veggie-Friendly Business member of Viva (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals), we are strong supporters of Viva's Veggie Roadshows and travel across the UK to spread the word on a compassionate lifestyle to the general public and provide dedicated veggie/vegans with better hands-on access to vegan goodies.
We are Vegan Society Trademarked and enjoy working together with the Vegan Society to help promote the benefits & accessibility of a vegan lifestyle.
As a PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) Business Friend, we support the charity PETA Research and Education Foundation (PREF) which focuses on developing and distributing unique research and educational materials that encourage children to respect and have compassion for animals.
We regularly offer donations and support to PETA and other local vegan/vegetarian organisations.
Our concerns extend not only to animal-welfare but also to environmental issues; we are currently streamlining our production and selling processes so that we may fulfill the criteria for accreditation with the various ethical/green organisations.
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Our Story
We started Bourgeois Boheme in May 2005, when after years of disappointing high-street shopping and fruitless cyber-surfing we decided to provide what no-one was offering- an outlet for stylish and reasonably priced non-leather, ethical and animal-friendly fashion accessories.
Bourgeois Boheme was conceived by husband and wife team Alicia & Van. When we started Bourgeois Boheme we were two vegans with little e-commerce experience but loads of passion, gusto and faith. Between the two of us, we were: the Customer Service team, Order Fulfillment team (A.K.A packing slaves!), Post Room, Accounts, Bank, Sales Reps, Marketing Department, IT Department, and Buyers! After a full day at our day-jobs we would arrive home to our flat/warehouse/office and wrap, pack and dispatch into the wee hours of the morning.
Our company name is credited to a French tourist whom we met whilst holidaying in Greece (before the hectic life of running a business started!) We thought the name was perfect as it represented style and elegance alongside the unconventional- lets be honest, veganism isn’t exactly considered mainstream!
2007 had been a big growth year for BoBo. We have grown to a team of 5, moved out of our house finally into a small warehouse, and most exciting of all, we have just received our very first shipment of exclusive Bourgeois Boheme shoes!
It has been a very steep leaving curve and we are still climbing it. We are proud of the little steps we have taken to try and make a difference for a more compassionate world towards animals, people and the environment. We are grateful for the continual support and encouragement from friends (although they still have a poke at us about veganism), family and our loyal customers who keep coming back for more.
We see the future ahead as bright and exciting but must admit with some dread as to the amount of work still ahead of us.
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Our Retail Showroom
We are delighted to welcome you our brand new retail showroom - London's first Vegan footwear and accessory shop!
Hydrex House, Garden Road, Richmond TW9 4NR
Monday - Friday 9am-5:30pm & Saturday 10am-2pm (Please press the bell)
Click here for a map to see where we are!
We look forward to seeing you!
The BoBo Shop is within our office premises in Richmond and is easy to find:
Travelling by train or tube
The District Line and London Overground at Richmond Station. Once out of the station, cross the road to the bus stop just by Starbucks and take bus R68, 419 or 190 going East towards Hammersmith. It’s just a few minutes journey. Press the bell once you see Sainsburys on your right and alight at the bus stop. Cross the road and walk past Sainsburys along Lower Richmond Road, turn first right down Orchard Road and the first left into Garden Road. Our building is on the right.
OR
Why not get your heart-rate going with a 15 minute walk? Turn right as you leave Richmond station and right again at Kew roundabout to walk straight up Lower Mortlake Road. Once past Sainsburys, turn first right down Orchard Road and first left into Garden Road. Our building is on the right.
Trains from Waterloo stop at North Sheen train station which is a 5 minute walk to us. Turn Right onto Manor Road, with Homebase on your left. Walk diagonally across Sainsburys car park onto Lower Richmond Road. Take the first right down Orchard Road and first left into Garden Road. Our building is on the right.
Driving
There is some free parking on Orchard and Garden Road, otherwise you can park in the Sainsburys carpark free for 3 hours. No purchase necessary at Sainsburys but of course you could do your weekly shop too!
If you need further help in finding us, please telephone 0208 8788 388 for further directions.
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