Made in Fulham

It never fails to surprise us what a talented bunch you Fulham folks are. Each month Urban Village Ldn introduces you to THe Fulham face behind an idea, product or business and asks them what they love about being a local resident. This month we talk to Connal McClure, Founder of HALO BOTTLE

How long have you called Fulham home? I've lived in Fulham for 8 years now. I was previously in Dulwich Village and then Wimbledon, so clearly I'm quite partial to corners of London with something of a village feel and a spot of greenery.

Tell us a bit about yourself / your family I'm originally from Belfast, which is minuscule compared to London, but I've always felt very at home in big cities. I've lived in and worked in New York, Dubai and various cities across the Middle East, but I'm very settled in Fulham now. I live in Parsons Green with my partner and a rogue cat, who definitely rules the roost.

What’s your favourite local haunt and why? I regularly find myself in Sukho Thai on Fulham Road - it's consistently excellent and I've found it impossible to order anything subpar from the menu. I love Boys 'n' Berry for their superb brunches and cocktails and if I ever go missing in the evening you can probably find me nursing a pint in The White Horse or Aragon House, which are always great for low-key drinks and people-watching.

What is your slice of Fulham heaven and why? I feel tremendously lucky having Bishops Park and Fulham Palace so close by. They're beautiful year round and a walk along the river with a coffee from The Palace Gardener has a 100% success rate of clearing my head.

What did you miss about Fulham life during lockdown? Definitely socialising and the sense of community. On my daily walks I would pass all of the shuttered pubs and restaurants and feel palpable FOMO. Having said that, it was a welcome novelty seeing our corner of London so quiet and with zero traffic, tubes running or airplanes overhead. I doubt we'll experience that again.

What local shop/service/business helped make life easier during the pandemic? Fulham Greens has a superb selection of weird and wonderful fresh fruit and veg and Bygram makes refilling produce with zero waste a breeze. I also regularly ordered delivery to help support the local restaurants. My major weakness for Pappa Ciccia's lasagne al forno is eternal.

If you could do one thing to improve Fulham what would it be? It would have to be traffic alleviation. Accessibility can be a little difficult - I'm looking at you Wandsworth Bridge Road!

Tell us about Halo Bottle and how it came to be I founded Halo Bottle in 2018 to create a unique solution to help tackle the ongoing problem with single-use plastic. 2 million plastic bottles are used every day in London alone, which is shocking. While awareness of the plastic problem has increased, two-thirds of people in the UK still don't regularly carry a reusable bottle with them. We found from our own market research that in the majority of these instances the bulk and weight of reusable bottles either deter people from purchasing, or result in frequently leaving reusables at home as they are just too cumbersome - clearly this defeats their purpose!

The result of a year of design was to create the most compact and lightweight insulated bottles available on the market today. There are two sizes – the Cherub (350ml) is pocket-sized and the Prima (500ml) is ideal for handbags. Each colour has an identity, carefully created to reflect different personalities and lifestyles and we use only premium materials, including high-grade stainless steel and a chip-resistant paint.

I believe we need to shake off the notion that making eco-friendly choices always has to be effortful and requires either perfection or guilt. Eradicating single-use plastic bottles is one small step towards living more sustainably and we aim to make that one step much more convenient and easily achievable for people when on-the-move. Our customer feedback has been overwhelming, so I am really pleased we are making an impact and doing our bit to reduce our growing burden on the planet.

What advice would you give to people starting a new business venture? Choose a niche you can be truly passionate about. As an entrepreneur, almost every day you encounter unforeseen hurdles and being in the mindset to be able to mentally reframe setbacks as opportunities is a huge advantage. If you have passion, the tenacity necessary to make any venture a success will come much more easily, your creativity will be stimulated and ultimately you will feel much more fulfilled on your journey.

Follow Halo Bottle on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/halobottle/