2025: Our Year In Review
2025’s motto was “find strength in unity”, and we certainly did! We forged new friendships overseas with our trip to the USA’s Library of Congress Festival, as well as strengthening relationships at home with design partners such as the University of Leeds, Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, and Wakefield Council. There's been collaboration after collaboration, and y’all kept our spirits high. Thank you so much to everyone we met along the way.
Here's what we got up to:
January: Feel-good Brand Boost Event
We celebrated the New Year in style with the Feel-good Brand Boost event! The event took place at our HQ, Bowcliffe Hall, with the fabulous Jackie Crawford.
Jackie delivered a “Dress for Success” workshop where we discovered wardrobe personalities and gained some top tips. After all, the way you present yourself has an impact on your brand and business.
We loved sharing personal branding ideas and hearing your intentions for the year ahead.
February: Living North Magazine Feature
In February, we picked up our copy of Living North magazine, which featured a recent interview with us. The issue celebrated women, so it was a joy to be involved.
We’ll still be Humble Crumbles, but seeing your name in print just never gets old!
March: The Brand Lab Showcase
The Brand Lab Showcase was a celebration event, following a series of branding workshops for tech entrepreneurs in Leeds. Our focus was on the accessibility of design, including visual storytelling and inclusive communication for tech startups. It was a huge success with many local entrepreneurs benefiting.
This project was funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). It was run as part of a wider partnership with Innovation@Leeds, Leeds City Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
April: Development Day at Matfen Hall
April marks the start of a new financial year, so it’s the perfect time to brainstorm for the year ahead. To consider how we can continuously improve for our community, we spent time at Matfen Hall. It is a beautiful setting, providing space to think. Research and development are key to the survival of any business!
May: The Brand Power Manifesto Turns One!
We celebrated The Brand Power Manifesto’s first birthday with a branding workshop and cake in our city of Leeds. We are super grateful for the support of BIS Publishers; the fabulous team has helped us share our story with the world. Thank you to everyone who has read a copy too.
It was a busy month, as we also had the pleasure of joining Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity for International Nurses Day. We joined the charity (and 200 nurses) at their conference to illustrate portraits and create visual summaries of the presentations.
June: Harrogate Museum’s Trail Launch
We were delighted to partner with Harrogate Museums to create a trail for the Royal Pump Room. The Royal Pump Room is a historical building in Harrogate, formerly a spa water pump house. During the Victorian era, guests came to drink sulphur water from the on-site well, and a free tap was provided outside the building for the poor.
Our trail design encouraged visitors to spot the different artefacts and provided fun facts, enhancing the visitor experience. If you’re around Harrogate, we encourage visiting the Museum to give it a go!
July: University of Leeds’ Online Learning Summit
We performed visual note-taking at the University of Leeds’ Online Learning Summit across two hot days in July. The summit brought educators and experts from across the globe to discuss the online learning environment and how Universities can better serve their students and teachers. We captured the discussions in a visual way to showcase the special gathering.
August: Wakefield District Heritage Network
In August, we wrapped up our work for Wakefield’s new District Heritage Network. We spent months conducting focus groups and workshops, co-designing a community of heritage champions around the region. This led to the production of three walking trails, presented as part of Heritage Open Days. It highlighted the rich history that the city has to offer. We’re grateful for Wakefield City Council’s partnership and thankful for their trust in this project.
September: Washington, D.C. Visit
A major highlight for 2025! This trip was certainly jam-packed, including a visit to the Library of Congress Book Festival. Another favourite moment in Washington, D.C. was an evening at the Friends to Lovers Bookstore with the wonderful DC Influence. The team took such good care of us, facilitating the Q+A with an inspiring crowd of local creators. We left feeling uplifted, connected, and full of gratitude.
October: Good Beans’ Presentation
We presented a book reading at Good Beans networking at North Star Coffee in Leeds. We had the pleasure of giving a reading at the session and sharing our branding knowledge. It was such a lovely crowd of good "beanies", and we were thrilled to join the gang.
November: DesignHer’s First Event
We had our launch event for DesignHer, a programme to support creative women in West Yorkshire. DesignHer is funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority as part of their Inclusive Growth initiative. Together, we’re working to remove barriers and open up opportunities in the creative sector.
December: Festive Celebrations
We gathered for our annual Buttercrumble Christmas dinner at Bowcliffe Hall! As a micro business, it's essential to take time to celebrate. We've worked hard this year, so it was the perfect way to celebrate an incredible year together.
Phew! The years start coming, and they don't stop coming. It's been an absolute whirlwind. Buttercrumble is approaching its ninth birthday (January 2026), and we are over the moon.
What will our motto be for the year ahead? It’s: “passion is the fuel that moves us forward”. It feels appropriate, with the Lunar Year welcoming in the Fire Horse. There’s powerful energy ahead!
