Salthouse Bottles

— E-commerce

Independent bottle shops increasingly compete on knowledge as much as selection. As more customers discover and buy online, the challenge is extending that expertise into a digital experience without losing the character that makes a local retailer distinctive.

Salthouse Bottles, an independent bottle shop in Brockley, South East London, needed to replace an outdated Shopify template that neither reflected the business nor supported its growing range. A limited collection structure made products difficult to browse, while the new platform also needed to better serve existing local customers and support deliveries across the surrounding area.

The project centred on making curation the defining feature of the experience. Rather than presenting products as inventory, the site would communicate the knowledge behind every recommendation.

A restructured collection system introduced clearer categories, subcategories and filtering to improve product discovery. At its centre is Our Favourite Makers, a regularly updated feature showcasing producers the shop knows and champions. Supported by dedicated maker event pages, it reflects the relationships behind the range and offers customers a more considered way to explore the catalogue.

The visual identity draws directly from the shop itself. Colours inspired by the exterior were refined into a cohesive design system, while product photography uses the light-grey stone flooring as its backdrop, creating a subtle visual link between the physical and digital experience.

Together, the identity, content and Shopify build form a connected retail system that reflects Salthouse Bottles' expertise, improves how customers explore its range and provides a stronger foundation for continued growth.