News

Name - Eilidh

Where is your mask from? Cambridge Mask Co. It’s a special design in support of those born with cystic fibrosis.

When did you start at Easter Greens? Back in September 2021.

What do you do at Easter Greens? I’m a shop assistant, serving customers and keeping the shop floor stocked and cleaned. I especially enjoy making the window displays look extra gorgeous.

Why did you want to work at Easter Greens? After a long, long time working from home, I was keen to get out and chat to people in person. Easter Greens seemed like the perfect place for me: nearby, friendly people and incredible products!

What do you love about working at Easter Greens? Being able to bring my own skills and creativity is fantastic. Plus the staff are all gems.

What is your favourite item that we sell? It’s a tie between the Hip Pop Kombucha (Ginger and Yuzu) and the Printed Peanut soaps. I love items where the packaging is as high quality as the product itself. Honourable mention to the Eco Eggs.

What do you like to do outside work?  I have two other jobs outside of Easter Greens. I work for my brother-in-law at Fleck Illustration and with my husband for his film developments. When I get to relax, I love to chill out with a creamy rooibos tea, hang with my garden squirrels, or tend to my many indoor plants.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? The light slowly rising through my sunrise lamp, and several alarms. Plus the promise of more tea.=

What are your ambitions in life? I’d love to see our film get made, and be given the opportunity to make more. It would be an absolute dream.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself. I wore face masks before they were in vogue. Not the trailblaze I thought I’d be claiming, but here we are!

Name - Niamh

Where is your mask from? A local Tailor!

What do you do at Easter Greens?
I’m a shop assistant at the Morningside Store so I serve our lovely customers, stock the shelves and ensure the shop is clean and tidy

Why did you want to work at Easter Greens?
I loved the ethos of Easter Greens. Being both a vegan and a geography student I am passionate about reducing our individual impact on the environment. I’m also a big foodie and it’s a fantastic place to try and find new vegan foods.

What do you love about working at Easter Greens?
I love chatting with all the customers. I feel I learn new things everyday from them. I also love how friendly and helpful all our staff are.

What is your favourite item that we sell?
This is a hard one! It’s either the Suma Apple and Pear spread as I used to eat it all the time as a child or the Earthy New Moon Brie

What do you like to do outside work? 
Outside of work, I’m a geography student at Heriot Watt and a geography student ambassador for the Royal Geographical Society. I love to read in my spare time and explore new places (if the weathers nice haha).

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
A big cup of coffee and my dressing gown.

What are your ambitions in life?
I hope to use my degree to become an environmental consultant to try improve the impact we all have on the planet for the better

Once lockdown is over what's the first thing you want to do?
I’d love to head to North to see my family and my brother’s new mini dachshund puppy!

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
I’m a fully qualified Highland dance teacher! I hope to have my own dance school one day.

Name - Corran

Where is your mask from?
I got it from a seamstress on Dalry Road. It’s the best fitting mask I’ve ever worn, and I’ve ended up using it to make a whole load of my own.

What do you do at Easter Greens?
My official role is Shop Assistant at the Morningside store, and that basically means I spend most of my time helping out all of our lovely customers. And, of course, trying all the food that comes in so I can give recommendations

What do you love about working at Easter Greens?
Is it cheesy if I say the people? The people who come into the Morningside shop are a proper community, and I love chatting and catching up with regulars. Also, all the team are a dream to work with, and we’re genuinely like a wee family.

What is your favourite item that we sell?
It was such a struggle to choose one, but going purely off of the amount I end up buying - the Violife cream cheese. There’s just something about it, I have on more than one occasion eaten it straight out of the tub!

What do you like to do outside work? 
I study Sustainable Development at Edinburgh, and I’m really passionate about sustainability and climate justice work. I’m also a bit of a nerd about style and fashion, and a big fan of sewing and upcycling, so I spend a lot of time using my friends as mannequins for what I sew.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
If we’re talking literally, a cup of tea - I need at least one cup if I’m going to have to think at all that day. In a more general sense, though, my friends bring me so much joy, they make even the worst days seem better.

What are your ambitions in life?
I’m determined to bring back tailoring, and make buying clothes specifically made for you and your body more accessible. Ready-to-wear is out - long live tailored clothes!

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
I was obsessed with Lord of the Rings as a child, and took up archery in an attempt to be as cool as Legolas. It turned out I was pretty good at it, and somehow ended up competing at the British Championships, where I felt very out of place!

Name - Iona

Where is your mask from? A wee shop on Cockburn Street!

When did you start at Easter Greens?
I started at Easter Greens in November 2020, when the Morningside store was opening.

What do you do at Easter Greens?
I’m a part-time sales assistant, which usually entails keeping the shop nice and tidy, filling up shelves and of course chatting to all our lovely customers.

Why did you want to work at Easter Greens?
I really wanted to work at Easter Greens as the company values align strongly with my own. After quitting a full-time job so I could pursue my masters degree, I was looking for part-time work with an ethical company. I had been following Easter Greens on social media for a while, and when I saw that a store was opening in Morningside, a 15-minute walk from my house, I knew it was meant to be!

What do you love about working at Easter Greens?
I love working for a vegan company. But more importantly, I love working with such a friendly and genuine team of people, and I love getting to chat to so many wonderful customers!

What is your favourite item that we sell?
At the moment it would have to be the Love Raw ‘Cre&m Filled Wafer Bars’ (vegan Kinder Bueno vibes anyone??) … both the original and white choc bars are amazing. The Breadwinner pastries are a long-standing favourite of mine too.

What do you like to do outside work? 
Aside from my degree which takes up most of my time at the moment (I’m studying Business Psychology with HRM and really enjoying it), my days are generally filled with going out in search of vegan takeaway treats wherever I can find them! Lockdown has also prompted me to include home workouts in my daily routine which I have surprisingly found a huge amount of joy in.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
I’ve started listening to a podcast called ‘Make Your Damn Bed’ to get me up in the morning. The episodes are 3-5 minutes long and touch on a different topic every day, which has been a great way to get me thinking and kickstart my day whilst I… make my damn bed.

What are your ambitions in life?
This is something I’m very much still working on, but I’m trying to trust the process. So long as I can find happiness within myself then I think the rest will fall into place exactly when it’s meant to (having said that, buying a flat and adopting a cat are definite goals of mine in the next few years)!

Once lockdown is over what's the first thing you want to do?
Until restrictions started easing, I would have said go out for a huge dinner and nice drinks – but I am very grateful that is currently possible! Once we’re fully out of lockdown though, I would really love to go to some festivals and maybe a city break with my friends.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
It’s not particularly interesting… but I have been vegan since 2016, and wrote my undergrad dissertation on vegan consumer behaviour.

Ingredients 
300g Baby Roast Potatoes
50g Cherry tomatoes 
1 Lemon
2 Spring Onions
2 tbsp Curry Leaves
1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes
1 tsp Mustard Seeds 
1 tsp Turmeric 
2 Cloves of Garlic 
1/2 inch of Ginger
2 tbsp Rapeseed Oil
Cracked black pepper and salt to taste. 

Method 
1. Start by steaming your potatoes. Cut them in half for manageable bit size pieces and then steam for 5-6 minutes or until fork tender. You want them cooked but not falling apart. 

2. While the potatoes steam make the dressing. Start by heating the rapeseed oil over a medium heat. Once warm add in the turmeric, chilli, curry leaves and mustard seed. Once the mustard seeds start to pop and splatter and the curry leaves have crisped add in the juice of half the lemon. Be careful with this as it will splutter! 

3. Add the dressing and potatoes into your serving dish. While the potatoes are still hot toss them in the dressing so it soaks into them. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. While it cools a little quarter your tomatoes and add them to the bowl. Top with wedges of lemon and thinly sliced spring onion for a bit of colour. Enjoy warm or cold. 

Want to make this yourself? Click here to find a handy list of all the ingredients you need. Yum!

Name - Izzy

Where is your mask from? Depop

When did you start at Easter Greens?
I started at the Easter Road store in January 2020.

What do you do at Easter Greens?
I’m a shop assistant which means I have many tasks including picking deliveries, packing deliveries, stocking shelves, rotating stock, date checking, talking to customers and drinking lots of tea!

Why did you want to work at Easter Greens?
I was really excited at the prospect of working somewhere that directly aligns with my values.

What do you love about working at Easter Greens?
I can’t tell you how much I love working at Easter Greens. To be honest, it’s never really felt like a job to me because it’s something I enjoy so much!

If I had to choose a favourite part of the job it would be the people. All of the staff are so kind and genuine. We really are like a family and treat our customers with the same care and respect.

What is your favourite item that we sell?
This is a really tough question so I’ll just go with the entire sweets and chocolate section (that’s an acceptable answer, right?).

What do you like to do outside work? 
I enjoy going on long walks, watching period dramas, going out with friends, visiting gardens and playing the piano.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
The excessive alarms I set that go off in two-minute intervals.

What are your ambitions in life?
I’m still working on this one. For now, I’ll just say to always be kind.

Once lockdown is over what's the first thing you want to do?
I’d like to go down to England to visit my family. I haven’t seen them in 8 months so I’m really looking forward to seeing them!

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
I started ringing church bells at the age of 10. Since then, I have competed in ringing competitions and have rang for many weddings!

Ingredients 
100g of green beans steamed and refreshed in cold water.
300g of steamed baby roast potatoes.
30g (approx 10) Gaea Katamala olives pitted and halved.
100g cherry tomatoes (approx 6) halved.
1 little gem lettuce, shredded.
35g finly diced red onion.
1 tin of Tunah, drained with the oil reserved.

Dressing -
1tbsp oil from Tunah.
Juice of 1/2 a lemon.
Cracked black pepper and salt to taste. 

Method 
1. Start by steaming your potatoes. While they are cooking top and tail the green beans, shred the lettuce, halve the tomatoes, dice the red onion and pit the olives. Put everything in a large serving bowl.  

2. 2 or 3 minutes before the potatoes are done add in your green beans to the steamer. They don't need long. As soon as the beans are tender and the potatoes are soft run them under a cold tap to stop them cooking and to cool them down.  They don't need to be cold just not boiling hot as the lettuce will wilt.  Add them to the bowl.

3. Drain the Tunah and reserve the oil. Flake the Tunah with a fork and add it to the salad bowl. Next take 1tbsp of the reserved oil and add the juice of half a lemon and season well with lots of black pepper and just a touch of salt (the olives and Tunah will add plenty of salt). Mix well and pour it over the salad. Toss well so everything is coated in the dressing and serve. 

Want to make this yourself? Click here to find a handy list of all the ingredients you need. Yum!

Ingredients -
200g Bramik Bulgar Wheat
100g Flaked Almonds
Suma Sicilian Pesto
1 Kallo Veg Stock Cube
1 Lemon
2 Carrots
1 Courgette
1 White Onion

Method -
1. Preheat your oven to 200c.
2. Prep your veggies by cutting the carrot and courgette into chunky batons and thinly slicing the white onion
3. In a small 10x6” baking tray, add in your bulgar
wheat and spread into an even layer. Next add an
even layer of onion and then finally your carrot and courgette batons.
4. Mix 300ml of boiling water with your stock cube
and 2 tbsp of the pesto and pour over the bulgar wheat and veggie mix. Pop in the oven for 25 minutes.
5. Once the veggies are tender and starting to char and the bulgar wheat is cooked through top with flaked almonds, lemon wedges and generous dollops of pesto.

Name - Harris

Where is your mask from?
I reckon this one is probably from ‘the internet’ somewhere. However, my favourite mask is from the Ethical Gift Shop in Huntly back home. It is covered in trains and other such railway paraphernalia. (I am a train fan)

What do you do at Easter Greens?
I work between both Morningside and Easter Road stores. Generally trying my best to help out and keep things looking and running as they should. I spend a lot of my time either being tempted by all sorts of delicious things on the shelf or trying to find ways to not be tempted by delicious things on the shelf. I also pet dogs.

Why did you want to work at Easter Greens?
I was a customer at Easter Road before and always loved the energy and sense of community in the store. When the news broke about the Morningside store, and the opportunity to be part of the team came up I was ‘pure-buzzing’ to jump on board. I also love cooking and vegetables and really wanted to learn more about how food gets into stores and understand how I can better appreciate the food I eat and where it comes from.

What do you love about working at Easter Greens?
SO much stuff. In essence though, it is the people. Both the customers and team. There are no false facades. There are individual people behind the counter and individual people coming into the stores. Everyone is given the utmost respect to be themselves. Everything is transparent and up for discussion. From bigger issues to smaller dilemmas, everyone’s ideas and opinions are valid.

What is your favourite item that we sell?
The fruit and veg. The weird and wonderful produce we get from our suppliers is always exciting. I love that it is sometimes not perfect, and I know that there is not perfectly edible produce being filtered out and going to waste. It is a difficult task to balance year-round produce selection and seasonality, but still, they manage to keep it ALAP (as local as possible) as well as consistent and fresh. However, if I had to choose a specific product the Dr Bronner’s soap bars have changed my life. They foam up so creamy. And honestly, they smell and look good enough to eat. (please do not eat them xo)

Honourable mentions: Jarr Kombucha, Candy Kittens, Mouses Favourite Aged Dulse. (this was the hardest question)

What do you like to do outside work? 
I love a good walk, long or short. I also enjoy a good book or a National Geographic magazine. A few friends and I run a (very) small production company, where we basically endeavour to make whatever we fancy into some sort of zero-budget project. Usually this is film based, or in lockdown, audio dramas/podcasts. In lockdown I have also begun to explore song writing and consequent production, something I have always enjoyed but never really taken seriously. I have slowly been honing my skills and building up a studio environment in my flat with aims to experiment and practice. Hopefully to start releasing and gigging some music when that becomes possible.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? 
“Uptown Folks” by Dope Lemon is my current alarm on my phone. A peaceful awakening in the morning, however hearing that song anywhere else does now induce an unnecessary amount of stress. However, whether this actually gets me OUT of bed depends very much on my plans.

What are your ambitions in life?
Not a huge amount right now. I very much disagree that I should allow any amount of stress to arise from this thought. However, I do see myself maintaining a creative element in how I pass my time and would be ecstatic to be able to mix that with my career. I think to be able to sustain myself out with the city is what I am looking for right now, somewhere I can make enough to eat and live comfortably yet not be in the grip of urban life is where I would find most peace.

Once lockdown is over what's the first thing you want to do? 
I can hardly remember really. I must have done something else, but I trust I will find it again when I can. I do miss my friends (I almost feel like I should call them old friends now). Being able to catch up and stay with people is going to be so rewarding. And by association, the pub.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
I can ride a unicycle. I have done the West Highland Way on one when I was 17 (?) for charity. I have a mountain unicycle, with a big wheel and knobbly tire. It is a great way to explore paths around Scotland, nothing makes you focus on the terrain around you quite like it (and not just because there is no suspension). 

Name - Ivy

Where is your mask from? Ebay, I refuse to shop from Amazon (#BoycottAmazon #SupportLocal) so I end up buying everything from Ebay instead. 

When did you start at Easter Greens? 
August 2019

What do you do at Easter Greens?
I’ve got a few jobs which means I get to work with everyone in the company. I look after the Social Media accounts, work with new suppliers, I’m the line manager for the shop managers, I cover HR and you’ll also find me in the shops from time to time. Let’s just call it Operations Manager.

Why did you want to work at Easter Greens?
I was looking for an ethical job. It’s not an easy thing to find but I’m very glad I found Easter Greens. I’m vegan myself and it aligns with everything I believe in which is a wonderful feeling. 

What do you love about working at Easter Greens?
I love my current role(s) because it means I get to work with everyone in the company and I also get to see customers in both the shops. I’ve got the best of all worlds 

What is your favourite item that we sell?
Cheese. Pre-vegan I was obsessed with cheese and 6 years ago the offerings weren't that great. Recently there have been a lot of new companies offering some really amazing cheese alternatives and my obsession is back. I don’t think I can pick just one. 

What do you like to do outside work? 
I love to cook. We’ve travelled quite a bit (before covid) and I like to bring home new and exciting ingredients to play with. Now we can’t really go anywhere I’ve turned towards fermenting. I like to try new combinations of sauerkraut like pineapple and chilli and also make my own miso which sounds way more complicated than it actually is. You can follow my adventures in food on instagram.com/kitchen_anarchist

What gets you out of bed in the morning? 
Now the sun is out, a hot cup of tea and a good book on the balcony with my cats Marble and Jiji plus my husband if he’s not at work. 

What are your ambitions in life? 
I don’t really have any. As long as I have enough money in my pocket to do what I want each day I’m happy to see where life takes me.

Once lockdown is over what's the first thing you want to do? 
I want to get back to travelling but I’m not in a huge rush as it’s going to take a while for things to get back to normal. I think we’ll start off closer to home in Europe and then when we can we’ll be heading over to Asia. 

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
I've just asked someone about this as I can't think of anything. The response? I have loads of cool tattoos (OK I do have a lot of them) I make great food and I always sneakily win at Catan. 

Ingredients (makes 4)

Name - Reece

Where is your mask from?
My mask is from the Edinburgh Collective Animal Rescue

When did you start at Easter Greens?
I started with Easter Greens a few days before we opened the Morningside Branch, in late October.

What do you do at Easter Greens?
I’m the store manager of our Morningside branch. Mostly this means I get to work with the amazing team at Morningside to provide the best possible experience for anyone who visits us. I also have the privilege of fostering the relationships we have with our wonderful local suppliers and the morningside community as a whole.

Why did you want to work at Easter Greens?
Easter Greens came recommended from a friend who also works here as a workplace in which I would be valued as a human being, rather than just another cog in the machine, and it’s proven to have been completely true. I’ve never felt more welcome in a workplace than I do at Easter Greens.

What do you love about working at Easter Greens?
The team we have at Easter Greens is like no other I have been part of and it’s a true joy to work with every single one of them.

What is your favourite item that we sell?
Vego Hazelnut bars. I have been guilty in the past of being doubtful of whether vegan chocolate alternatives could live up to dairy based chocolate but the Vego Hazelnut bars have swiftly become one of my favourite sweet treats ever!

What do you like to do outside work?
I’m a media studies graduate so naturally I spend a lot of time watching films and playing video games. Now more so than ever. I’m also part of a few transgender mutual aid/support groups and am grateful for the chance to be able to provide what little support I can for people during these difficult times.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Other than Kaiju, my overly energetic Cocker Spaniel? The hope I can make a positive difference, no matter how small, to someone that day.

What are your ambitions in life?
To one day wake up at 6AM without wanting to stay in bed for the next 4 hours.

Once lockdown is over what's the first thing you want to do?
I had a trip to Finland for a fashion event that was supposed to happen last year. It's been delayed to later this year so fingers crossed that'll be my first big plan once this is all over.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself
I studied Media, Film and Culture with a focus on the cultural impact of video games and wrote my dissertation on censorship of video games and the reasons why they may be more harshly censored than other media.