The whole team is looking forward to our bricks and mortar shop re-opening!
Our lovely shop is located at the Barrow Centre, in wonderful Mount Edgcumbe Park near Cremyll, to my mind, one of Cornwall's finest country estates.
Mount Edgcumbe is such an unusual combination of parkland, formal gardens and wonderful coastal views - there is loads to see. You can relax and recharge by wandering through the 18th Century formal gardens designed in Italian, French and English styles and relax in the more recently established American plantation and New Zealand garden.
With so many beautiful species trees in the park, it's no surprise that there is also an incredible array of wildlife, particularly birds, to see and hear. You can just get lost in your thoughts as you wander along the pathways.
The woodpeckers are particularly busy at the moment and we have been trying to capture them on film. So far we have just managed to record the sounds of them hammering away at the trees, digging for insects.
Normally, at this time of year the Barrow Centre buzzes with visitors, either to the other shops or to the Farriers Cafe, which does particularly good cream teas!
We have lots of visitors who come over on the iconic Cremyll Ferry from Stonehouse in Plymouth and others who walk along the south west coast path which goes through the park and virtually past our front door. Still more people arrive in cars or coaches and so normally from Easter onwards we are kept fairly busy.
Our studio and shop are next door to each other, so it has been strange to have our normally buzzing shop closed up and quiet.
The great news is that we are now able to confirm that we will be reopening from 12th April 2021. Our opening hours will be 11am - 4pm from Monday -Friday.
We have two wonderful members of our team who help co-ordinate the running of our shop and who are the two people who would normally be helping customers as they make purchases. I am really delighted to introduce them to you.
Willow is one of our chief makers and works primarily in the studio next to the shop. She has worked with us since 2018 when she joined as an apprentice in sewn manufacturing and now knows the product range inside and out. She lives locally and is a very skilled maker. Her specialty is bowl covers which can be really fiddly to sew and she also makes wonderful snack bags and sandwich wraps.
Willow is looking forward to the shop reopening: "I love seeing Mount Edgcumbe park busy and seeing all the businesses around thriving. It is great to meet customers buying the products that we make and to hear them say how lovely everything is, what they are going to use our products for, whether it's for themselves or as a gift to others. It's a great feeling of accomplishment."
Helaena is the newest member of our team. She studied for a BA in Costume Design at Plymouth College of Art and is working with us on lots of aspects of our business. She is responsible for picking and dispatching all of our online and trade orders to get them to you as soon as possible! Helaena also makes all of the lovely lampshades that you order.
Helaena said "I am excited about welcoming visitors back into our lovely shop at Mount Edgcumbe. Customers can see the studio where our items are produced and I love to explain the little details behind our products to people. With the recent warm weather and longer days the spring flowers have brightened up the countryside and made it a lovely place to work and visit."
Expect to see either Willow, Helaena or me when you visit!
Mount Edgcumbe has a wonderful Camellia trail which features the National Collection. These wonderful flowers start flowering around Christmas and are now just coming to an end. The daffodils are in full swing, blooming under the trees. Next, look out for the Bluebells which are starting as I write this at the end of March and should be wonderful throughout April and early May, just in time for our shop reopening.
Our Bluebell blog which gives information about where you can find beautiful Bluebell spots locally. While you are here, we'd love to see you in the shop, to browse our wonderful linen and bamboo products, including our lovely Bluebell Collection.
If you are out and about, please do share your images of Mount Edgcumbe with us; share on Facebook or Instagram.
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