Volume No35
£10.00
Interpretation
and INFLUENCE Inspired by time, expressive opportunities are endless
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Drift /drift/
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We invite you to continue your lifestyle voyage online. Find inspiring stories and uncover more luxury content on Instagram @driftjournaluk. Join our exclusive e-journal community at driftjournal.co.uk to receive recipes, reviews and insider knowledge of some of the south west’s most-loved luxury destinations. driftjournal.co.uk A
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On the cover Model Jenna Davies, wearing Teija Tie dye smock shirt and skirt and Hereu sandals (stylist’s own) as featured from page 102. Photography by Goodrest Studios. Location, Felicity Mara at Porthmeor Studios. Make Up, Georgina Yates. Hair, Ro Salon. Set Design, Emily Settle. Studio design by Neil Wall, Studio West Architects. teijaeilola.com
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Drift is published by: Engine House Media LTD Holbrook, The Moors, Porthleven, Cornwall TR13 9JX www.enginehousemedia.co.uk www.levenmediagroup.co.uk
ISSN 2632-9891 © All rights reserved. Material may not be re-produced without the permission of Engine House Media Ltd. While Drift will take every care to help readers with reports on properties and features, neither Engine House Media Ltd nor its contributors can accept any liability for reader dissatisfaction arising from editorial features, editorial or advertising featured in these pages. Engine House Media Ltd strongly advises viewing any property prior to purchasing or considerations over any financial decisions. Engine House Media reserves the right to accept or reject any article or material supplied for publication or to edit such material prior to publication. Engine House Media Ltd cannot take responsibility for loss or damage of supplied materials. The opinions expressed or advice given in the publication are the views of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of
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Engine House Media Ltd. It is suggested that further advice is taken over any actions resulting from reading any part of this magazine. Engine House Media Ltd is a multi-platform media business with a passion for everything Cornish. Visit www.enginehousemedia. co.uk to find out more. Our mission is to create READ-WATCHEXPERIENCE media opportunities marrying together consumers with the fabulous businesses across Cornwall. Our publishing and marketing teams are specialists in creating print and online communications, devised to achieve a range of marketing objectives. With over 20 years of marketing, brand management and magazine experience we develop effective communications that deliver your message in a credible and creative way. We operate across all media channels, including: print, online and video.
25/01/2024 09:15
T E A M
Foreword “Change is the only constant in life,” said the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. Those who embrace change, in whatever form that may be, are those who move forward; those who create new beginnings from old; those that break new ground with the knowledge that by having the courage to step forward rather than back, they can create something exciting, rewarding and fulfilling. Jenna Foxton (15) moved from city to coast, drawn by the elements and finding a new dynamic in her photography, creating a visual connection from capturing fleeting moments in time. Chef and writer Emily Scott (36) is passionate about food and never more at home than when in her kitchen. While she has and does call Cornwall her home, taking opportunities on foreign shores has allowed her to bring her culinary artistry to menus and restaurants anew. Across the Tamar, Cath and
Jeremy Brown of Feldspar (55) swapped corporate careers for a ramshackle farmhouse on Dartmoor. Adopting a slower pace of life, they were able to take stock, discovering a creative talent for ceramics that would see them go from making a dinner service for a family Christmas to having their exquisite tableware stocked in the finest of London establishments. A similar story of change is behind Savernake (71). Co-founded by Philip Shaw whose Devon upbringing was to shape his formative years, this luxury bespoke knife company wouldn’t be in existence if it were not for the leap of faith that its founders took. DRIFT Journal itself has made a change this year as we take its stories beyond the Tamar, celebrating the lives, passions and projects of people across the south west. While our scope may have widened our ethos remains the same; a journal for the discerning.
Our contributors
Hannah Tapping
Rosie Cattrell
Ysy Lees
Mercedes Smith
Martin Holman
Lucy Studley
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Rare Frontline Beachside Opportunity Templeton | Mawgan Porth £5,000,000 An exceptionally rare and desirable opportunity on the rugged North coast of Cornwall, a substantial property situated in an outstanding frontline position in Mawgan Porth. Templeton exhibits a phenomenal uninterrupted outlook to the sand and surf below and the ocean beyond, orientated to the west where sunsets and moonscapes are enduring.
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C O N T E N T S
At a glance 15 F I N D I N G T H E M O M E N T
80 F O O D F O R T H E S O U L
26 A L E A P O F F A I T H
91 T H E S O C I A L N E T W O R K
Photography via a feminine lens
Diving into a new Cornish cookbook
OF OBJECTS
Into Devon’s world of contemporary art
Through the eyes of Steve Claydon
36 S I M P L E S E A S O N A L I T Y
100 T A K I N G T I M E
With chef and author, Emily Scott
A collection of miniature masterpieces
44 A M O N G S T T H E V I N E S
102 N O R D I C I N F L U E N C E
Lympstone Manor enters the world of wine
A unique collection from Teija Eilola
55 O B J E C T S F O R L I F E
112 B E A U T I F U L T H I N G S
64 L U X U RY H O M E S
115 I N Y O U R E L E M E N T
71 O N T H E E D G E
122 E V E N T I D E
The story of Feldspar Ceramics
Precious adornments from Michael Spiers
At the pinnacle of the property market
A place to soothe the mind, body and soul
Knives that are forged to last a lifetime
A final word from Michael Dart
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Finding the
MOMENT WO R D S B Y H A N N A H TA P P I N G
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F O C U S
Working as an advertising and commercial photographer, Jenna Foxton turns a feminine gaze towards all that she captures.
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of music with her work, gig photography became a staple in the early days; 14 years on, Jenna’s clients are as varied as they are diverse spanning drinks brands, fashion labels and food as well as private portraits and personal commissions.
hile Jenna did grow up in Devon, she feels something of an interloper having lived in London since the age of 12. She came to Cornwall five years ago which was a huge move as in her own words “London is considered to be this big career hub where everyone goes to make it”.
For Jenna, who is self-confessed as a people person, her photography has always served as a medium of connection. From shooting music festivals to official marketing and much in between, Jenna’s work looks to capture fleeting moments, creating images of connection.
Studying animation at university, Jenna has always had an eye for the visual arts, working professionally in both graphic and web design, with explorative photography initially a hobby. “I began to enjoy photography more and more and it was through the encouragement of friends and picking up little jobs in London that I managed to take the leap from web design to full-time photography.” Combining a love
Having moved to Cornwall just before lockdown, Jenna returned to being a hobbyist photographer as a form of escapism during a time of uncertainty and experienced a monumental moment in
PREVIOUS Personal work; a caught moment of a girl putting flowers in the sea
INSET Petalon Flower Farm; flower field worker at sunrise
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TOP Aspall Cyder billboard campaign
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A B OV E Anastasia; portrait of a friend after a sea swim in Falmouth
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A B OV E A moment swimming in the River Dart, Devon
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F O C U S
has allowed me to discover a very different form of visual exploration and a new way to identify with myself.” Jenna’s view is feminine, natural and understated with a subtle connecting energy: “So much of the world is shaped from that softer side of feminine energy and nature. We refer to her as mother nature for a reason and I think honouring her is slower, softer, nicer way of existing, viewing and being. I really do feel so privileged that this is how I earn my money and the way I get to explore the world.”
terms of connecting with her photography. “Photography is so much more than me taking images that sell things; it’s my joy and how I connect with the world. I’m a hugely visual person and, very flatteringly, people tell me that they love how I see the world and that they wish they could see how I see. The way I visually connect is a constant form of exploration and escapism and being in Cornwall played a big part in that.” Jenna’s relationship with photography has adopted a different dynamic since moving from the city to the coast: “Previously I would have berated myself for not taking photos of people or shooting editorial pieces, but now I care less about the subject and more about the feel. Today, I took photos of rocks simply because I loved their shape and dynamic. Living in Cornwall
Jenna Foxton is represented by Common Era and Crave London. jennafoxton.com commonera.co.uk crave.london jennafoxton
A B OV E Cabilla in Bodmin
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A B OV E Cabilla in Bodmin; morning in one of the beautiful Kyot cabins
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TOP Woodland ramblings
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A B OV E Story MFG; look book campaign
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TOP Petalon Flower Farm
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A B OV E Loveday Gin & Rum; festive campaign for this Cornwall-based distiller
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A B OV E Fee’s Food; campaign photography for the popular deli in Rock
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Beautiful timber buildings
01326 336554
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Interior Design by Millard & Flo
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hello@post-beam.co.uk |
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www.post-beam.co.uk
Photography by John Hersey Studio
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A B OV E Portrait of a stranger; captured returning to shore in Falmouth
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jennafoxton.com jennafoxton
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Leap of
FAITH
Image: Jim Stephenson
WO R D S B Y M E RC E D E S S M I T H
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C R E AT E
Writer Mercedes Smith dives into the Contemporary Art world of 21st century Devon.
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I’m a Derbyshire girl, born and bred, so the first gift Devon gave me was a real autumn of the type I hadn’t seen for twenty years. The trees turned red and gold, the grass sparkled with frost, and spectacular silver mists hung in the valleys. Chipping ice off the windscreen of my car each morning made me feel like a teenager again, and when snow fell in the winter the kids and I rushed outside to catch snowflakes on our tongues. When spring came in Devon it was so luxuriant and green it was overwhelming, and in the summer it got hot, really hot, in a way that’s not possible on the Cornish peninsula with the sea and ocean breezes all around. I gardened, I read books, and I tanned. Back at last in a year with four seasons and the Image: Hettie Pearson Photography
n September 2022, after two decades living and working in west Cornwall, I was taken by the instinct for new adventures and relocated my life, my family and my business to the county of Devon. A lot of people tried to dissuade me, for good reason: the friends I’d be leaving, the beaches I’d miss, the risk to my career in fine art. Why leave a life I’d built and buy a house in a county where I didn’t know a soul? It was hard to explain to people, but I’d reached a point in my life where I felt, in so many ways, that I’d done all I could do in Cornwall. Something told me that, far from losing the Cornish friends, colleagues and clients I loved, such a decisive move might enrich my life even more.
PREVIOUS RA sculptor Peter Randall-Page’s Art Barn archive facility on Dartmoor
INSET The Maker Series founder Jess Pearson
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Image: Dom Moore Image: Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TOP MAKE, Southwest’s beautiful craft retail space
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A B OV E Painter Emily Powell at her studio beside Dartmoor’s Hay Tor
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away; and while house hunting on Dartmoor I came across Greenhill Arts, tucked away by the church in Moretonhampstead, and was so impressed with its offering that I was late for my house viewing. As I packed up my life in Cornwall I thought about these things and felt a surge of real optimism about my professional future. What was there to discover in Devon that my focus on the Cornish art scene had made me miss? Moving would give me the chance to meet new artists, explore new cultural histories, and learn.
forested landscape of my youth, parts of me came back that I didn’t even realise I’d put away. The next, and perhaps most significant gift Devon gave me, was a whole new art scene to explore and a chance to expand my understanding of art in the south west. In west Cornwall the art scene is dazzling, from the Newlyn and St Ives Schools to its history of British Modernism, to the exceptional work being made there right now. But of art in Devon I knew nothing and no one at all, except for Royal Academy sculptor Peter RandallPage, whose brilliance shouts loud across continents. There were clues, though, when I thought about it, to a Devon art scene with something to say: at the Venice Biennale a few years ago I came across the sculpture Syzygy by Mat Chivers, which I felt was the standout artwork of the event. Squinting at the label I saw, to my surprise, that the work originated in Devon, UK, and made a mental note that this was a serious talent I should know more about; on a week away with a girlfriend I found myself at Devon’s Broomhill Sculpture Gardens, indulging my love of kinetic art thanks to National Sculpture Prize Finalist Lucy Gregory’s ‘Rose Tinted’, which took my breath
Once settled in our new home I began visiting art studios, attending gallery openings, and writing about all of it. At my very first private view in Devon I searched the gallery for something inspirational, and out of hundreds of works I found it – an impossibly fragile sculpture built from mechanical pencil leads. Insanely good. More thrilling still was a framed NHS branded bedsheet, embroidered with romantic illustrations for giving the kiss of life. It was strange and extraordinary stuff. Lost in the forest lanes that same week I came across a sign for the intriguingly titled School of Art and Wellbeing, where owner Mary Ann Mackenzie welcomed me on to her beautiful estate and inspired me with her vision of
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you are literally tripping over art galleries wherever you go, and there is serious private and public investment that supports the fine arts and attracts audiences, with venues like Tate St Ives keeping the county’s international profile high. But in Devon, the quality and quantity of work made here is not matched by spaces to exhibit it. Some venues here are exceptional, and are showing a powerful programme of regional and international art, such as Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton, which showed Corinna Wagner’s Terra Oceanus last summer, and the highly respected Burton at Bideford, which brought work by Louise Bourgeois to Devon this winter, and Bovey Tracey’s MAKE Southwest, with its exceptional offering of contemporary craft and touring art shows, but these places are few and quite literally far between in this vast county.
combing art education with the restorative peace of Devon’s wild spaces. On Dartmoor, as those red and gold leaves were falling, Peter Randall-Page gave me a privileged look inside his wonderous Art Barn, a new archive for his work that opens onto the landscape and closes like a magical puzzle box. In north Devon I interviewed filmmaker Jess Pearson, founder of The Maker Series of short films, who is a champion for north Devon’s artists and an impressive cultural innovator. In the South Hams I visited the studio of still life painter Sam Brooks and found more colour and beauty on canvas than I have actual words for, and high on Hay Tor I drank tea in the studio of rising young painter Emily Powell, whose dazzling work is so joyful that it could arguably end all wars and restore humanity. I’m getting excited, you can tell, but the truth is that all this brilliance was unknown to me, and discovering it is quite a journey. But why was it unknown to me, when I had spent twenty years living in the south west with my eye out for all and anything ‘art’?
What bodes well for Devon is the rise of the ambitious rural art venue, a growing trend made possible by the unlimited reach afforded to all galleries by the internet. Kestle Barton on Cornwall’s Helford Estuary pioneered it, and more recently Hauser & Wirth at Bruton in Somerset perfected it. Devon surely deserves the same kind of investment.
What Devon lacks, I am learning, are dedicated venues for the exhibition of art, and all the public profile that brings. In Cornwall
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Image: University of Plymouth
TOP Mat Chivers ‘Keepers’, 2023 single channel video projection
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A B OV E Painter Sam Brooks at her South Hams studio
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A B OV E Matt Chivers ‘Syzygy’, 2011 Quinto de Ebro alabaster and Indian black granite
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C R E AT E
friends and artists have stayed in my life, for which I thank them with all my heart, so no losses, just more friends and more fantastic art to see.
While I am dreaming of that, I have plenty here to feed my passions: the aforementioned Mat Chivers has a series of film installations and other important public projects planned here in Devon for 2024; MAKE Southwest is presenting PULP, an exhibition of the strange and beautiful world of paper art; and I have a long list of studio visits booked that will keep me thinking and writing until Christmas. And as hoped, all my wonderful Cornish
Mercedes Smith is a specialist in Modern and Contemporary Art and is Director of Fine Art Communications. fineartcommunications.co.uk
A B OV E Clare Pentlow, ‘Metamorph’ (detail) on show as part of PULP at MAKE Southwest until mid April
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Seasonality
and SIMPLICITY
Photo: Emma Bourton
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C U I SI N E
Celebrating a culinary craft where a few carefully selected ingredients are left to shine.
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for Emily. Between the launch of Time & Tide, to her legendary partnership with iconic British brand Fortnum & Mason to bring three eau de nil beach huts to Watergate Bay, plus various other appearances and festival pop-ups, it really has catapulted the Emily Scott brand into the spotlight.
ith two books, cooking for royalty and world leaders at the G7 summit and an iconic partnership with Fortnum & Mason in the bag, what is next for chef and author Emily Scott? Emily Scott is best known for her uncomplicated and simple approach to cooking. In her world ‘less is more’. Emily’s back catalogue of achievements in the last few years is undoubtedly admirable. In 2021 she was commissioned by the Cabinet Office to curate a special dinner for royalty and world leaders at the G7 summit at the Eden Project in Cornwall. She was the first woman to cook for leaders of the western worlds; a standout, career-defining moment for Emily and the rest of her team. In 2021, Emily’s debut cookbook Sea & Shore was published by Hardie Grant, and more recently, in 2023, her second book; Time & Tide: Recipes and Stories from my Coastal Kitchen. The last year has been a whirlwind Photo: John Hersey
With her steadfast and growing stream of instagram followers, earlier in 2023 Emily decided to move her newsletter over to Substack. An exciting and innovative new subscriberbased platform which diversifies away from the noise, Emily said: “What drew me to Substack was the opportunity to create, share and develop content which I am so passionate about and is so personal to me. Creating through a subscriber-based platform, which gives people a choice on what they consume and how much, away from the relentlessness of algorithms and the pressure to be a certain way, it felt like such a refreshing and vibrant place to
LEFT Working to one of Emily’s recipes
INSET Emily Scott
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Emily was instantly drawn to the Calypso Grill. “The first time I stepped into the restaurant I just knew this was such a special and unique venue. A sense of place is everything to me, and the Calypso Grill has this way of bringing people together which is so at the heart of everything I do.”
be.” Emily’s substack is a true reflection of her lifestyle. Sharing everything from new seasonally inspired recipes, to travel, places to eat, clothes she wears, to her style at home, it’s a chance to be absorbed in Emily’s world. Emily’s presence online and beyond has opened up a number of exciting partnership opportunities in the last year including, in late 2023, a residency at Coco Bodu Hithi in the Maldives, a luxury five-star resort favoured by celebrities, with 100 villas, six restaurants and sublime tropical surrounds. The residency, which ran for one week, included an interactive master class plus the chance to experience an Emily Scott curated menu at the awardwinning Aqua restaurant. Emily said “I was lucky enough to go on a magical holiday to Coco Bodhi Hithi, a once in a lifetime trip, so I was delighted to be asked to return and cook alongside the restaurant’s team of esteemed chefs. Such an incredible experience.” Photo: Emily Scott
Working with Head Chef Kye Byford, who has worked with Emily for over five years at two of her restaurants, they are bringing her vision and ethos to life at this beautiful new location. Expect delicious fish and seafood cooked simply, caught by the local fisherman, fresh from the aquamarine waters of this idyllic Caribbean island. Set overlooking Morgan’s Harbour, with soft breezes flowing in from the North sound, the french doors swing open onto the deck where guests can admire the paradisiacal vista complete with swishing palms and lapping waters. On the menu, a blissful fusion of Emily’s effortless style, some Calypso Grill heroes, with a nod to its Caribbean roots. Options include crispy mango shrimp, ceviche of snapper with lime, coriander and mango, cracked conch with roasted garlic mayo, bloody mary gazpacho with watermelon, basil and green olive, crab linguine, snapper monte carlo with a tomato vinaigrette and the famous Calypso Grill sticky toffee pudding.
In an exciting turn of events, 2023 introduced a curveball opportunity for Emily to deliver what she does to an international audience, taking on the role of Executive Consultant Chef for a well-loved restaurant in the Cayman Islands. With its rich history and colorful personality,
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Photo: Emily Scott Photo: Emily Scott
A B OV E The Maldives
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Photo: Kristin Perers Photo: Emma Bourton
Photo: Amy Strzalko
Photo: Emma Bourton Photo: Emma Bourton
TOP Emily was named ‘Best Chef ’ by Food Magazine
MIDDLE The Calypso Grill
A B OV E Emily’s approach remains the same, from Cornwall to the Cayman Islands
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C U I SI N E
Photo: Emma Bourton
Emily says: “There is a definite connection for me here, shore to shore, Cornwall to Caymans. To start with, the way of life here feels very familiar, it’s often at a slower pace. Local fishermen arrive with their daily catch, people spend time enjoying the outdoors, being near or in the sea. There is a sense of being part of something, a sense of place, people are here to enjoy the natural beauty of what this incredible island has to offer. Cornwall to Caymans, I really do feel at home.” Alongside Emily’s natural attachment to the Caymans there are genuine ancestral links between the Caymans and Cornwall. According to legend the first settlers on the Caymans included a Cornishman. Elements of Cornish culture including language and dialect ‘dreckly’ being ‘areckly’ and even the pasty (patties) have seemingly found their way into the Cayman way of life.
Amongst other accolades Emily has been named Best Chef by Food Magazine and was listed in the top 100 most influential women in hospitality industry two years running. She has been recognised by Michelin since 2016 and appeared on the Great British Menu on BBC2 to represent the south west back in 2019. She has also made several appearances on Saturday Kitchen and Rick Stein’s Cornwall.
Alongside her consultancy work in the Caymans and building on her best-selling Substack, what else is in store for Emily this year? “I’m thrilled to be working on my third book, I can’t believe I’m actually saying that. Getting my first book commissioned took several years, so to be on book number three is quite surreal. Book three is due to be published in 2025, it’s going to be a little different this time, I’m so excited to share it with everyone. But first, the mammoth task of writing must begin!”
emilyscottfood calypsogrillcayman emilyscottfood.com emilyscottfood.substack.com
INSET An ethos that doesn’t complicate food, but instead keeps it simple
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C U I SI N E
Cantaloupe Gazpacho 1 onion, finely chopped
SERVES 4
4 kefir lime leaves
INGREDIENTS:
1 tin coconut milk
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 limes, zest and juice (plus extra for serving)
4 shallots, chopped
1 small bunch of coriander, chopped
1kg ripe, cantaloupe melon, skinned and chopped
1 small bunch of mint, leaves only chopped
8 sticks lemon grass, tough outer leaves removed and thinly sliced
Cornish sea salt
1 green chilli, finely sliced
Garnish: herbs, edible flowers, extra lime juice, olive oil
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh ginger
METHOD
Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut milk and lime zest and juice. Once cool, remove the lime leaves and blend in a food processor until smooth. Pass through a sieve for a really smooth texture. Taste and season with salt and pepper and lime juice if needed. Refrigerate until chilled.
Halve the melons, scoop out the seeds. Chop the flesh into chunks. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat add the shallots, lemon grass, chilli, and ginger and a pinch of salt. Saute stirring until the onion is translucent as gently as possible as you do not want any colour. Add the lime leaves and melon and season once again with a little salt. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer very gently, stirring occasionally until the melon has completely fallen apart, approximately 20 minutes.
Serve in bowls or mugs with the reserved melon pieces, chopped herbs, drizzle of olive oil and extra lime wedges. Cook’s note: Cantaloupe melon is essential to get the bright orange colour. Keep 8 small pieces of melon back for garnish if serving in bowls. Kefir lime leaves keeps well in the freezer.
Time & Tide: Recipes and Stories from My Coastal Kitchen by Emily Scott. Hardie Grant Books (UK), £28.00
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Amongst
the VINES WORDS BY YSY LEES
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QU E N C H
Lympstone Manor’s waterside vineyard proves that nature and nurture play equal parts in this unique winemaking journey.
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and Michelin star fine dining. Crucial to the Lympstone Manor experience is Michael’s passion for wine; the hotel is also home to two basement cellars comprising 600 bins, a wine tasting room with stateof-the-art Wine Emotion dispense machines and a bespoke-built granite wine tasting table. The latest feature includes the Pool House Restaurant & Bar, an informal dining area set around a heated outdoor swimming pool, croquet lawn and tennis court overlooking the expansive countryside.
hen I think of Michael Caines, I envision carefully curated menus, fresh seasonal produce and delicate dishes that blur the line between cuisine and works of art. However, the renowned chef has stepped beyond the world of food and into that of hotelier and consequently, winemaker, through the acquisition of the Lympstone Manor Hotel. Situated in Devon overlooking the tranquillity of the Exe Estuary and the Jurassic Coast, this commanding yet elegant five-star country house hotel epitomises luxury in every way imaginable. A proud member of Relais & Châteaux, an association of individually owned and operated luxury hotels and restaurants, Lympstone Manor offers 21 exquisite guestrooms and suites, six shepherds huts
Venturing further into the 28-acre grounds, you’ll find the crown jewel of Lympstone Manor; a breathtaking vineyard containing 17,500 Chardonnay, Meunier and Pinot Noir vines. These vines were first planted back in 2018 to produce classic Champagne-
INSET Michael Caines
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QUE N C H
Alongside the sparkling Classic Cuvée, these vines have produced two other wines in the form of the Lympstone Manor Estate 2020 Triassic Pinot Noir and the Lympstone Manor Estate 2022 Isabeau Rosé, named after Michael’s daughter. The former was the very first wine to be released from the Lympstone Manor vineyard and is produced from 100% estate grown Pinot Noir, offering the oenophile a juicy yet balanced palate that displays great poise. Overt black summer berries intermingle with subtle toast from the French oak and are supported by delicate hints of sappy stems to deliver a beautiful and long finish. Aged for 18 months in French oak, of which 30% was new, this wine will continue to develop further nuance and complexity as time does its tantalising dance. Since its launch, the wine has received outstanding feedback from industry professionals and has scooped a clutch of prestigious accolades including a Gold Medal award, a Best English Red Trophy and a Best Producer Trophy for First Vintage at this year’s International Wine Challenge Awards as well as a Bronze Medal award at the International Wine & Spirit Competition.
method sparkling wines for guests to enjoy at the beautiful country house and beyond. Vineyards, like dreams, take time to become a reality, for roots to penetrate deep down, for grapes to ripen, for secondary fermentation and for the complexity that only comes from lengthy maturation on the lees to develop in the bottle. The saying ‘good things come to those who wait’ could not ring truer in this instance with the recent and highly anticipated launch of the first sparkling wine from the vineyard, the 2020 Classic Cuvée. This delicate wine is a classic blend of Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay, with the latter predominantly aged in French oak for nine months prior to blending. The resulting wine provides a classical style of sparkling, showing notes of apple, spiced pear and toasted brioche, with a rich and creamy mousse. Due to the ripeness of the blend and the fruit the vineyard provides, this wine requires minimal residual sugar to remain poised, elegant and balanced, resulting in a long and complex finish. Sourced exclusively from the vineyard at Lympstone Manor, the wine is aged for a minimum of three years on the lees and marks a fantastic achievement for the hotel. Michael explains: “It’s an incredible milestone for Lympstone Manor Hotel to launch its first Classic Cuvée from the 2020 vintage, under the Lympstone Manor Estate title, an award-winning single vineyard estate with a growing collection of wines. I would have never imagined saying “award winning” when I was inspired to plant a vineyard back in 2015, but it was an instinctive decision, inspired by my travels to vineyard locations all over Europe.”
The 2022 Isabeau Rosé similarly extracts the full potential from the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier grapes to create an equally as supple yet contrasting wine through the process of taille pressing. This rosé marked the first release of a still rosé wine from the estate in 2022, using some of the finest fruit from the vineyard to create a field blend in a classic Provencal style, perfect to sip alongside food or as
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TOP The Manor from the vineyards
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A B OV E Lympstone Manor Estate 2020 Triassic Pinot Noir
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TOP From terroir to table
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A B OV E Enjoying a glass of Lympstone Manor 2020 Classic Cuvée at the bar
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QU E N C H
rather than managing its own vineyards. Its chosen sites are located all over the country, so it always has access to different grape varieties that grow better on different soils and in different microclimates. Michael adds: “This was just the start of an incredible journey that we have shared with Lyme Bay Winery, who are getting a growing reputation for producing award winning English wines.”
a dish in its own right in the form of an aperitif. Hints of wild strawberries melt into fresh citrus tones with subtle nuances of grapefruit, savoury notes and minerality fusing together in a deliciously bright blend. Balanced with a mouth-watering acidity, the wine offers just a hint of orange peel on the finish that you wish would linger just a little longer. These thoughtfully curated wines are to be followed by further releases next year including a barrel-aged Chardonnay to mark the seventh anniversary of the opening of the hotel.
While there are several ingredients that go into creating such special wines like the Classic Cuvée, arguably one of the biggest contributors is the vineyard itself; uniquely located by the River Exe it has quite a few things that work in its favour. Sarah tells me: “Having its own body of water next to it really helps regulate the temperature. You don’t get lots of frost pockets like you would if you were away from water.” When Michael first visited Lympstone Manor, he was equally as excited at the prospect of planting a vineyard in Devon on the southwest-facing parkland as he was about transforming the dilapidated mansion: “Most of the great vineyards of Europe are all located near rivers, the Médoc châteaux of Bordeaux on the Gironde, wine estates along the Rhône, Loire and Rhine rivers, the great port vineyards of the Douro. So why not the Exe estuary? Our climate is mild and the success of other local vineyards has convinced me that it will be possible to produce outstanding wines here.”
While Lympstone Manor is the proud producer of these grapes, the bottled product would cease to exist without Lyme Bay Winery. This award-winning winery was founded just over 30 years ago and began its journey with fruit wines before moving towards English wines. Speaking to Head Winemaker, Sarah Massey, about its growth and evolution, she explains: “We had a vineyard that was first planted in 2009 and from there, we’ve grown to working with lots of premium growers all over the south of England, from here in Devon all the way across to Essex. We’ve moved to not having our own vineyard anymore and now we just work with the best grapes that you can find. When Michael had this idea to plant a vineyard, he approached James Lambert, Managing Director at Lyme Bay Winery, whose ethos he respected. Not only are we local to Lympstone Manor but I think he liked what we did with our wine and combined with the plethora of award won recently, wanted to see it for himself.” Lyme Bay Winery is one of the few (but growing number of ) wineries that work with growers
The location of the vineyard also means it gets the most of the sun as it rises and sets. Sarah continues: “You’re getting as many daylight hours as you can and you have really good drainage because it’s on that beautiful slope.
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A B OV E The south-facing vineyard dips down towards the River Exe
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A B OV E Lympstone Manor 2020 Classic Cuvée
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QU E N C H
If you’ve been there, you’ll know that you get this incredible hot pocket down at the bottom of the vineyard which can create some really brilliant wines.” Surrounded by rolling hills, shimmering water and an all-encompassing sense of peace, the vineyard’s unique location benefits both the grape and the guest with its ability to nurture and encourage growth.
up but I very much listen to the wine and let it lead me in the right direction. Stylistically, the wines we make are very much intended to go with food; awesome, serious, complex wines that really benefit from comparing with dishes. They’ve all got different food that they would be best with but I also think a lot of them are quite drinkable by themselves.”
Sarah herself discovered a love of wine from a young age: “I got a job at my local vineyard in my teenage years doing tour tastings and fell in love with it. I went to Plumpton to study and very much got the bug for the physical side of winemaking. I then spent time in Burgundy and California before going over to Australia and eventually coming to Lyme Bay Winery.” Her passion for wine is evident not only in her winemaking but in the way she enjoys the drink: “If I go to a restaurant, a lot of people choose their food then their wine but I choose my wine then my food. What you’re drinking depends on what you’re doing and who you’re with but when it comes to personal preference I’d never say no to a sparkling wine or champagne.”
When it comes to wine trends, Sarah has noticed that people are starting to lean towards aromatic wine as well as having the inclination to spend more on higher-quality bottles: “The last few years have been interesting with Brexit and COVID so we’ve had a lot of changes and going back and forth but one thing that has been pretty consistent is people are more and more willing to spend a bit more money and enjoy a nice bottle of wine than spend less and get a lesser quality bottle.” Lympstone Manor’s Classic Cuvée certainly falls into this category as a bottle well worth the spend; what you get in return is Lyme Bay Winery’s promise of utmost quality. Its goal of using the best wine from the best grapes from the best vineyards married with the unfaltering standards of Michael Caines and consequently Lympstone Manor, guarantees an unparalleled drinking experience that spills beyond the boundaries of classic wine.
This entrenched passion for wine is very much reflected in the winemaking process at Lyme Bay Winery. When asked whether the grape defines the wine or the wine defines the grape Sarah tells me: “When I make a wine I kind of have an intention of where I want it to end
lympstonemanor.co.uk
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MADE IN CORNWALL – FOR OVER 35 YEARS
01209 215 759 | enquiries@philipwhear.co.uk | www.philipwhear.co.uk DRIFT--32--AD--Philip Whear--1.00.indd 2
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Objects
FOR LIFE WO R D S B Y H A N N A H TA P P I N G
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C R E AT E
From city dewellers to artisans; a journey to the tranquil landscapes of Devon marks a transformative chapter for a couple who dared to tread a different path into the world of ceramics.
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communities, mainly in Africa, but also in the Middle East and South America. While it was an amazing job, it meant I was away most of the time. We had been listening to a lot of Desert Island Discs and various podcasts and essentially all these really successful people had one common regret, that they were away from home too much and didn’t spend enough time with their children when they were young. So, within a month we handed in our notice for work, and three months later, we were down in Devon.”
n the heart of Devon, where the moors echo with the whispers of tradition, a team of artisans at Feldspar Ceramics breathe life into clay, turning it into functional art. In conversation with founders Cath and Jeremy Brown, we discuss the intricate process behind their handcrafted ceramics, providing a glimpse into the philosophy that sets their creations apart. The couple have not always lived in Devon, moving only after the birth of their eldest son at a time when they were re-evaluating their lives, as Cath explains.
The couple moved from the city and rented a giant, sprawling granite farmhouse on Dartmoor when their son was just three months old. “It had no phone line, no internet, no mobile signal. It was just completely the opposite of the life we’d been living in London. ” says Jeremy. “We wanted to live somewhere where there were open horizons so, it was either the moor or the sea. While we love the sea, Jeremy has family in Devon and so the moor it was,” adds Cath.
“Jeremy was travelling all the time and I was commuting into central London as an architectural designer and we suddenly thought, let’s not do this anymore!” Jeremy adds: “I was working for the UN at the time, originally based in Geneva and then moved to Nairobi before setting up an office in London. I was essentially helping big fashion houses become more ethical and sustainable and connecting them with marginalised
PREVIOUS Feldspar New Collection. Lidded Cobalt Coffee Cup and Saucer. Photograph: Alexander Rhind
INSET Cath and Jeremy Brown
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A B OV E Surreal Cobalt Teapots
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P L A N T- B A S E D C A R E TO HELP YOU
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C R E AT E
have a kiln, which is actually quite essential! I would throw some pieces and then have to pop them in the back of the car and drive across the moor to my potter friend who would fire them for me. I would then drive back home to glaze them and then repeat the process for the subsequent firings. While it was all a bit bonkers, it was lovely to be just growing veg, learning how to throw on the wheel and listening to lots of radio. We were like a retired couple for a few months! We had both our families coming for Christmas and, having moved from a one bedroom flat in London, we were very short on tableware, we literally didn’t have enough plates and bowls, we didn’t even have a kitchen table big enough, so I built one – it’s the one I’m talking to you on now – and made a whole dinner service. At this point, I was literally just pottering around!”
The couple moved down without any real plans and certainly not one to start a ceramics business: “I had done a lot of pottery at school, but not functional, more sculptural ceramics,” says Jeremy. “I didn’t start making ceramics because I wanted to do it as a job. It was more for relaxation as I was quite burnt out after my time at the UN. Working with people who have nothing and feeling the responsibility for them was a lot. Emotionally, I was pretty stretched so we wanted to take a couple months off, which extended to about six months in the end. We were both thinking that we would try and get similar remote jobs to those we had before, but in the end decided that we didn’t really want to go back to our old lives, we had come to like the slowness.” Jeremy bought a potter’s wheel from a potter who lived across the moor and began to make a few things. The same potter kindly gave him a few basic instructions and let them use his kiln and slowly Jeremy started experimenting: “He gave me a block of clay, a few basic tools and a rough idea of what to do. At that stage I only had the wheel; we didn’t
Cath and Jeremy had talked about working together and, as they had successfully made the Christmas tableware, decided to start a business, beginning with some mugs. They began making in January 2016 and launched the brand at the end of the year.
INSET Juicer – Cobalt
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C R E AT E
than you want the finished product to be as it shrinks that much in the first firing.
“After creating the prototypes at home,” says Cath, “we initially worked with a family run pottery up in Stoke, and we still do. However, as we found ourselves needing to expand our offering, and to be able to experiment and prototype more quickly, we realised that we needed to set up a workshop in Devon and so, with help the whole way from the amazing pottery team in Stoke, we did! Initially in Jeremy’s mum’s garage and now we have two workshops where we make 80% of the pieces.
“The liquid clay is poured into the mould and the plaster draws the moisture out. You then pour out the excess clay after an allotted amount of time depending on how thick you want the walls of the piece to be and so you’re left with the kind of exterior of the vessel. That’s then left to dry and then its sponged and fettled by hand – taking away the seam lines – and then fired with the first of three firings. What you are left with is known as ‘biscuitware’ or ‘bisque.’ It’s then fully vitrified and changes from a pale brownish, grey colour to bright white before it’s finally glazed and the colour is added. We have a team of four ceramicists who make everything plus three decorators, who then paint by hand. It was important to us that when someone is holding one of the mugs, for example, that there is a connection with the maker. Ours is not intended as a throwaway product and each one is very slightly different, with different nuances added by the different makers,” explains Cath.
“Each of the pieces is made with bone china, using a method called ‘slip casting’ – which is basically pouring liquid clay into plaster moulds. Mould making, slipcasting and industrial bone china production are all listed as critically endangered crafts by the Heritage Crafts Association in the UK. Many of the larger potteries in England now only serve as museums and showrooms, with all of their wares being made (more cheaply) abroad. The benefit of using bone china is that you can cast very finely but the finished product is incredibly strong. We begin by making plaster moulds, and that in itself is an incredible skill, and another dying industry. Everything is made 15% bigger
INSET Espresso Mugs – Geranium
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TOP The Feldspar workshop approach
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A B OV E Espresso Mugs and Bowls – Cobalt
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TOP Multi-stack Coffee Mugs (left), Tea Mugs – Geranium (right)
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A B OV E Tableware in the the kiln. Photograph: Alexander Rhind
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C R E AT E
Feldspar is available to order online and is also stocked in the Conran Shop, Harrods and Fortnum and Mason. “Last year we did an exclusive collection with Fortnum and Mason, where we changed the handle to have new colours specifically for them, because they were launching a whole new coffee range, which was very popular. Recently we have also designed pendant lampshades in collaboration with Patrick and Neri Williams from Berdoulat, inspired by antique French glass shades. Fine bone china lends itself very well to lampshades because it’s opaque by day and then becomes translucent when the lights are turned on,” says Cath.
Feldspar designs began with just using blue as the accent colour, as a reference to the willow pattern of old fashioned China. While the pieces are made using heritage techniques and material, Cath and Jeremy wanted them to have a modern edge. “We didn’t want them to be crafty or decorative, we wanted the designs to be trendless, so that they would fit into any kitchen and so each of our pieces follows the same design language.” The company was named for a family of minerals that’s used a lot in ceramics in both the glazes and the body as Jeremy explains: “Feldspar is actually the most abundant family of minerals on the planet, which not many people know, unless you’re a potter or a geologist. Feldspar is under everyone’s feet, especially on Dartmoor, where the granite is made up of a mix of feldspar, quartz and mica. As we were living on the moor, in a granite farmhouse – and over millions of years, granite decomposes into kaolin, which is china clay – it felt like the name couldn’t be anything else. We actually had a completely different logo until the end of the summer, when some paper supplies arrived with our address hand-written on the envelope and we loved it so much that the person’s handwriting became our new logo!”
The couple’s vision is to continue to diversify and expand the Feldspar collections: “At the moment we are 90% tableware, but we very much want to expand into rest of the home. We’ve built a wood and metal workshop, so we’re going to use ceramic combined with those other mediums to create furniture and lighting. We’re also looking at creating playful greenhouses and tree houses and eventually want to have a series of workshops here based around a large courtyard, with a workshop for every medium you can imagine!” conculdes Jeremy. feldspar.studio
INSET Jeremy, Cath and Bernie the dog
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P RO P E RT Y
Harbourside HAVEN
A unique architecturally designed coastal property built to a high specification overlooking the harbour.
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ompleted last May, this luxurious new home is built with block elevations, faced by stone on one end with sweeping views over Coverack Bay and harbour, offering easy access to the beach. Upon entering the property, you’ll find an entrance hall leading to a cloakroom and magnificent reception room. Cook up a storm in the bespoke kitchen and enjoy al-fresco dining on your balcony overlooking the shimmering sea before heading indoors to relax in the dual aspect sitting area; curl up in front of the log burner and warm up with underfloor heating. Each bedroom enjoys American oak doors and engineered oak floors with the principal suite providing magnificent sea views and an astounding en-suite with raised porcelain floor and freestanding stone bath in the wet room. A truly breathtaking property, this home is perfect for those looking to enjoy a laid-back life by the coast.
TYDL Offers in excess of: £1M JACKSON-STOPS 01872 261160 cornwall@jackson-stops.co.uk
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P RO P E RT Y
BLISS ON the bay
This modern home sits within an exclusive coastal estate offering captivating sea views across St Austell Bay.
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neth Mor sits in a southerly corner of Duporth, a private estate and beach on the headland between the villages of Charlestown and Porthpean. Just two miles away from amenities in St Austell, this property allows you to remain connected while enjoying the best that the Cornish coast has to offer you. This deceptively large house was constructed in 2007 and comprises approximately 2,700 square feet of spacious accommodation laid out over three storeys. The central floor provides the living accommodation which includes a good-sized and recently refitted contemporary kitchen/dining room adjacent to a separate lounge, both of which enjoy access onto the virtually full-width balcony terrace. You can also benefit from the southerly sun in the large seaward side-level gardens before retreating to one of the stunning bedrooms for a peaceful night’s sleep accompanied by the sound of lapping waves below.
ANETH MOR Guide price: £1.85M ROHRS & ROWE 01872 306360 info@rohrsandrowe.co.uk
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P RO P E RT Y
Settle by
THE SEA This home offers an outstanding frontline position, exhibiting a phenomenal uninterrupted outlook to the sand and surf beyond.
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ith paradise on its doorstep, Templeton, in the highly soughtafter area of Mawgan Porth, offers the lucky owner the exceptionally rare and desirable opportunity to be greeted by the rugged north coast each day. Originally built in the 1970s, the full width of the balcony wraps around the house with a glass balustrade, oriented west across the beach where sunsets and moonscapes are enduring. Occupying beautiful gardens and grounds of approximately 0.4 acres, the views can also be enjoyed from the kitchen, dining room, master bedroom and living room, complete with woodburning stove for cosy evenings in. To the rear of the property is a snug/bedroom and four further bedrooms alongside a contemporary bathroom, shower room and two en suites. Venturing downstairs, you’ll find a large storage room with a shower, cloakroom and drying room, perfect after a day at the beach when you’re ready to relax in front of the stretching Atlantic Ocean. TEMPLETON Guide price: £5M JACKIE STANLEY 01841 532555 sales@jackie-stanley.co.uk
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On the
EDGE WO R D S B Y H A N N A H TA P P I N G
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D I A LO G U E
Knives created to last a lifetime combine the precision of technology with the beauty of a handcrafted masterpiece. In conversation with Savernake Knives’ co-founder, Devon-born Philip Shaw.
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to-ing fro-ing back to England, desperately trying to return permanently. On my monthly visits, we would meet in Wiltshire and start tinkering away on projects.
hilip Shaw grew up just outside Ottery St Mary, moving away to Kenya after leaving school. “I very much loved my Devon upbringing, but I had an adventurous spirit and with family based in Kenya, I joined them to begin work in the safari industry,” explains Philip. I ponder then, how one goes from living in Africa to setting up a luxury, bespoke knife company in the UK? “Africa actually plays a big part in the story,” continues Philip, “because this is where I met Laurie Timpson, my fellow Savernake founder who had left the army to work for The HALO Trust clearing landmines in Mozambique, Afghanistan and Cambodia. We both found ourselves managing businesses for companies in East Africa at the same time and had often talked about doing something together on our return to the UK. Laurie moved back before I did and, while I was working in Pakistan at that point, I was
“I eventually moved from Pakistan to living in a small village in Wiltshire, as that’s where Laurie had settled. While it was a big decision, it was actually a very easy one to make because we both knew we wanted to start a business and it was something that we had always strongly believed in. We had experience of working in some very difficult parts of the world, such as South Sudan and Mozambique, and so were no strangers to having to work things out for ourselves.” Laurie had started by making some axes and then the pair’s thoughts turned to bespoke knives as a business idea. They initially looked at having them made for them but could find no-one who could do it. “We began teaching ourselves traditional
INSET Laurie Timpson and Philip Shaw
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A B OV E Sharp and dextrous
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TOP Designed for life
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D I A LO G U E
feedback on its use. Since then, they have given knives in kind to many top chefs and leading outdoorsmen and have been very proud of the resulting endorsements.
forging methods and learned how to make knives using carbon steel,” says Philip, “but we didn’t want to use carbon, we wanted to use stainless. At every point we didn’t want to compromise, we wanted to use the best materials and the best processes possible. That’s how Savernake was born.”
While there are traditionally certain knives for certain jobs, Savernake’s quest has always been to design an all-rounder. “We believe you don’t need to have a knife rack full of knives, but as the shape and style of a knife is a very personal choice our core range needed to be carefully designed.” The company’s top seller is the eponymous Savernake Knife, a blade Philip and Laurie wanted to put their company name to as they were so proud of the design. This is closely followed by the Classic, of which Philip says “if you ever get someone to draw a sketch of a knife, this is what it would look like”.
Philip and Laurie rented two little barns in a farmyard and did all the work themselves for the first year: “As we started to progress we brought on our first employee (who’s still with us today) and then employed somebody to help us with the product manufacturing side, as we had come to realise that making a bespoke knife is actually incredibly intricate work. The machinery we needed was the same used in making Formula One engine parts, as the knife-making process involves similar detailed CNC milling and precision cutting allowing us to make any shape or form. We invested in such a machine and it really proved the concept. We could design something unique and then repeat the process over and over again. As we started to progress we did use a lot of machinery but then, and now, everything is hand finished, and it really did all start in a shed!”
“We wanted to make very lightweight, very thin knives and so all our blades are hollow ground. If you go from the edge of the blade up to the ridge, it’s a taper. We scoop out the side of the metal, to make it as light and as thin as possible, so you’re always working with the thinnest edge of the knife. However, put that to one side and what you’re really left with is what do people want? Yes, they want something that looks beautiful in the kitchen, but also a tool that actually does a good job; a knife that feels comfortable but where there is also the ability to be able to choose any part of it. We set ourselves something of a challenge
In the early days, Philip and Laurie approached the chef in their local pub and said “what do you look for in a knife?” They then made him a knife for free in return for
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A B OV E Precision technology
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TOP A Savernake knife set is for life
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A B OV E Poplar burl handle
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A B OV E Sambucus knife set
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but feel we have risen to it well.” A Savernake knife comes from one of three categories. Bespoke, which is akin to having a pair of shoes made on Savile Row. “For this we will make a prototype model to test for the shape and feel in the hand. We’ll then make a fully functioning knife for approval before we go on to make the final product. The custom side is where we have a select number of designs that can be personalised with a choice of style and size of handle. That level of choice may still be quite daunting for some and so that’s why we’ve introduced the DNA retail range. We’ve taken everything we’ve learned and put it into a knife that you can buy off the shelf.”
Savernake Knives are sold online as well as in Fortnum and Masons, Cookshops across the country and independent retailers across the south west, including Darts Farm, Topsham and Heart, Smoke and Soal near Holsworthy. “Our website is always evolving as we really wanted to be able to create a process where you can go online and take the time to choose and pick your handles and colour or, if you prefer, within a couple of clicks can have a DNA range knife delivered within three to four days. We have come a long way in the last year in terms of having a product we can retail through stockists and as a consequence, see a very exciting year ahead,” adds Philip.
“We started at the bespoke level because nobody was doing it. I guess it’s quite an important point about Savernake, that while there are artisans with forges who can make a beautiful knife, it’s very hard to replicate and scale when you‘re limited by resource and equipment.” To establish the brand, Philip and Laurie had much to consider including material, efficiency, feel, shape and weight in order to make the business a success. They knew they couldn’t survive as a business being completely bespoke; it had to be scalable but without compromise in terms of design and quality.
“While I stepped back a little from the day-today just before lockdown, Laurie is still very much hands on, living off-grid in the Savernake Forest (from whence the company took its name) with his family.” The company has grown to having 12 people on the manufacturing side and continues to evolve; whether that be researching handle materials, designing new knives and ranges or creating exciting collaborations, Savernake Knives strives to always be at the cutting edge. savernakeknives.co.uk
INSET Marble handles
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Food for
the SOUL WO R D S B Y H A N N A H TA P P I N G
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C U I SI N E
A new Cornish cookbook charts a year at market.
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Through a dizzying quarter of a century of societal change, the market has stood firm in its founding principles while evolving to keep pace with the times. Throughout the seasons, food-loving locals, spell-bound visitors, and Cornwall’s acclaimed chefs all delight in shopping at the green and white striped stalls, which pop up on Lemon Quay every Wednesday and Saturday. Without the market, which supports fledgling businesses as they find their feet, some of Cornwall’s best-loved food and drink businesses simply wouldn’t exist today.
ocal markets are experiencing a welcome resurgence, reflecting a groundswell of support for small businesses with their roots deeply embedded in the local economy and community. And, while new markets are popping up all the time, Cornwall’s capital is home to a truly trailblazing local market which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Truro Farmers Market was one of the first of its kind when it was founded by a cooperative of local farmers and food producers back in 1999. The group – including Pete Meudon of Nancarrow Farm, Anne Pengelly of Meadowside Nursery, and John and Jennie Keeler of Tregassow Farm – came together to change the world, or their little corner of it at least. Looking around, they saw the steady erosion of the relationship between food producers and consumers, and a broken food system to the detriment of all. Collaborative action was called for, and Truro Farmers Market was born.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary, a cookbook was released just before Christmas featuring stories and recipes which showcase these passionate producers in their own backyards. Local chef Todd Studley was tasked with devising affordable and approachable dishes charting the course of the seasons at market, while taking inspiration from food cultures around the globe and reflecting the diversity of the market today.
INSET Truro Farmers Market, The Cookbook (£25) is available to order from cornish-gifts.co.uk
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generations in baking sweet and savoury treats using flour milled on the family farm. Read the story of Nick Dymond of St Piran’s Pork, whose switch to regenerative farming methods has given his land a new lease of life. And set sail with Chris Bean of day boat Lady Hamilton, who has been launching from Helford for over 50 years and exclusively supplies the market with supremely fresh fish.
According to Todd’s fellow chef Jude Kereama, who wrote the Foreword for the book, the recipes “eminently suit the Cornish lifestyle, with a focus on outdoor cooking over live fire, ideas for enjoying the very freshest fish, and nourishing comfort food for those months of long, windswept walks on empty beaches.” Photography by Stewart Girvan, who is also the market’s Coordinator, celebrates Todd’s down-to-earth cooking, while vividly bringing into focus the people behind the produce. “Working so closely with the stallholders every week, I know the hard graft that goes on behind the scenes,” Stewart reflects. “This book captures the community spirit and passion for great Cornish produce which exists at the market, and we had a lot of fun making it. Plus, as official photographer I got to sample firsthand all of Todd’s delicious dishes, and I can vouch for everything being super tasty!”
The bold colours and eye-catching illustrations of the book and calendar are the work of Becky Hutchens of Stanhope Design. “This was possibly the most enjoyable design and illustration project I’ve worked on to date,” said Becky. “Showcasing delicious food and so many fabulous small producers and local businesses was very satisfying. I was constantly hungry throughout the design process!” Styling and further photography were provided by Rebecca Lily, who can often be found with her trusty camera at market, documenting the evolving array of produce from week to week and sharing inspiring content on social media.
The stories of the market stallholders – farmers, growers, bakers, fishermen and many others – are told by writer Lucy Cornes of Cornwall Content, who has worked closely with the market for many years. Lucy explains: “As much as we wanted this to be a useful recipe book which rarely spends too long on the shelf, we also wanted to do justice to the local food heroes at the grassroots of Cornwall’s culinary culture.”
Truro Farmers Market, The Cookbook is printed locally by TJ Printers in Padstow and a limited number are available initially. It can be purchased at the market throughout the course of the year, and is also available to buy online at cornish-gifts.co.uk.
For example, meet David Buscombe of The Cornish Mill and Bakehouse, who leads four
trurofarmers.co.uk
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Tuscan Bread Soup this simple but sustaining soup, and we like to add a spoonful of sauerkraut, curtido or kimchi courtesy of Delea Fermented Foods for added goodness in the winter months.
We used leftovers from a Cornish Mill and Bakehouse Rye Bloomer to make this hearty winter soup, along with Russian Kale from Goonown Growers, but you could easily vary the bread and veg depending on what you have to hand.
This recipe makes a big batch, which you can freeze down in portions for weekday lunches.
A little background heat from the dried chillies provides an added layer of comfort in
SERVES 6+ INGREDIENTS: 300g bread
Cornish Sea Salt
2 tins tomatoes
Olive Oil
1 ltr chicken or veg stock
Black Pepper
5 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
Extra Mature Cornish Gouda (or alternative) to garnish
1 sprig of rosemary, stripped from the stalk
A spoonful of sauerkraut, kimchi or curtido (optional)
1 dried chilli, finely chopped A large handful of Russian Kale
METHOD Fry the garlic and rosemary in the olive oil on a low heat until a light brown.
minutes on medium heat until the bread breaks down.
Add the chopped chilli and tomatoes and cook out for 5 minutes before adding the stock.
Strip the kale from the stalks and scatter over the soup as it cooks, stirring through for a minute or so. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a fine grating of Extra Mature Gouda or your favourite hard cheese, and a spoonful of sauerkraut for added goodness.
Bring to a boil and season liberally with salt and pepper, then tear off mediumsized chunks of the bread and cook for 25
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C U I SI N E
Pork Goulash with Fennel Dumplings This one-pot dish is a cold weather saviour. We used St Piran’s pork shoulder and bacon, and added a spoonful of sauerkraut from Delea Fermented Foods for added goodness. Prepare this the day before, stopping before you make
the dumplings and add the sour cream. When you’re ready to finish and serve, simply gently reheat the goulash (you may want to add 50-100mls of water to loosen), add the dumplings and pop in the oven for 30 minutes.
SERVES 4-6 INGREDIENTS: For the pork:
1 tsp oregano
800g boneless pork shoulder, cut in 2cm pieces
3 red peppers, sliced thinly
1 tbsp vegetable oil
250g sour cream
5 rashers smoked back bacon (thin sliced)
50g Sauerkraut, drained (optional)
2 white onions, finely chopped
chopped chives, optional, for serving
½ tsp cumin seeds
For the dumplings:
2 tsp paprika
150g self-raising flour, plus a little extra
1 tsp smoked paprika
70g suet or soft butter
500ml chicken stock, preferably homemade, just enough to cover mixture
Small handful of thyme, chopped (optional) 1 tsp toasted and crushed fennel seeds
4 bay leaves
METHOD Put a large, thick-bottomed saucepan on a medium to high heat and while it’s heating up drain any liquid from the pork and pat dry with some paper towel. Add a splash of vegetable oil and put the pork in the pan, season a little with salt and pepper and brown until coloured all over. Transfer the browned meat to a bowl.
add ½ tsp salt. Rub in the suet or butter to create a breadcrumb-like consistency, then add the thyme and fennel seeds if using. Make a well in the centre and add 3 tbsp of cold water, and mix to a dough, adding more water until the dough is firm but pliable. Divide into 8-12 equal pieces and roll into balls, using a little extra flour if needed.
In the same pan, heat a little more oil, then add the bacon and onions. Cook over a moderate heat until softened and very lightly browned, which should take about 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle the paprika (regular and smoked) over the onions, stir and cook for 5 more minutes.
Preheat the oven to 160 °C. When the dumplings are ready, stir the sour cream into the pork stew, and arrange the dumplings on top. Cover with a lid. With the oven up to temperature, cook the stew and dumplings for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes until they’re brown and puffed up.
Stir in the pork pieces, bay leaves, oregano and all of the stock, covering the meat. Bring to the boil, cover and reduce the heat. Simmer for 1 hour, then add the sliced peppers and continue cooking with the lid on for another 30mins, until the pork is very tender. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, divide into bowls and top with chives, a spoonful of Sauerkraut if you fancy, and some crusty bread. You can swap out the dumplings for boiled potatoes or tagliatelle for some variation.
Whilst your stew is bubbling, make the dumplings. Weigh the flour into a bowl and
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Indonesian Yellow Curry with Seared Mackerel the mackerel sold at market by Chris Bean and his team is ultra-fresh and packed with healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Just ask and they will happily fillet them for you.
Mackerel is brought ashore pretty much year-round by the market’s exclusive day boat, Lady Hamilton of Helford. Sustainably caught (often by line) and quickly put on ice,
SERVES 2-4 INGREDIENTS: 1 lemongrass stalk (cut in half and pressed with the back of a knife to release flavour)
1 tbsp fish sauce
6 Kaffir lime leaves
1 thumb of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground turmeric
200ml water
1 lemongrass stalk, finely sliced
Can of coconut milk
2 tsp palm sugar or caster sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp ground coriander
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into medium chunks
Juice of half a lime A few cracks of black pepper
4 mackerel fillets (ask at the fishmonger or market stall for them to be ‘V cut’ and scored)
To serve (optional): 1 small red chilli for garnish
For the spice paste:
White rice
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Crispy fried shallots
1 large red chilli, deseeded and chopped
Fresh coriander leaves
1 banana shallot, roughly chopped 1 tomato, chopped
METHOD Put all spice paste ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
While the sauce simmers, cook the mackerel fillets. Place them on a baking tray and if you have one, blowtorch them until cooked through, if not place them under a hot grill. You’re aiming for a good, slightly blackened colour on the skin and for the fish to be just cooked through (turn the fillets over to check). You can finish in the oven if the skin is cooking to fast.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Put in the bruised lemongrass stalk and kaffir lime leaves and stir fry for 1 minute. Then add the spice paste and give it a good stir, frying until fragrant (1-2 minutes). Add the potato chunks, coating in the paste and frying for a further minute.
To serve, in 2-4 bowls ladle the sauce over fluffy white rice and lay your seared mackerel fillets on top. Garnish with fried shallots, slices of fresh chilli and coriander leaves.
Next, pour in the water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and add the coconut milk. Continue simmering for another 5 minutes.
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The social network of OBJECTS WO R D S B Y M A RT I N H O L M A N
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C R E AT E
Artist Steven Claydon is astounded by the strangeness of the world; an outlook that takes shape, literally, in his work.
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his multifaceted, omni-curious artist pulls ideas and possibilities out of the multiplicity of things that the world contains. “Art is a suspension of disbelief. Invited to see, we divest ourselves of our prejudice and begin to engage. Objects will be what you want them to be,” says Steven Claydon. The scope of his enquiry has limits and, as an artist, he concentrates his attention on objects. All have a name, assigned by mankind – a pot, a head, a plant, a screen, a length of wood – and frequently a tradition. Many can be traced to periods in human history spanning hundreds of years. Claydon puts these different types and eras together. The result is unusual and unfamiliar, like a cultural ‘middle of Lidl’ where categories mix into a fresh context. For the onlooker, known distinctions are blurred. Shorn of their labels, the objects become mute and porous in meaning. He likens the effect to chemistry where diverse elements bond to put a new compound, with new effects, into the world.
result help him work through his ideas about value, history and the nature of existing. They are like propositions and, since the start of the century, have been shown in London, Paris, Berlin, New York and Los Angeles, in galleries where he hopes the encounters he seeks will take place. Not surprisingly, the museum is a fertile source for the preconceptions he seeks to transform. An installation by Claydon takes after modern museum display: the plinth or pedestal he designs is an integral part of the work. In museums, objects can undergo an invisible change, not in appearance, but in meaning and status. A humble vessel from the Bronze Age no longer carries grain or water as it once did but becomes a treasured historical document and a valuable commodity. That was not the vessel’s choice; human history assigned it this distinguished role. For a short time, Claydon worked in the Natural History Museum in London. That museum employed graduates to guide the public to the storerooms and hidden places. He discovered that few people wanted to explore behind the scenes. But, already an artist, he wandered those corridors to see objects in the collection that were out of public sight and temporarily beyond the classifying of curators. He thought about the decisions that made commonplace objects
“What I’m trying to do,” he states disarmingly, “is to engender an original encounter.” To that end he might mix genuine, original artefacts with replicas, that is, not the ‘real thing’ but copies, casts or fakes, realised in different materials. His production is not sculpture in the strict sense; and his method is primarily shaped by questioning and research. The hybrid combinations that
PREVIOUS ‘Detector’, 2016
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TOP ‘Playerless Games’, 2021, Momayama period Kame storage jar, jute ball, tufts or flames from Tregaseal stone circle, shredded money in resin, steel, carpet, nine carat gold plated copper blister pack, hydroponic grow lamp. © Steven Claydon. Photograph: Jonathan Michael Ray
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A B OV E ‘eritas (like a dog around the feet)’, 2012 aluminium, laminated wood, cuttlefish ink 145.0 x 116.5 x 60.0 cm. © Steven Claydon. Courtesy the Artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London
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TOP Steven Claydon with ‘Transmitter’ after casting and assembly at Fabrication Facility at Penryn, 2023. Photograph: Jonty Lees
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A B OV E Detail, ‘Transmitter’, 2023, by Steven Claydon and Year 7 students, Pool Academy
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C R E AT E
earliest times) are still found in shards and fragments by archaeologists to become special relics. Claydon turns his attention to things like that, even updating the concept to the modern equivalent, mass-produced plastic drums that freight goods around the globe. Bought for little money and then dumped, are they the survivors from our civilisation, puzzled over by curators centuries from now and treasured in their museums? That idea stalks the artist’s use of these drums set up in incongruous, even grand locations.
so special. Did they exude that acquired stature when wrapped and stored? Or did they retrieve their essential ‘thingness’ in that setting and even change again? The consequence of this investigation is that impact of these objects upon the viewer, upon the world, moves beyond the artist’s control. This may not be everyone’s idea of the purpose of art, or the deal that galleries usually offer when they give an artwork a home. The repercussions for the everyday observer are, therefore, exciting: watching objects create their own impression. Claydon renders a surprising freedom to every aspect of the encounter. Indeed, he actively avoids drawing any conclusions of his own. The viewer’s knowledge of his references is not necessarily important. In fact, not knowing is part of what makes the process of looking so interesting.
Asking questions about everyday objects elicits healthily ambiguous results, as if the object holds the trump card. In ‘Playerless Games (Kamidana)’, a glass-topped, cuboid open structure no more than shin height supports a circular, broad-waisted earthenware pot containing dried flowers or wheat. A braided strand drops from the neck of the vessel to the glass top where a few blister packs of the type associated with pharmaceuticals lie scattered. Some of the thermoformed plastic pillows have been pushed through and emptied. A heavy dusting of an innocuous flaky powder frames the table’s perimeter but the matting underneath, that looks like a coir doormat, is still visible. Illuminating this display is the strong bulb in the overhead lamp, slung low by cables hanging from the ceiling.
The ‘passage of materials’ he witnessed in the storerooms helps to explain his way of working. Old and new are often mixed on plinth-like supports and tables into a single assembled piece. The items he uses have often had previous lives in the service of humans, by whom their function is categorised. Containers are a particular draw for Claydon because they constitute the banal part of a transaction, such as the box that contains the Amazon delivery and that is broken up on arrival. Except that, through time, the vessels that packaged contents of value – grain, oil, wine – have survived long after their cargoes have vanished.
The objects under the beam of light have a golden colour. Claydon likes colour as light that floods a gallery or a monochrome surface to cover a single piece. Here the tone is set by the copper ceramic glaze of the vase, carried into the mat and flakes, then lightened by the wheat and made luxurious by the pill packs. The onlooker’s eyes scour the evidence for clues and the temptation – or urge – is to spin
The vessel, although quickly discarded as useless, seems to have the survival instinct. Ceramic amphorae (a vase-like form with a pointed body used for storage from the
FA C I N G PA G E T O P R I G H T ‘Who conjured you out of the clay?’, 2012 Thermalite, Formica, polyurethane foam, ceramic, parcel tape 138.0 x 60.0 x 60.0 cm © Steven Claydon. Courtesy the Artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London
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too, but their responses can be as open and unpredictable.
a story around the parts that explains this concentrated, intense scenario. What does it mean?
There have been some key encounters in his own life, such as first working with clay as a child at a fair in Putney, south London. Ceramics remains part of his practice. Another event was seeing Bladerunner, the thematically complex science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott where a vision of the future and nostalgia for the past are expressed in the same breath. In fact, the film portrays a kind of future-past state, with one character, the humanoid replicant Roy, lamenting as he dies that his memories “will be lost in time, like tears in rain”.
While Claydon does not hinder the desire to interpret, he does not assist it. In fact, he says provocatively that “I think narrative is a… slightly dodgy thing. Even in the most rigorous academic and legalistic way – it’s always emotive.” Mildly reproached, the viewer might then take in the voiceless installation more objectively, seeing in the pot, for instance, signs of its historic, Japanese heritage and sensing the geological history enclosed within the flakes. Meanwhile the pill pack, the sort thrown out from every household, shows signs of inauthenticity by harbouring precious metal. On that level, the objects overturn assumptions and challenge us to reveal more of themselves.
Claydon grew up in London in a family with no connection with art. From an early age, however, the possibility of expressing ideas through making became more apparent to him. At the same time, he was increasingly active in experimental music, playing drones and bagpipes, and collecting old synthesisers as a teenager. At art school in the capital he joined a band, gigged and moved on to another group, called Relaxed Muscle, that was fronted by Jarvis Cocker. Involved in composing film scores, he appeared in cameo movie parts, one of which was Gideon Crumb, the bagpipe player in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
This artist is candid in his views about authorship. The public assumes every maker conceives a work from the start. Claydon considers himself as a channel or conduit through which flows awareness of the inherent qualities in existing objects or newly made. Those qualities might be as diffuse as their poetry and beauty, and they are revealed through the relationships; he says that he lets “something come out”. Claydon’s own engagement with the world is augmented by synaesthesia, when one sensory impression is experienced through another sense. Thus, words can stimulate a colour in his perception; for others with the condition, smells could bring forward sounds. The gift is both troubling and enriching, and has a bearing on his own encounters with people and objects. Through his work, his audience does not become synaesthetic,
West Penwith became his base seven years ago, with his partner, the painter Lisa Stein, and their young family. He already knew Cornwall from family caravan holidays and as a student on college field trips. Special projects have followed, such as a commission from the Leach Pottery in St Ives. Like Bernard Leach himself, Claydon has formed professional relationships in Korea and
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TOP LEFT ‘The Commencement of The Thingly’ (An Arrested Equivalence), 2011 © Steven Claydon
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A B OV E ‘A Gathering of Vessels’, 2017, painted plastic, gilded plastic, aluminium, bronze, laminated wood, trestle 125 × 128 × 128 cm. Installed at Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute. © Steven Claydon. Courtesy MASSIMODECARLO
TOP RIGHT Installation view of work by Steven Claydon, The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture at The Hepworth, Wakefield, 2016
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A B OV E ‘La Natura Morta’, 2021 aluminium frame, painted resin and patinated copper, 128 x 85.6 x 6 cm. © Steven Claydon. Courtesy the Artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London
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C R E AT E
but now appear impenetrable, encrypted by time. Likewise, with digital networks vital to life today, the artist adds that “’Transmitter’ is communicating things, but in an obscure way.”
Japan to reflect on contemporary cultural exchange between East Asia and Britain. While at the pottery, he investigated the ceramic grenades created in the Second World War. Short of metal for munitions, the Japanese regime commanded craftsmen, trained in providing delicate utensils for the highly ritualised Zen tea ceremony, to produce clay cases for explosives. Claydon was struck by the contradiction in applying techniques associated with reconciliation (the tea ritual’s traditional purpose) to making instruments of destruction. Contradictions interest Claydon as do inversions of cultural customs. In Buddhism, the vessel is regarded as a body or a little human, a context incompatible with its use in war.
“A key discovery the students made with Steven at Chysauster Ancient Village,” says Jonty Lees, the artist leading the Reverberate project at the school, “is that heritage isn’t something distant. It informs who we are today and what we do tomorrow.” Indeed, English Heritage provided funding alongside other supporters for this grassroots project in which young people “re-discover, reimagine and re-create” their local heritage through creativity. Claydon talks about artists as time-travellers. He says that fifteenth-century painting inspires him as much as today’s art; both have been the avant-garde of their time. Artists look back and forward simultaneously in their work, and at the same time express a hunch about the world around them and how future generations might see it. In Claydon’s output, objects are the transmitters, acquiring a new liveliness when modified by their changing environment. This artist exists to assist with connections; art routes the social network of display that releases that exciting freshness of being.
The passage of time between past, present and future permeates all Claydon’s work. It is apparent in ‘Transmitter’, the tall, totem-like artwork unveiled in November at Pool Academy, outside Camborne. Made in collaboration with Year 7 students, it combines elements in steel with casts in aluminium into a type of cultural antenna that the artist describes as a “relationship between what we know and what we don’t.” A crown of individual panels sits on top of a vertical shaft replicating different materials. Casts of an ancient wood beam and old clay pipes channel the area’s post-industrial character into the work through shape, marks and materials. The panels contain pictograms and signs drawn by the students and sand cast in metal. They resemble ancient tablets, an idea that followed visits together to see medieval graffiti in local churches. Those inscriptions once conveyed secret messages
Steven Claydon is represented by Sadie Coles HQ, London, and Massimo De Carlo, Milan, Paris, London, Hong Kong. For more information about ‘Transmitter’ at Pool Academy and the Pool School Gallery, visit poolschoolgallery sadiecoles.com
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T I M E L E S S
Taking TIME
A selection of luxury timepieces, each a miniature masterpiece in its own right.
PAT E K P H I L I P P E G R A N D C O M P L I C AT I O N S 4 9 9 7 - 2 0 0 R - 0 0 1 £254,270
A
n accessory to remind you of your achievements; a trusty companion that’s with you during life’s best and worst moments; an heirloom that comes with its own stories to pass down to your children and theirs thereafter. A luxury watch is more than an accessory, its value impossible to define as merely monetary. michaelspiers.co.uk
Prices may vary according to model and size
T I S S O T P R X P O W E R M AT I C 8 0 AU TO M AT I C 4 0 M M £640
GUCCI G-TIMELESS 27MM L A D I E S WATC H £860
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T I M E L E S S
OMEGA SPEEDMASTER DA R K S I D E O F T H E M O O N 4 4 . 2 5 M M ‘A P O L L O 8 ’ £10,100
B R E I T L I N G N AV I T I M E R B 0 1 C H RO N O G R A P H 4 3 £7,300
RO L E X DAT E J U S T 3 1 OY S T E R , 3 1 M M , OY S T E R S T E E L A N D YELLOW GOLD £11,150
TA G H E U E R C A R R E R A C H RO N O G R A P H C A L I B R E T H 2 0 - 0 0 AU TO M AT I C 3 9 M M £5,600.00
T U D O R B L A C K B AY G M T S & G M79833MN-0001 £5,290
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Nordic
INFLUENCE WO R D S B Y H A N N A H TA P P I N G
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C O U T U R E
Modern tailoring and intricate design combine with historical references resulting in a clothing collection that remains true to designer Teija Eilola’s Finnish roots.
T
eija Eilola was in receipt of a prestigious design award from the Fashion Fringe Competition – which was pivotal in her career, being mentored by Christopher Bailey, who was then CEO of Burberry – and hadn’t even finished her Master’s in Womenswear Fashion at the Royal College of Art when she was offered her first job with a Japanese design company. She went on to design collections for Ted Baker before consulting on other fashion brands in London and abroad. “I decided to start my own label, partly because when I was working for bigger companies the amount of design I was doing was vast. While fun and exciting, it did make me miss the handcrafted element I had fallen in love with at RCA. I had learned traditional tailoring and hand
smocking and I really missed those elements of designing and developing in a studio environment.” Having been awarded a British Fashion Trust Fund from the British Fashion Council, the Teija collection grew. Like many during the pandemic, the lure of the coast drew Teija and her family to move to Cornwall. Her studio now has views of Padstow on the horizon and the label has grown to include a core collection of elevated day wear including shirts and dresses, skirts and outerwear; for the summer season, expect linen dresses and smock shirts, often using colour and always featuring interesting detail, shapes and intensity. A range of organic cotton t-shirts, sustainable cashmere and merino knitwear has just been launched alongside a new evening dress and bridal collection that includes bespoke, one-off pieces. Teija designs the collections
PREVIOUS Photo Courtesy of Teija Eilola. Teija Studio in St Breward village. Photography by John Hersey
INSET Portrait of Teija for British Fashion Council Fashion Trust
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A B OV E Teija Eilola SS 2024 collection looks shot at Porthmeor Studios (Artist Felicity Mara space ) by Goodrest Studios. Model Jenna Davies
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A B OV E Teija tie dye smock shirt and skirt. at the Felicity Mara Studio in St Ives
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A B OV E Teija White Collection shot by John Hersey. Models Carina Covella, Kathryn Tyler, Alice Ellis-Bray. Make Up Georgina Markham. Hair Anna Ingram. Jewellery Emily Nixon
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A B OV E Teija Pink Cotton Smock Shirt Erin from SS 2024 collection. Shot at the Felicity Mara Studio in St Ives by Good Rest Studios
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C O U T U R E
in Cornwall with the pieces made in carefully selected workshops across the world. One of which Teija has been working with for over ten years and specialises in hand-sewn couture evening dresses, creating for the likes of Elie Saab. New collections build on old, with designs having a continuing evolution. “With some design shapes that I really like I might think, actually, I haven’t explored this enough yet and so will make a different version of it next season, perhaps incorporating a sculptural element that was really interesting into a new piece. Once I’ve developed a technique, I want to keep on exploring and investigating it. Other inspiration comes from researching fabrics, textiles and colour and then I just start working into the shapes.” Teija uses mostly natural fibres – 100% silk, cotton and linen – as well as recycled polyester or sustainable eco-viscose: “I definitely love natural fabrics that last a long time and I would say our pieces are really hard wearing. I have dresses from 10 years ago that still feel fresh. If I have a fabric and I try to steam it and it reacts
strangely, I’m literally put off immediately. Generally, I find a lot of manmade materials just don’t have the tolerance, so at the moment there’s only one viscose I’m using because it handles well and is very sustainable.” I’m currently working on the launch of a special capsule collection for Tomorrowland in Tokyo and a couple of other cities in Japan and they were just saying that their customers really love the fact that our pieces are so special and so beautifully finished.” Intricate handsmocking and pin tucks are a often a feature of shirts and blouses. Checks and stripes appear every season and this year a minimal tie dye has been added. “We also have some layered effects where we use tulle. I will use an interesting fabric underneath and then layer the fabric to create a halo of the colour. As our cut is complicated, I spend a lot of time testing and figuring out what looks best.” Teija’s Pre-fall ‘24 collection has just been shown at Paris Fashion Week. teijastore.com
INSET Teija Eilola, Inge Silk Bomber Jacket
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A B OV E & FA C I N G PA G E Teija SS 2024 collection looks, shot at the Felicity Mara Studio in St Ives by Good Rest Studios. Model Jenna Davies. Make Up, Georgina Yates. Hair, Ro Salon
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teijaeilola.com teijaeilola
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B I J O U X
1.
2.
3.
Beautiful THINGS
The inexplicable love of precious adornments.
W
hy do we wear fine jewellery? Is it because it makes us feel good? Is it because, like works of art hung at an exhibition, they grab our eyes and we simply cannot leave without them? Because our ownership of them marks an occasion or milestone in our lives? Is it out of an appreciation for
the artistry and master craftsmanship required to design and bring to life such intricately precious pieces? It could be for one of a million reasons, but when all is said in done, the ‘why’ doesn’t really matter. Nor should it. michaelspiers.co.uk
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B I J O U X
4.
5.
6.
1.
1 8 C T Y E L LOW G O L D M U LT I COLOURED EMERALD-CUT SAPPHIRE NECKLET – £59,500
4.
P L AT I N U M M A RQ U I S E - C U T D I A M O N D FULL ETERNITY RING 5.90CTS – £27,500
2.
1 8 C T Y E L L O W G O L D B R I L L I A N TCUT DIAMOND CHANNEL SET HOOP EARRINGS 0.76CT – £3,850
5.
1 8 C T W H I T E G O L D C H A I N L I N K P AV É S E T D I A M O N D L A R I AT N E C K L A C E 14.21CT – £39,950
3.
1 8 C T Y E L LOW G O L D M U LT I COLOURED EMERALD-CUT SAPPHIRE BRACELET – £27,500
6.
P L A T I N U M O VA L - C U T P U R P L E S A P P H I R E & O VA L - C U T D I A M O N D THREE STONE RING 4.37CTS – £22,500
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WE L L N E S S B R E A K S AT ST M I CH A ELS Make 2024 the year of self-care with expert led wellness breaks
Scan here to explore
YOGA | WILD SWIMMING | PADDLEBOARDING | TENNIS
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In your
ELEMENT WO R D S B Y H A N N A H TA P P I N G
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R E T R E AT
Experiencing the elemental atop a north Cornwall cliffside, with hot and cold therapies designed to soothe mind, body and soul.
T
he St Moritz Hotel is an iconic landmark with a distinct Miami Beach vibe, its whitewashed tiered façade reflecting the sun back across the bay above which it sits. You approach the hotel through the small village of Trebetherick, between Rock and Polzeath, on Cornwall’s north coast. While the village may be small and the setting rural, this area of Cornwall exudes opulence and adventure, in no small part due to it being the home of St Moritz Hotel. The hotel overlooks Greenaway beach and Daymer Bay, and has a venerable history dating back to the 1930s, hosting its fair share of the rich and famous over the years. Today, the hotel’s appeal is much broader, welcoming couples, families and locals alike, although guests are no less discerning or venerable. The hotel itself has a varied array of accommodation with a combination of hotel rooms, large
suites, coastal villas and apartments, all of which welcome guests in style. However, it’s not the stay proposition (as luxurious as it is) that has drawn me to wax lyrical about St Moritz, rather its new Wild Spa which has become the talk of the town. For those who have visited St Moritz, they will know that it is home to the only Cowshed spa you’ll find outside of the luxury Soho House properties. Adopting the beauty philosophy of Babington House in Somerset, products are based on English country garden botanicals to nourish body and soul. However, not one to rest on its laurels, a large investment is being made at St Moritz into its leisure facilities which will incorporate an immersive experience as an extension of the spa. “When we built St Moritz almost 15 years ago, we dedicated ourselves to being at the forefront of the needs and wants of 21st century Cornish holidaymakers and short-breakers,” says
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A B OV E Elemental relaxation
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A B OV E Each and every element is designed to nourish
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R E T R E AT
Hugh Ridgway, Founder of St Moritz Hotel. “For 2024, we’re undertaking a £2+ million rebuild of our indoor swimming pool as an extension of our extremely popular coastal Cowshed spa and in doing so, are stepping further into the luxury wellness landscape. Our new wellness area will reimagine the immersive spa experience, with an outdoor hydro pool, a new steam room and sauna alongside ice fountains and sensory showers.” Rather than leave guests and visitors without a spa, an innovative and exciting solution was found, as Hugh explains: “We dreamt up an interim measure – our outdoor Wild Spa. Knowing the phenomenal interest in both cold-water swimming and hot and cold ‘plunging’, we knew this would take off. The initial interest has immediately been through the roof – so much so that we’re already considering how this new experience could become a long-term fixture here on the north Cornish coast.” As a cold-water convert myself, I am intrigued as to what the offering looks like and how it could have been achieved while maintaining the level of luxury guests have come to expect from St Moritz. Arriving at the hotel, Wild Spa visitors follow a meandering path towards the clifftops. The day couldn’t be more crisp and cold, with an endless blue sky and bright sunshine. As we take the short stroll towards the spa, our breath creating chilly plumes on the air and the sweet wafts of wood smoke filling our nostrils, it’s reminiscent of a ‘bluebird’ day at the hotel’s Swiss namesake. While mountains are replaced with clifftops, the setting is no less spectacular nor glamorous. As we round the
final bend, with a wide ocean vista beyond, a vast tipi and a set of cosy changing huts herald our arrival. Steam from the hot tubs and smoke from an outdoor fire pit creat ethereal wisps in the air, drifting past a twinkle of fairy lights adorning the perimeter. We are shown to our changing hut by a delightful host, whose job it also is to keep the fires burning in the wood-fired hot tubs, ensuring they are always at optimum temperature. We change, donning the deep-pile towelling robes and flip flops provided, before beginning our Wild Spa journey. Sinking into the all-encompassing heated waters of the cedar tub, our bodies relax to the soundtrack of a cry from a passing seagull and the gentle murmur of guests relaxing in the nearby tipi. While it would be easy to simply soak all day, we are here to experience all of the elements and so our first foray away from the womb-like warmth of the hot tub is the ice-cold plunge. The first dip of the toe takes my breath away, but by adopting some deep nose breathing and turning my face to the sun, I’m able to gradually lower myself into the cold water. My hands and shoulders are the hardest to submerge, but I find that faltering makes the matters worse, so I continue to lower, embracing the tingling sensation that is allconsuming. Once my shoulders are under I continue to breathe deeply, finding an invigorating pleasure as my skin becomes used to the cold shock. More deep nose breaths continue to regulate the experience, but I’m aware that I shouldn’t linger too long to avoid the ‘drop’; thankfully the heat of the hot tub beckons once more.
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R E T R E AT
The Wild Spa is an exciting collaboration with Cornwall-based Water and Stone, who are the leading experts in hot and cold contrast therapy in the south west. Together the team has designed this original Nordic outdoor spa, all within the beautifully landscaped gardens at the hotel. A full experience programme of special events and workshops, with leading experts and additional wellness elements, is set to run throughout the winter and spring, a key part of which will be a Lithuanian style of sauna – a Pirtis – an option that has rarely been available in the UK. Wild Spa guests are able to book a Pirtis as part of the experience and as we enter the sauna cabin, under the tutelage of sauna expert and Founder of Wild and Stone Spa Ross Eliot, the sense of anticipation is palpable. Pointed, felt sauna hats are provided, which are used to keep the intense heat away from our heads allowing longer tolerance time. The sauna is filled with the scent of pine and eucalyptus, coming from large bunches of forest fronds. We begin by making our intentions for the year ahead, dipping fingertips into the proffered ladle of water as we begin the ritual. As the heat rises, our sauna master uses the bunches to ‘whisk’ the body creating a connection with nature. Using breathwork, alongside the intention setting, ensures guests feel aligned as they drift towards a state of tranquillity. When the heat becomes too intense, guests can step outside for an ice-bucket drench to cool off. Hotel and day-guests alike can choose a two-hour elemental spa, experiencing the energising benefits of cold water exposure alongside the restorative, warming effects of heat therapy; there’s perhaps no better way
to embrace the elements. For those wanting to rest a while longer, the indulgent Cloud Gazer or Star Gazer package includes the Wild Spa experience followed by a welcome Pentire and tonic or a glass of bubbles to accompany an elemental lunch or dinner. Or, for the ultimate pamper, there is the option to add in a stay with either the Elemental, Winter Escape or Wild Sun-Daze packages, the latter two of which include a one-hour Cowshed treatment and a leisurely check out. Ross Eliot comments: “We’re delighted to be bringing this creative new mix of global therapies to the north Cornish coast with the St Moritz Wild Spa. We’re providing not just the experiences themselves, but the opportunity for people to learn about, and embrace, the proven, invigorating, boosting mental and physical effects that controlled exposure to alternate hot and cold conditions can have.” The experience is truly invigorating and once changed, we head to the tipi for lunch. Prepared by the hotel’s chefs, the array of fresh salads and Moroccan-inspired dishes are intended to nourish just as much as the spa experience itself. The ambience in the tipi is one of cosy warmth as we sink into deep leather armchairs and relish the delicious food while our bodies enjoy that wonderful feeling that comes from post-elemental exposure. To book your Wild Spa visit stmoritz-hotel. co.uk/Wild-Spa and use code ‘DRIFT10’ for 10% off any Wild Spa bookings until June 2024. St Moritz Hotel also runs Solid As Rock, an exclusive VIP membership set up for locals. Those who live in a PL, TR or EX postcode are eligible to receive exclusive discounts, points and access to other offers stmoritzhotel.co.uk/solid-as-rock stmoritzhotel.co.uk
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L A ST
WO R D
Eventide WO R D S B Y M I C H A E L DA RT
W
e are so lucky to live here in Devon. The fertile valleys, mild climate, rolling hills, plentiful hedgerows and two coasts make it a region where we can grow, rear and catch the most amazing array of local produce. Here at Darts Farm, we are advocates of eating with the seasons, something that has been at the core of our business since our father, Ronald, started a pick-your-own hut in the 1970s. It’s amazing when you look back and reflect at how we’ve evolved over the years. We are proud to say that we have been leading the way, championing sustainability with the understanding that supporting local producers is the best way of doing this, from the very beginning. Our vegetables are handpicked from the fields each morning and travel mere metres to our farm shop; still damp with dew, no food miles, no unnecessary packaging. Our herd of Ruby Red Devon cattle graze the marshes, encouraging biodiversity and locking carbon into the soil. On our vineyard, our wines are produced to reflect the growing season. It’s simple really, we are not striving to achieve a standardised taste, we are just striving for amazing quality, real food and flavour.
trusted family farmers, growers and artisan food producers who share our value for real food. All of this means that we get to enjoy the best flavours and great value, along with environmental benefits such as no plastic packaging, lower carbon footprint, conserving resources and preservation of local ecosystems. In a world where globalisation and supermarkets have made vegetables, meat and other produce boring, tasteless and unsustainable, we should all be looking to increase our appetite for seasonal eating. Not only do we get to enjoy amazing fresh flavour and quality, but when our plates align with what is naturally in abundance, we get to enjoy unbeatable value. We believe our model is much more sustainable, and with the addition of a few artisanal treats crafted by small-scale, family businesses, helps to create a vibrant local community and produces better tasting food with less waste. Michael Dart is a founder of Darts Farm alongside his brothers James and Paul. Darts Farm is a unique farm shopping experience, with a working farm and food hall at the heart, surrounded by amazing eateries and home, lifestyle and outdoor departments.
What we cannot grow or rear ourselves, we source from our vibrant community of
dartsfarm.co.uk
INSET Michael Dart
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FROM COASTAL PROPERTIES TO LOFT APARTMENTS BEAUTIFUL KITCHENS AND INTERIORS DESIGNED AND BUILT IN CORNWALL
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Bespoke furniture and luxury interiors handmade in Cornwall – from unique, one-off designs to entire room transformations to tailored joinery packages. Harnessing 35 years of experience, Rozen’s highly skilled team of crafters are dedicated to the finest standards. Making everything from freestanding kitchen units to bespoke dining tables to beautiful bedroom furniture and more, our craftsmen pour precision, care and artistry into every job.
01326 290 100 | rozenfurniture.com Cherry Tree Workshop | Ruan Minor | Helston | Cornwall | TR12 7JR DRIFT--31--AD--Rozen--V2--1.00--IBC.indd 1
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