Countrywoman's Guide

Maria Warne-Elston is a 22 year old, fifth generation farmer who works with four generations of her family on their 326 acre farm in Cornwall and during our interview, it became very evident what a powerhouse she is. In our interview we cover a wide range of topics including juggling all the roles Maria does, the importance of farm safety, mental health and also the potentially devastating effect of the recent Inheritance and Business Property relief changes. Please do listen, especially if you don’t understand the issues faced by our rural businesses, running a farm is a very different proposition to most businesses - and ultimately their important input into our food chain means that if they have issues, we will all have issues…

It’s always such a privilege sitting and talking to people for our interviews, but the icing on the cake is when we hear from others afterwards how inspiring and useful they found the interview. You see, for us, that’s the whole point of the interviews - to showcase our interviewee and also to share their journey, and in so doing help others see a way forward with their own journey. Being in business, being a Mum or simply just being can be lonely, and it can feel like you’re the only one not making “enough” progress - because we always judge ourselves so harshly, don’t we? So, it was an absolute pleasure to chat to Tamsyn Froom from Tamsyn Froom Architecture. Tamsyn launched her business at the same time as she and her husband started a farming business. They also have two young children to add a bit more spice into the mix. Tamsyn talks about finding her way to more of a balance as a family, and how to cope when the balance is out of kilter. Over the years, she’s also worked out who her ideal client is and how she can work more in alignment with her values. Huge thanks to Tamsyn for taking part - you can take a listen to our interview below, it’s also on Spotify.

We’ve launched a podcast! It’s been on the ‘To Do’ list for sometime but somehow kept dropping to the bottom of the priority list. But an interview with Gemma Standeven of Gattertop Drinks Company changed the game. It was such an inspiring and interesting interview that Emma Warren found it really tricky to write up without leaving some important learning points out. Sharing wisdom is a key part of what we’re about, so Emma decided that this interview would be a great one to launch the Countrywoman’s Guide Podcast. But then the gremlins crept in and whispered that it wasn’t recorded as a podcast, it wouldn’t be good enough and what if no-one listened? Or worse, listened and thought it was awful!! The gremlins very nearly won out the day, but then Emma thought about the values that lie at the heart of CWG. They’re all about having a go at things, being authentic and real and ensuring that stories are shared to inspire others that they too can achieve their dreams, and that’s it’s totally normal to have hiccups along the way. At the end of the day, that’s what matters, to paraphrase Mark Zuckerberg - “doing it is better than perfect”. Help Emma prove the gremlins wrong by taking a listen below and please do leave a rating if you enjoy it, as it will help us reach more people.

Brand collaborations seem to be all the rage at the moment, so when we spotted the new Joules collaboration with Chatham Footwear, we were intrigued to know what thought processes go on behind the scenes when two key brands collaborate. In our infographics, we’ve picked out 3 of the key points that stood out to us when we interviewed Tom Joule OBE and Phil Marsh of Chatham. If you’d like to read the full article and take a peek at the gorgeous capsule collection that was the result of the collaboration, head over to our blog to read all about it. Plus we’d love to hear your own brand collaboration tips in the comments below. Article link in comments. #countrywomansguide #brandcollaborations

“Some people choose to work with a Manager or an external consultant, but I chose to work with a trusted business partner. Duncan and I have looked at the areas that are more profitable and sustainable and improved the infrastructure and systems, as well as people.” So says Adam Henson, joint owner of Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park, TV Presenter and Author. In a world where rush, rush, rush seems to be the order of the day and short term decisions prevail, the longterm nature of the strategic decision making required to run a diversified farm business came through strongly in our interview with Adam. We also discussed mental health, the importance of asking how people really are, taking time to eat together and what Adam would like his legacy to be. The link to the full article is in the comments below.

Bicton Arena Media day provided a great peek behind the scenes into the organisation and thinking that involved in organising an International Horse Trials. Thank you to JB Promotions PR & Marketing and Course Directors Andrew Fell and Helen West for putting on such a great day. You can read more about the day on the CWG substack - link in comments.

We have some exciting news! It’s something we’ve been talking about for a while, and that a lot of you have asked for along the way. We both absolutely love our online Countrywoman's Guide community and there’s lots planned for this year with more interviews and getting out and about in the countryside, but there’s another big project brewing too! As you all know Holly used to produce a printed magazine called In The Country, which many of you were loyal readers of, subscribed to and enjoyed over the years. We’re sure that none of you can have missed that Holly is a print lass at heart! So, 2024 is going to be the year that Holly relaunches her magazine! Covering a wide range of country matters, the magazine will be launching this Autumn and you’ll be among the first to get the link when it goes on sale. Countrywoman’s Guide will be featuring in the magazine as Emma will be sharing countryside wisdom and interviews within its pages (there’s talk of a regular column too, shhh, you didn’t hear that from us!) and Holly will also be continuing to write articles for you here. We’re both so excited about the future for both titles - stay tuned for more! Photo : Rachel Collins #femalefounders?#countrywomansguide?#inthecountrymagazine

Sometimes it just takes a change of scene to remind us to value what we have on our back door step… Read more about this in our latest article - details in comments. TL:DR Take this as a reminder to not let your busy life stop you from enjoying the little moments in your day…

A life in the country is often governed by the seasons. Each one brings with it new opportunities, waves of work and of course, challenges. Life is much the same, we each go through different seasons at different times, we all know ourselves life is very rarely in full bloom all of the time, it is not sustainable, just as nature needs seasons of rest and recuperation through Autumn and Winter to recover, ready to bloom once more the following Spring and Summer so do we… Holly Thomson interviews eloquent style icon, leading digital creator and now author, Lydia Millen following the launch of her debut book; Evergreen, a comforting guide to the seasons of nature and life. Click the link below to read the interview, and grab yourself a copy of Evergreen. ???? https://lnkd.in/e_i6G676

Helen Rebanks joined Holly Thomson for a Zoom chat recently to talk all about the often invisible life of farmer’s wives and her new book and Sunday Times Bestseller: The Farmer’s Wife ?? A farmer’s wife is by definition just that. The wife of a farmer. Though many of us know that you, they, are much more than that. They are often at the helm of the family, organising, navigating storms, cleaning, caring and cooking. Wearing many hats, that of wife, full-time mother, friend, business partner, and too often their own hat is forgotten in the business of life as a farmer’s wife. Read Helen’s interview and discover more about her brilliant book (the hardback of which sits proudly on Holly’s shelves) by clicking the link below: ?? https://lnkd.in/eg_x-RN8 First image credit: Imogen Whiteley ?? #helenrebanks #thefarmerswife #farmerswife