F: Can you tell us a bit about you and what you're working on at the moment?

I am a stylist, photographer, sometimes writer and most of the time a shopkeeper. A bit of a recluse (even more so these days)!
When I am not wrapping orders, choosing pieces and photographing them with Dean for our collection, you’ll find me in the garden. Currently cutting a cottage garden out of a third of our lawn.

F. You're one half of The Future Kept, how did it come about?

We opened The Future Kept in 2014 as we were trying to buy more ethical, small production pieces for our home and life and could not find things in local shops or online that we were quite looking for, so we thought let’s reach out to some other independent makers and brands and try and build the kind of store we were searching for ourselves. After starting an interiors and lifestyle blog in 2007 I had met lots of lovely folks who supported our new project and shared our store with their friends and audiences which really helped our fledgling business take flight, we are eternally grateful for that.

F. You mentioned you are installing a new greenhouse... can you tell us how you hope to use it this year?

We have a rescued greenhouse from a friends garden that we finally built last spring and now a second brand new one which has been on our wish list for the past 5 years! - both are now full of plant babies, fingers crossed we get some rain in time to plant everything out. We have been slowly building towards growing more food at home and needed more propagation and indoor growing space as last year our kitchen and studio were taken over with seedlings and young plants in every window and on every table. While it was fun being surrounded by so much new green life it was a little precarious with two cats leaping about! We have visions of a wild and hopefully abundant small cottage garden cut from our lawn, with lots of insects and birds, flowers, fruits, vegetables and a dye garden that is still sitting on the table waiting to be sown.

F. You're a fan of Falcon Enamelware. What’s your favourite product and what do you use it for?

I have gathered quite a collection over the years, the mixing bowls are used daily, deep plates for pasta in the garden and the tumblers and tray are perfect for refreshing floral infused drinks now we can finally have friends over. But my absolute favourite is my classic white and blue teapot, it’s a little bit chipped but well loved and we will be taking it into the greenhouse and down to the vegetable patch in the late summer for many cups of tea whilst sowing autumn seeds and harvesting.

F. Are there any local eateries/small businesses you'd like to shout about in East Sussex?

For beautiful homewares Butlers Emporium in Hastings Old Town, for eating we love The Crown also the Old Town, a great pub with rustic vibes, great beer and food and lovely folks running the place. Sham City Roasters for good coffee and vegan treats and Rose (from Butlers Emporium) keeps sharing pictures of the amazing cakes from a bakery called Frankonia that also looks amazing - https://frankoniahastings.co.uk/ :)

F. How have you been keeping during this time? Do you have any tips for small business owners and creatives?

We have been okay, eternally grateful to all our customers who have been absolutely amazing and kept us busy during this past year of ups and downs, our families and friends are thankfully safe and well. To have been able to keep doing what we do and have our day to day routine only slightly adapted has been a true gift. I have seen so many creatives and independent makers adapt their businesses in unique ways and reroute to cope and survive these sudden physically and emotionally tough times, they are a true inspiration. My only tip is be unique to you and your vision. We run our store how we run our life, slowly and organically (often behind on tasks) but it mirrors how we are living and what is important to us, we did all the opposite things a business advisor would suggest and believed it would work, so far so good ;)

https://thefuturekept.com
https://lobsterandswan.com

HEJKØH is a lifestyle store in the old city centre of Basel in Switzerland selling timeless products for a sustainable home. They’ve recently launched Falcon in...

We recently caught up with Richard Chivers, an organic no-dig allotment gardener, and the Co-Host of a new podcast, The Seed Pod. The principle of no-dig gardening is to not disturb soil life,...