Coniston Stonecraft, nestled on the slopes of coniston old man in the heart of the Lake District has long been celebrated for its exceptional craftsmanship and dedication to sustainability. In recent years the company has taken further strides to ensure that its operations are both efficient and eco friendly.
In an effort to minimise its carbon footprint Coniston Stonecraft has refined its sourcing strategy. The company now purchases slate exclusively from Cumbrian quarries preferably as close to its coniston base as possible. This localised sourcing approach not only supports the local economy but also reduces transport emissions whilst ensuring that the materials used are as sustainable as the products themselves.
Coniston Stonecrafts core lines of kitchen and house wares are achieving real traction throughout the Uk having been listed in Fortnum and Mason in London, Robert Welch in the Cotswolds and Booths closer to home. Their beautiful slate pieces tread a line between utility and artwork as the knowledge and appreciation of Cumbrian slate grows.
A hallmark of their success has been the unique labelling of each piece, detailing both the quarry that the raw slate originates from and the artisan who crafted the piece. This practice not only celebrates the skill and dedication of the slatemasons, but also fosters a deeper connection between the customer and the craft, providing a tangible and authentic link to the piece’s provenance.
Collaborations with independent quarrymen has allowed Coniston Stonecraft to hand select the most interesting and high quality slate. This partnership ensures that each product is not only made from superior materials but also embodies the natural beauty and uniqueness of Cumbrian slate.
Clocks, cheeseboards, signage, lamps, rolling pins, trophies place settings, salt and pepper sets, mounts and a whole variety of bespoke items, life is never boring in a Victorian workshops on a mountain, if you would like to contact them please do so.
The team at the Lake District based tea and coffee merchants John Farrer & Co, Kendal, are thrilled to announce that they have been awarded four Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards.
The Kendal based tea and coffee merchant achieved two gold awards, one for Farrer’s Italian Blend Coffee and a second for Farrer’s Lungo Coffee Pods, they also collected a silver for Farrer’s English Breakfast Tea and a bronze award for Farrer’s Colombian Coffee Bags. Adding to the three awards previously won in 2023, for their Lakeland Special Teabags, Farrer’s No 1 Blend Coffee and Farrer’s Westmorland Blend Coffee.
The annual awards now in their third year have quality and excellence at their heart. Supported and judged by leading farm shop and deli retailers, top wholesaler buyers and owners and industry experts. The Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards recognises and rewards the best in specialist food and drink products.
This enhanced criterion gives business confirmation to buyers that an awarded product is worth stocking, and the judges included well known retailers and wholesalers such as Booths, The Gorgeous Food Company, Cotswold Fayre, Diverse Fine Foods, and Kitchen Food Company.
Commenting on the awards, Giorgio Rigali, Head of Communications, Exhibitions at William Reed commented: “Following another record-breaking year for entries, we are thrilled to announce our list of winners for 2024. NPD is critical to growth and these awards are unique, by way that producers get genuine informed feedback on their products and their business model which helps them refine their strategy. The list of winners truly highlights the quality and innovation that is available throughout the specialist retail sector, and we are delighted to be able to provide the opportunity for these businesses to have their products put in front of wholesalers, retailers, and experts.”
Rob Baines, Farrer’s General Manager, remarked: “We’re delighted to have been awarded four Farm Shop & Deli Show Product Awards this year, bringing our overall total up to seven. Every award the team receives recognises the hard work and dedication of every single one of us, and not only that the passion we all have for what we do day to day – crafting teas and coffees that people enjoy. At every turn we take the utmost care in selecting the beans we roast and teas we source, which we buy directly from small farmers, ensuring that they get a fair price for the crops they have carefully nurtured, which we then in turn transform into products for our customers up and down the country.’’
· Would you like to work with one of South Cumbria’s largest and most respected legal firms?
· Would you like to make a positive difference to your clients?
· Are you willing to be flexible and look to broaden your experience and expertise?
We have opportunities for lawyers to join our Farming & Rural* team in the Rural Law Practice branch of Thomson Hayton Winkley.
We’d love to hear from you if you are qualified via all routes to law and have at least 24 months experience. (*Retrain opportunity for those with a strong property background).
You don’t need a “rural” background, but we are a small, friendly team based at J36 Rural Auction Centre. We work closely with farmers and other rural professionals, so a down to earth approach and a willingness to learn more is definitely an advantage.
With a competitive salary, a varied and interesting case load, generous holiday, pension contributions, a groupwide earning and development programme, volunteering days and much more, this could be the new role you are looking for to create the new life you want! For more information, contact recruitment@mapdgroup.com and one of the team will call you for a chat!
· Are you a commercial property solicitor or legal executive with a minimum 2 years PQE?
· Would you like to work with one of South Cumbria’s largest and most respected legal firms?
· Would you like to make a positive difference to your clients?
· Are you willing to be flexible and look to broaden your experience and expertise?
If the answer is YES then we want to hear from you!
Although the successful candidate would mainly be dealing with commercial property transactions, any additional skills in other areas would be an advantage, including:
· Business sales and purchases
· Company/corporate
· Employment
· Agricultural and rural
Please get in touch direct with our Recruitment team: recruitment@mapdgroup.com for more information.
With a competitive salary, generous holiday allowance, opportunity for some flexible working, pension contributions, a groupwide earning and development programme, volunteering days and much more, this could be your next career move for 2024.
Submitted by Susan Cartwright-Smith from Carlisle Writers’ Group and Carlisle Writers’ Press
Carlisle Writers’ Group and Carlisle Writers’ Press are producing a pamphlet celebrating Cumbria’s 50th anniversary this month, The Outline of Memory – A Celebration of Cumbria.
The pamphlet sees the writers and poets within the group showcasing different areas, travelling around the county, presenting different ways to view, and to communicate their memories, impressions, and emotions.
From the briskness of a senryu, to a full short story, via articles, memoir, free verse and rhyme, the anthology is a good travel companion from the beaches at Silecroft, to the mosses of Drumburgh, on an Osprey’s wingtip through the central Lakes, alongside the flooded Eden, through the building blocks of our Viking and Roman past, and the standing stones of our Celtic heritage, to the vestiges of Hadrian’s Wall. All whispered on the Helm Wind.
Carlisle Writers’ Group meet twice a month to craft and hone their writing through feedback, challenges and crit clinics. They are lucky to have such rich inspiration around them, and to have a supportive circle to encourage the creative flow.
They have hosted writing workshops: for Carlisle One World Centre as part of a Welcome to our City day in Carlisle; with local schools for National Poetry Day; at Carlisle’s Historic Quarter Art Festival; as part of the Hadrian 1900 festival; and had performance poet John Hegley give a writing workshop which was open to the general public.
Upcoming events include: Author Q&A with Charles Stross, March 18th, Author Q&A with M.W.Craven May 2nd, and the release of another anthology later in the year.
Showcase Cumbria Contributor: Ray Cassidy from ClimbSEO
I spend much of my time banging on about the need to be seen online. For businesses in a city like Carlisle, it can be the networking meetings that are as important in building your brand. In Carlisle there are a number of different business networking groups nearby that are helpful in growing your business.
I’m currently involved, to varying degrees, in six groups within Carlisle. I thought I would highlight these to show the range of networking events available that you might not yet be aware of. My core small business networking groups are the early morning Thursday group, The Giraffe Network and my Wednesday Network B2B Carlisle group.
A new group, Meerkat Networking, looks set to become a regular feature of my Tuesday mornings (even when I have to make a crack of sparrow-fart start from Glasgow to get back in time).
I am a less frequent visitor to Cumbria Chamber of Commerce’s Business Bites networking sessions, LA23 Net sessions run by We Are Intro and to the Carlisle Ambassadors. That is no reflection on the quality of those meetings. It’s just a consequence of my obsession with climbing. Those meetings often clash with my climbing wall or evening outdoor climbing sessions.
The Giraffe Network
The Giraffe Network is my longest running networking commitment. I was invited along to a meeting about 5 years ago by Paul Thorburn of Tech4 Office Equipment and despite initial nervousness, I found a stable community of supportive and highly entrepreneurial people.
This local business networking group is organised by Paul from Tech 4 and Paul Crooks of Cache4 IT Solutions. The group came about because the two Pauls felt that their previous networking groups lacked a certain something and they wanted to create a supportive group for Carlisle which reflected their own competitive but supportive approach to doing business.
The Giraffe Network has seen a stable core of around 8 people: with various other businesses joining or moving on as circumstances change. The meetings are face to face every week: informal but structured. The Giraffes aim to bring in one business from each business sector. It’s not an absolute exclusivity arrangement but we don’t allow too much overlap between members.
The group gathers at the excellent meeting room belonging to the Cumbria Wildlife Trust in Houghton from about 6:30 am for some informal networking. At some point before 7:00 am, the breakfast rolls arrive. Once breakfast is consumed, the meeting proper starts.
We begin with individual business owners using their one-minute slot to tell the group about wins, how their week went, or problems that they’ve encountered. If we have a visitor, the visitor has the chance to tell us about their business and their story in a significantly longer “one minute”.
At this point, everything stops for tea or for most of the group, coffee.
Following a quick top up, one business member has their featured slot each week and presents to the group, This can take the form of explaining aspects of their business, services and products or it might be an educational topic for the rest of the group. It’s a great opportunity to give out some benefit of their specialist knowledge. The featured slot lasts about 10 minutes with a short break for questions.
Shout Outs come next where we pass thanks or referrals to the rest of the group, when appropriate. There’s no overbearing expectation of keeping up a referral quota, that can lead to disingenuous referrals, as I’ve seen in some groups I’ve visited.
Most weeks will also have a Knowledgebase slot for education and this is usually a 5-minute slot where one of us updates the rest of the group on a particular aspect of our knowledge or puts out a burning question that would be helpful for the rest of us to consider. If we have a visitor, they will often be given this slot to tell us a bit more about their business in greater depth than their extended one minute.
The meetings are rounded off with an Any Other Business / administrative slot. On the final Thursday of each month the featured slot and knowledgebase are replaced with a more freeform question session.
A more recent small business networking group that I have joined is the Network B2B Carlisle group. The Network B2B organisation was set up after our 4Networking groups in Cumbria and the Northeast were disbanded by the powers that be. These were my first forays into the seemingly scary world of business networking that took me beyond Carlisle.
Many of those orphaned business owners were disgruntled by the summary closure of our 4N groups and a few of them got together to set up a replacement. Eventually that group grew into what we now see as Network B2B: and a group was started in Carlisle a few years ago.
This group operates on a similar basis to the Giraffe group but with a kinder start time. Weekly Zoom meetings from 9 to 10:15 am with one business from each sector. The big difference between these two groups is that while most NB2B sessions are conducted via Zoom, there is a face-to-face meeting on the third Wednesday of every month. Our face-to-face meetings are held in the same Cumbria Wildlife Trust premises as the giraffe network. Breakfast in the form of sausage and bacon rolls is provided at these meetings as well.
Meetings start with meet, greet and good news announcements followed by individuals 60 second round. Each member gets to explain who they are, what their business is about, examples of how they work and requests for referrals. The discipline that’s put on these 60 second requests is interesting. The idea is to have identified a specific person within a specific company that you would like help in getting in touch with.
In The Carlisle Group we move straight into the 10-minute presentation. One of the members gives an insight into their business with a presentation or an interactive discussion. The rota for these presentations is published well in advance to give each member plenty of time to prepare something thought provoking.
When our meetings are online via Zoom, we make use of the breakout room function, and each week we get to talk to one other person (occasionally two other people) and we’re able to get down to much more detailed discussions that give us better knowledge of each other helping to build a stronger relationship. Typically, these breakout sessions last for about 5 to 10 minutes until the host closes them down.
Once the breakout rooms close, everyone gets back into the same meeting, and this starts what we call the contribution section. At this point we pass referrals, arrange one to one meetings with other members away from the sessions, or offer our thanks to members who have given us business or help in other ways.
The Meerkat Networking group is a brand-new networking group for Carlisle. This group was set up by Mel Kinsella of Kinsella HR, who has office space with a couple of meeting rooms. This group is very similar in nature and ethos to the previous two but runs on a Tuesday morning between 8:15 and 9:15am. Mel is organising this group similarly to the others with one seat per sector. But, she’s setting out to be a little bit more flexible in this regard; where there is overlap, with potential for useful collaboration.
The inaugural meeting was held on this first Tuesday in February and was attended by a select few business owners and managers who represented a different cross section of the Carlisle business community.
Mel’s background is in HR work, so it’s no surprise that she sets out right from the start to make sure that member’s time is respected and that we are very clear about the kind of referrals and businesses we seek to make contact with.
My first impressions are that this will be a very dynamic addition to the business networking choices in the city. The sessions are slated to last for an hour at the start of the day. Mel says that “…she’s on the lookout for a diverse set of individuals to come together to share insights, best practices, and to make meaningful connections and referrals.”
Initially, the idea is for one representative per sector, as mentioned above, but that’s nuanced. We mostly felt comfortable with flexing this rule a bit and allowing two per specialisation, as long as the group are comfortable with the crossover. In these early days, inaugural members are encouraged to bring along potential recruits, who would be collaboratively minded enough to create a vibrant community!
Member spotlights are 10 minutes and give opportunity for members to highlight what your business does and what services it offers, so we can have a better insight into what you do when members refer your company.
The Chamber of Commerce Connection- Business Bites
For many years Cumbria Chamber of Commerce ran quite large-scale local business networking groups all round Cumbria. During the COVID pandemic these meetings ground to a halt and have only got back up to speed in the past year. The Business Bites concept is for a relaxing after-work session that starts around 5:30 pm in various venues around the newly delineated counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland & Furness.
These meetings are held in venues that provide food: a wee snack at the end of the day. This is usually a selection of canapes. The meetings are unstructured and relaxed with one of the attending businesses chosen to give a very short presentation about their work and services. Currently the venues include the Golden Fleece at Ruleholme, the North Lakes Hotel in Penrith as well as venues in Workington Whitehaven and Barrow in Furness. There is no cost for members of the chamber or non-members.
Sadly, I don’t have a decent photo from any of these events.
The LA23 NET events are a very different kind of networking to all of the other groups mentioned so far. The people at Intro, a leading Cumbria PR and social media marketing agency, have taken over the running of a group that was originally based in Kendal. They have incorporated it into their PR and social media operation.
Each event is quite unique, ranging from a Meet the Press evening, through a foody session on a cheese farm to a Christmas quiz in a brewery. Coming up in the week this article was posted, is a major event promoting tourism in Cumbria. Titled Friday Light Live, it will see businesses gathering at the Intro headquarters in the historic quarter of Carlisle to view the switching on of a huge light show that will illuminate the historic buildings of Carlisle.
Leaders of Cumberland council and Cumbria tourist board will be outlining their plans for Cumbria’s (or should I say Cumberland’s) tourist industry in 2024 followed by food and drinks in one of Carlisle’s more secretive bars. This networking event tends bring in a completely fresh mix of businesses from a wider area than some of the previously mentioned groups.
The Carlisle Ambassadors is another completely different networking concept. Originally it was founded as a means to bring together local business and local government to promote Carlisle, Cumbria and the surrounding area for tourism, commerce , industry relocation and inward investment.
Born in a snowstorm that decimated the numbers at the first event, the group has gone from strength to strength, and is now being modelled by other groups around the country. Events are staged every 3 or 4 months at a major conference venue, typically Carlisle racecourse. These events are much more of an Expo style event, with stands for exhibitors, lunch provided and a programme of talks. The networking takes place in an informal way. Headed up by Michelle Masters, these events have spawned some significant contributions to the wider life of Carlisle and the region.
Very early on, when ideas for supporting communities were sought by Michelle and her team, Andy Fearon of Carlisle Vineyard Church suggested the idea of Give A Day to the City. This led to an amazing outpouring of effort from businesses and their staff teams, into projects that benefitted Carlisle and the surrounding area. Projects ranged across an incredible array: from clearing of the Sheepmount football pitches of flood borne stones and detritus in 2016 to a Portland Square Spruce Up in 2019 and supporting Carlisle Key in renovating homes for homeless people to connecting the Eden Valley Hospice with Hammonds Pond in 2022.
I have to say yes, so long as you go with a mid to long term view. Networking is very much about establishing relationships. There is a well known three step sequence of: Know, Like, Trust, which sums up the process of becoming established in these networking groups.
As well as the half dozen groups mentioned above there are other alternative business networking groups in Carlisle many of which do a very similar job to these. I can’t comment in any detail about them, as I haven’t been involved in other groups for a long time.
Business networks in the city ebb and flow over the years, and it’s a reflection of just how important the personal relationships within those networking groups are. The pressures of running a business, especially over the previous half dozen years of Brexit, the pandemic and even “Trussonomics” can both strengthen or break those relationships. The sheer busyness of doing business can also disrupt any one of the groups mentioned.
I will say that all the groups named above come highly recommended by me and that means no disrespect to any of the other groups operating in Carlisle. So get out there and join a business networking group in Carlisle to enjoy the benefits of peer support, warm referrals and the occasional jolly!
A man who broke his back in two places while on a family bike ride in Whinlatter Forest has praised the teams who came to his aid. Roger Moffatt, 57, from Kendal, had joined his two sons for a day of mountain biking, and hired an electric bike to explore the trails. What initially started as an enjoyable family day out on 18 March 2023, ended in a helicopter flight to hospital. Recalling the incident, he said: “On one of the downhill sections I mistimed a jump which sent me off the track and down a steep drop. This led to me being thrown over the handlebars, landing headfirst and going into some trees. I was fully conscious, but realised something was seriously wrong.” Some of the cyclists nearby raised the alarm, and while waiting for the Keswick Mountain Rescue Team (KMRT) to arrive, the ranger helped keep Mr Moffatt warm with blankets and started to cut back some of the trees, so the path was more accessible for when further help arrived. KMRT managed to park near to where Mr Moffatt lay, and they administered morphine and stabilised him on a stretcher. Due to the amount of pain Mr Moffatt was in, and a potential one-hour journey to hospital by road, the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) was requested to attend the scene. It took 13 minutes for the critical care team from GNAAS to fly from their base in Langwathby, Penrith, to the scene of the incident. Their doctor and paramedic administered another dose of morphine and loaded Mr Moffatt onto the helicopter before flying him to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle in 14 minutes. He was then transferred to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle two days later and spent a total of one week in hospital where he underwent scans and was given pain relief. He said: “In hospital it was discovered that I had broken two bones in my back T5 and T6. They were going to operate, however at the last minute decided against it as the risk and the way the bones had broken meant it was better to let it heal naturally. There was then a healing period of six months, attending hospital every six weeks to check for any movement.”
(Pictured: GNAAS helicopter flying to the scene)
Mr Moffatt has since regained most of his movement back and has praised the teams who helped him. He said: “GNAAS were very professional and very reassuring. If it wasn’t for them being in attendance and transporting me to hospital, I am sure I would have suffered much more pain and could have aggravated the injuries which I had sustained. This could have potentially led to a longer recovery time and more damage. “I would like to thank all of the teams who helped with the incident on the day.” GNAAS needs to raise £8.5m a year to remain operational. To find out more about how you can support the charity visit: gna.as/fund247
(Pictured Roger Moffat being carried on a stretcher)
Pictured: Paul Agnew, Paul Turney, Ann Noblett and Matt Hall
A group of Cumbrian business, community and health leaders have been appointed to the board of trustees of Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Cumbria’s Children’s Hospice.
The five new trustees have just started their roles and will play a key role in supporting the vital charity which cares for local adults and children with life limiting illnesses.
Trustees work for the organisation on a voluntary basis and have overall responsibility for the governance of the hospice, along with supporting its strategic development. The board also ensures that the charity maintains and develops its services to the local community, is well run and meets its legal and financial obligations.
The new trustees are: Gwyn Lishman, Ann Noblett, Paul Turney, Matt Hall and Paul Agnew.
Gwyn Lishman, 43, who lives in Seaton with his wife and young daughter, has been an occupational therapist for more than 20 years and has almost 10 years’ experience with the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator for health and social care. Gwyn currently works as a wellness programme lead and lead occupational therapist in the Copeland Primary Care Network leading social prescribing, health coaching, learning disability and children’s community teams.
He said: “Gwyn said: “I’ve always been keen to support services that make a real difference to people’s lives, especially those we take for granted outside of the NHS. The hospice is a prime example of a highly valued and essential service to the people of north Cumbria.
“Through my work, I’ve seen first-hand the amazing care and treatment people have received from the hospice, it’s a real privilege to be a trustee for such an amazing organisation that really does have a true person-centred care approach.”
Ann Noblett, a physiotherapist with almost 30 years’ experience from north Cumbria, has spent all her working career in the county, predominately in the Carlisle area. She has worked in the Carlisle Community Rehabilitation Service, most recently in pain services, and latterly as a lecturer at the University of Cumbria.
Ann, 59, who is married with five grown up children and three grandchildren, said: “As a physiotherapist I visited and treated patients who were resident at the hospice and was aware of the massive support that hospice services can provide not only for the patient but also their family, loved ones and carers.
“As a team lead and clinician my focus was ensuring the delivery of excellent holistic care and support to patients and ensuring staff had the training and support to deliver those services. Since my retirement in 2022 and now that my children have left home, I feel this is the right time for me to join the board of trustees.”
Paul Turney joins the board with more than 30 years’ experience in the finance sector. In particular, Paul has extensive experience of working within health and social care while employed by Cumbria County Council and currently works for national charity Making Space as chief finance officer. In addition to his paid roles, Paul is also vice-chair of governors at Trinity School and a coach and treasurer at Carlisle Junior Tri Club.
He said: “I was attracted to the role of trustee as I frequently see the excellent work the hospice does and the support it gives to families at the most challenging times in their lives. What the hospice provides is unique, not available elsewhere and essential for families, so I wanted to be able to support the valuable work staff and volunteers do.”
Matt Hall, who is from the Keswick area, has a history of working as a senior manager and consultant in the arts sector but now heads up capital developments and estates for a national children’s cancer charity. He understands the challenges of providing building-based support to those unwell, their families and the friends around them. The hospice holds a special place in Matt’s heart as it’s where his mum spent her final days in 2018 and a place where he and his family forged many precious memories.
He said: “The hospice supported my mum and our family during 2018. I saw from that experience the incredible, positive impact that the hospice can have on the lives of those it supports in what is often the most challenging circumstances. I’ve always wanted to give back in some way and use my own expertise to help the hospice give that support to others – I feel really privileged to be joining as a trustee to do just that.”
Carlisle-based Paul Agnew, a 30-year food industry veteran who has run businesses in the USA, Poland and the UK, is currently managing director of the UK division of a European multinational food business. Formerly of Maryport, he is married with three children and six grandchildren.
He said: “I have served in various charitable capacities over the years, most recently serving as the National President of Round Table, supporting over 300 groups of young men around the UK and Ireland to make a difference in their towns and cities through volunteering and fundraising.
“At the end of my presidential term in Round Table I was keen to leverage the skills and network I’d gained for the benefit of my local community. So, with the help of Cumbria CVS, I was introduced to the hospice and was blown away by the deep care and commitment of the team, yet shocked at the mammoth task involved in finding funding for such an integral service. I count myself very lucky to have this opportunity to support and champion these amazing people with their important work.”
