DRIFT Volume 19

Volume No19

£10.00

How things

TURN OUT Releasing into plain sight the visual record of growth and time

THE

PIN NAC LE

OF

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L U X U RY

L I FE STY L E

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We understand Cornwall’s most exclusive homes better than anyone As we enter spring, the number of properties for sale are at a record low whilst demand from buyers remains at near all time highs. If you are planning a move in 2022, the early months of the new year are likely to be among the best of the year in which to sell

Please get in contact to discuss how we can help to maximise the value of your property rohrsandrowe.co.uk

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23/02/2022 12:11

T HE

PINNACLE

OF

L U X U RY

L I F E STY L E

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C O R N WA L L

Drift drift

noun 1. the act of driving something along . the flow or the velocity of the current of a river or ocean stream

verb . to become driven or carried along, as by a current of water, wind, or air . to move or float smoothly and effortlessly

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On the cover ew vessel, by Anthony Bryant, . cm high x cm diameter . Courtesy of the artist. Photography by Steve Tanner.

Turn to page 41 to see more of Bryant’s exceptional work. anthonybryant.co.uk

CEO

Editor

Ben ratchett – ben.pratchett@enginehousemedia.co.uk

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Creative Designers

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Spencer Hawes amie Crocker Client Director

Credit Control Digital Content Creative

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PROUD TO BE PART OF

i is published by: Engine House Media LTD Holbrook, The Moors, Porthleven, Cornwall TR www.enginehousemedia.co.uk www.levenmediagroup.co.uk

Thomas Elliot Brown

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ISSN 2632-9891 © All rights reserved. Material may not be re-produced without the permission of Engine House Media Ltd. While i 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. ngine 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. ur mission is to create R AD-WATCHRI NC media opportunities marrying together consumers with the fabulous businesses across Cornwall. ur 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.

24/02/2022 12:58

T E A M

Foreword This volume of DRIFT is dedicated to indulgence in all its forms. Whether that be art, food, property or a place to stay, there is excellence at every turn of the page. As we emerge from the dark days of winter, why shouldn’t we treat ourselves to something that brings sheer joy? Indulging in art is something that is both visually and mentally stimulating, and never more so than when it is curated with flair and panache. Morgans gallery in Falmouth is a case in point, and a place where exhibition space combines with artist studios producing a heady, creative environment.

Anthony Bryant indulged his own desire to work with wood and now creates exquisite objets d’art that are as delicate as they are beautiful. Fulfilment comes in a different form for Development Chef ames Strawbridge .

His fish recipes, developed in conjunction with W Stevenson, champion sustainable fish from Cornish waters, with each bite an indulgence in itself. We remain with a menu of locally sourced ingredients at New ard Restaurant, on the historic Trelowarren estate , where the reinvention of their Walled Garden brings plant to plate, supporting and supplying the restaurant with seasonal produce. With appetites sated, we visit olzeath Beach House for a dose of seaside indulgence. Its recent multi-million pound renovation has elevated its hotel and selfcatering accommodation to uber-chic levels, and with its unrivalled, ocean-fronted position this is a place where one can luxuriate in coastal comfort.

Whatever your indulgence, join us as we revel in a plethora of delights over the coming pages.

Our contributors

Hannah Tapping

Mercedes Smith

Dan Warden

Rosie Cattrell

Martin Holman

Rebecca Hawkey

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to read more about our writers

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We invite you to continue your lifestyle voyage online. i o

i i i o ie co e mo e x m i co . oi o exc i e e- o i -co .co. o ecei e eci e e ie e e o ome o o mo - o e x i -co

T HE

PINNACLE

.co.

O F

L U X U RY

co e o comm i i i e e i io .

i co L IFEST YL E

IN

CO R NWAL L

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A rare coastal opportunity Duporth, South Cornwall An outstanding coastal residence with uninterrupted sea views and access to a private beach and the south west coast path.

Detached, four double bedrooms with three beautiful bathroom/shower rooms, three reception rooms all with sea views, large kitchen with island/breakfast bar, utility and boot room/lobby, single garage with storage and parking for four or more cars. EPC = C 2,713 sq ft | Guide £2.2 million | Freehold

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Superb family home with easy access to the beach Carbis Bay, South West Cornwall Split level family home with fantastic views out over St Ives Bay in a quiet location, with easy access to the beaches. Five bedrooms, three balconies overlooking the bay, upper floor sitting room with large sliding windows offering panoramic views over the bay, secondary living/dining room with access onto balcony, principal bedroom with en suite and private balcony, family bathroom with sunken bath and separate shower, upstairs cloakroom with shower, balcony with space for a “Bistro” style table & chairs. EPC = C 1,838 sq ft | Guide £1.25 million | Freehold

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NETHERFIELD, PROBUS OFFERS OVER £1,000,000 A truly unique and exceptionally high-quality development set within private gated grounds, located on the edge of Probus, serving as the gateway to the Roseland peninsula. These six superb contemporary homes (only three available for sale) enjoy the tranquillity and privacy of village living with the advantages of easy access to Truro, surrounding countryside and the stunning south Cornish coastline.

Completion from June 2022. 2,604 – 2,802 sq ft

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KINBRAE HOUSE, FALMOUTH OFFERS OVER £1,250,000 Located within moments of Gyllyngvase Beach and providing impeccably presented, high quality boutique accommodation, this exquisite detached Edwardian villa has been the subject of a comprehensive renovation and is currently arranged as five luxurious holiday apartments, set within level grounds and positioned just a short walk from the seafront, town and harbourside. 3,017 sq ft (incl. garage). EPC = D

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T: 01637 850850 | E: sales@dba.estate | www.davidball-luxury.co.uk

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David Ball Luxury Collection are delighted to offer for sale this brand new architecturally designed 2039 Square Feet coastal family home perched in an enviable elevated position above the sought after town of Perranporth.

The Boathouse is an impressive recently constructed coastal family home and is the perfect opportunity for a buyer looking to live the idyllic Cornish lifestyle minutes away from the golden sandy beaches and ocean. The property would also lend itself perfectly as a holiday letting venture.

The property has been designed to blend into the sandy dunes behind whilst still offering a striking appearance to the front elevation with its cedar wood exterior.

The modern contemporary reverse level accommodation has been utilised to enhance on both the space, views and surrounding countryside.

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To the ground floor is a light and airy entrance hall with a feature, bespoke spiral staircase, four bedrooms, two being en-suite along with an impressive principal bedroom with walk in closet and bathroom.

To the first floor is a stunning open plan living space which is flooded with natural light from the apex windows, sky lantern and vaulted ceilings.

Stairs provide access to a charming mezzanine landing and onto the fifth bedroom.

Completing the living space is a bespoke fitted kitchen which has been configured around a centre island which is complimented by stone work surfaces, a separate utility room and cloakroom.

GUIDE PRICE £1,100,000 | FREEHOLD THE BOAT HOUSE | RAMOTH WAY PERRANPORTH | TR6 0BY

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C O N T E N T S

At a glance 19

A P L A C E TO B R E AT H E

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T H E W AV E S O F C H A N G E

41

WELL TURNED OUT

51

TA K I N G T O T H E S E A S

59

MADE IN MINDFULNESS

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L U X U RY H O M E S

Falmouth’s new progressive art gallery

The way forward with Flexi-Hex

Anthony Bryant’s sculptural masterpieces

78

E S C A P S I M I N N AT U R E

87

T H E S E W I L D WA L L S

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GOING WITH THE GRAIN

106

Recipes from James Strawbridge

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Cloudberry Living’s conscious curation

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At the pinnacle of the Cornish market

The human body’s organic beauty

A once forgotten wilderness found

Designed with the elements in mind

A C O A S TA L N A R R AT I V E The melding of natural and man-made

LIFE’S A BEACH With Polzeath Beach House

EVENTIDE o

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e ce e

mi h

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WAT E R S H E D D

Architecture, Interior Design & Development

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A place

to BREATHE 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

Falmouth’s new progressive art gallery, showcasing emerging talent alongside established artists.

A

s you step into Morgans, a gallery with a family at its heart, it feels more a combination of art studio and home than what we’ve come to think of as an art gallery. It’s spacious, with high ceilings to accommodate larger works, but not ostentatious or grandiose; it’s at once inviting, comforting and calm. Scrubbed floor boards bear the paint splashes of historic décor mixed with the modern mediums used by the artists in residence. Walls are left with the marks of time, exposed in their authenticity.

This raw backdrop is deliberate, as I learn from owner and curator Ann Morgan.

including a solo show in late summer; Ella assists in front of house with customers alongside her final year university studies in Product Design, and Clara exhibits paintings whilst also in her first year at university.

Morgans is a family business; Ann Morgan, Tony Holmes and their three daughters are all involved.

Martha who studied in Falmouth and shows in other galleries in Cornwall has regular collections of paintings in Morgans,

During the renovations, stud walls and false ceilings were removed, wall paper stripped and period features revealed. An external courtyard was glazed in and incorporated into the gallery to create a light flooded space, filled with olive trees.

The five-storey building was purchased in ctober . It had been a firm of solicitors with a warren of offices and storerooms requiring a major renovation programme to transform it into a gallery space. Through his architectural design practice Tony was able to undertake the design and management of the whole project, working closely with teams of local craftspeople.

INSET Beachside Conversations, Diane Whalley, 100x100cm

PREVIOUS Lower courtyard space Paintings – Martha Holmes

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TOP In the Heat of the Day, Diane Whalley, 100x100cm

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A B OV E Maria Floyd

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TOP Studio 5 and gallery interior space

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A B OV E Martha Holmes

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C R E AT E

The result is a large gallery space on the ground floor that incorporates a main room, leading through into an atrium and on into a set of smaller spaces; each with their own identity but all connecting with each other via the artists’ work. There are then a series of studios on the upper floors and, as Ann says: “I think it feeds in very well, having working studios, artists and makers within the building. The three floors of studio space above the gallery are occupied by a collection of young creatives. Ann’s daughter Martha Holmes’ abstract paintings capture a raw and honest sense of the Cornish landscape with the use of bold colour and expressive mark making.

A second painter, Alex Yarlett, engages emotionally with his environment, translating what he sees in the moment into a painted story using layers of different medium and texture. Ceramicists, Julia Florence and Sam Marks, occupy two of the other studios. Julia studied illustration at Falmouth University and uses both large scale and functional pieces as a medium for her striking paintings, while second generation potter Sam’s works have a simple aesthetic, influenced by a combination of nature and the environmental elements of the British coastline, as well as the aesthetics of Korean and Japanese pottery.

Testament to Morgans’ ethos of inclusion and an interest in the wider concept of what constitutes creativity, the final studio is occupied by Studio 1850, a design and consultancy business offering holistic and insightful reviews of creative practice alongside highly considered print and brand work.

Ann has a background in design and fashion textiles as well as being an educator, something which is very much behind the ethos of Morgans: “Our main thrust is to choose artists with a connection to Cornwall, particularly young people. It doesn’t mean they all have to live here. It could be a young person who’s trained at university here and has then moved away.

The art we have won’t necessarily look to an outsider that it’s connected to Cornwall, the connection is very much about the person who’s making it.”

When Morgans first opened its doors, most of the shows were large mixed shows, designed to test the water and gauge the reaction to the new space. With a year’s success under its belt, and a committed following of collectors, the model will change slightly this year. There will be solo shows in August and September, followed by a mixed show for Christmas.

A B OV E Martha Holmes

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BOTTOM LEFT aintings - Laura Menzies, Matt Dixon

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TOP aintings - Matt Dixon Ceramic - itty Hillier

BOTTOM RIGHT aintings - Hannah avis, Ella Squirrell

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A B OV E Ceramics - Tor Harrison

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C R E AT E

Finally included is a collection of work

by Ella Carty whose vivid ink paintings investigate her own experiences of the world, creating layers of associations from scavenged sources.

There will also be an emerging talent show in the autumn, which will showcase a lot of graduate work. Abstract painting features prominently in all the shows combined with collections of ceramics. The gallery has work from a group of ceramicists who produce new collections several times in a year. These are displayed on purpose-made tables and shelves beneath several of the walls of paintings. Many of the ceramics are monochrome or neutral in colour which are a calm contrast to the vibrant paintings above.

Ceramicists will include studio resident Sam Marks with Tor Harrison, whose hand-built pots combine a deep earthy quality where light reflects from the surface highlighting the imperfection in the handmade. Jan O’Neill’s work is contemporary, using a minimal palette. Some pieces will be part or un-glazed, revealing tones and textures reflective of the natural elements and organic shapes that influence her, and the clay in its raw beauty. The striking geometric patterns used by Bjork Haraldsdóttir hark back to her architectural background and create a conversation between the pseudo-perfection of the pattern and the tactile impurity of the clay.

The monochromatic palette of her work is a reflection of the Icelandic landscape of her upbringing.

Show No 1, which opens 3rd March 2022, will include the work of six painters.

Martha Holmes will show a new collection developed from observations and studies undertaken in Mousehole.

Diane Whalley, a self-taught abstract artist, uses playful gestures which dance over the canvas bringing positivity, fun, joy and discussion, while Maria Floyd’s paintings reflect the passage of light and change of seasons in the local landscape inspired by the dramatic scenery of Dartmoor. In juxtaposition, Sophie Harding’s still lifes focus on the ‘small’, creating feelings of joy, escapism, calm and stillness; and there is an exploration of the domestic environment and everyday objects in the paintings of India Whitwell, where colour and light is used to draw attention to the subject matter.

Wendy Wilbraham’s wheel-thrown functional tableware, thrown using porcelain clay, offers a collection of vessels that capture light and invite touch. The pieces are designed to be used either on their own or as part of a wider collection,

INSET lla Carty - ‘The arty’

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LEFT Ceramicist Julia Florence in her studio

BOTTOM LEFT aintings - Harry Wade Ceramics - an ’Neill

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CENTRE aintings - Felicity Mara, Sophie Harding Ceramics - Argilo, Brutes and an ’Neill Stoneware - Theo Brogan

RIGHT aintings - Martha Holmes

BOTTOM RIGHT Elaine Michell at Design Studio 1850

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C R E AT E

As a practising stonemason he uses ‘off-cuts’ from larger projects to push the boundaries of the medium and how it is perceived.

Furniture from Will Nock will be on show in the various gallery spaces. Working from his nearby studio on Falmouth’s harbour side, pieces are shaped by hand in oak and ash, using traditional joinery methods and finishing techni ues, referencing natural textures and forms found in the landscape beyond his workshop.

The jewellery cabinet in the main gallery room will see work from Hilary Brown, whose gold and silver rings and bracelets are influenced by that of the ancient world, combing texture with paper thin metal to create what are, in essence, miniature sculptures. Heather McDermott’s contemporary pieces are unconventional in size and structure, taking inspiration from the ever-changing shoreline of the Isle of Skye.

each using one of three contrasting glazes.

Alongside these ceramics sits a collection by Feldspar, a ceramics studio based in Devon, producing simple and timeless ceramics under the ethos of ‘Objects for Life’. The team make everything using a method called ‘slip casting’ – pouring liquid clay into plaster moulds – and all of the pieces are hand-painted in Devon. Work from mma de Clercq, whose Brutes Ceramics are made in a co-operatively run pottery studio in London, complete the pottery collection for Show No 1.

There is a sense of place in all of the work at Morgans, often related to the Cornish or coastal environment. It is Ann’s ability to curate with an eye that moves from the micro to the macro that sees visitors leave with a strong sense of the artist and their practice.

Show No 1 takes place from 3rd March to 10th April at Morgans Gallery, 49 Arwenack Street, Falmouth TR11 3JH. Autumn 2022 will see another show for emerging talent, highlighting the work of recent graduates in the south west.

In keeping with the desire for the gallery to be more of an inclusive space, Show No 1 will also see work from a collection of makers. Theo Brogan’s stone bowls and spoons are born from his passion for stone; its beauty, longevity and permanence.

morgansfalmouth.com

INSET ‘Ash and Oak Tableware ‘ by Will Nock

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waves

The of CHANGE WORDS BY ROSIE CATTRELL

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SUSTA I N

i

exi- ex eemi ic

e

i o e e e o ic e m e e i e ie .

O

live here, Flexi-Hex was founded by two brothers with a shared determination to find a new path in the world of sustainability.

Being in business together was certainly nothing new for Sam and Will, who had been running the product and furniture interior design business, Boex Interiors, side by side for almost years. Will joined Sam’s venture three years in, and since then the Boex brothers have capitalised on a partnership that has been destined for success from the start.

ut past the stretch of rocks below the wrestling fields of Porthleven, it’s not unusual to see a familiar group of frequenters to the popular local surf spot paddling out to wait for the next set, sharing knowing nods of recognition in anticipation of the morning’s rewards before work. Two such fre uenters are identical twins Sam and Will Boex, who can often be seen returning barefoot to their Porthleven office before work or during a well-earned lunch break, salt-water soaked, board under arm. Their world is one of balance, a vision that they share with their team, as the storage cupboard stacked to the edges with sur oards could easily tell you.

While Boex Interiors was a thriving business, Sam and Will were always on the lookout for something new, and little did they know that it would be delivered to them in a cardboard box, wrapped around a sur oard, as Sam explains to me “I received a board that I’d bought online, and opening this box that was basically full of bubble wrap around this expensive product just felt like a pretty poor experience; surely there was a better way

Born out of a love for the ocean that sits only metres from the office, not to mention the incredible environment that Cornwall provides for those of us lucky enough to

INSET Sam and Will

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A B OV E The original inspiration for Flexi-Hex

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SUSTA I N

to do this It was something that we just kept coming back to, thinking, is there a way of creating better packaging for sur oards, and can there be a more sustainable product than bubble wrap After some crude prototyping of this sleeve, we eventually came up with a product that worked brilliantly around the sur oard, it was definitely a eureka moment. This is when we realised this was a product that could have applications in lots of different markets – this could work “So, we decided to put in some budget, time and resources across from Boex to really focus and develop this product. It was a bit of a gamble I suppose, because we already had uite a successful business, but e ually we were looking for something new as well.

As we were developing and mastering the product, e e was airing on the BBC, which seemed like serendipity in regards to developing this plastic-free solution for surf boards while David Attenborough heightened awareness of the plastic issue.

Will and I have been surfing for years, we’ve seen the effect of plastic first-hand. It was a stroke of luck that we had a product which was in the right position at the right time with regards to public awareness of plastic. Being acutely aware of pollution of all types affecting our ocean keeps us uite close and true to our cause.

some enquiries from companies who were interested in developing a solution for the bottle market and drinks products, explains Sam. “So, we were refining what we had for the drinks market in the and trialled it with some companies which resulted in a really good success rate. After this, we started refining the product to make it more commercially available with regards to how uick it is to package. After the completion of our sleeve and box solutions, we began working with companies such as Tarquins, where we got their damage rate of bottles broken in transit down from to . .

In , bottles they sent out, something like were damaged. So yeah, it really is an incredibly effective form of protection.

pen-ended and made from a paper sleeve that closely resembles the naturally repetitive shape of honeycomb, the Flexi-Hex sleeve allows products of all shapes to slip inside as it flexes and forms around it. While the product met success in the world of sur oards, it uickly became evident that Flexi-Hex had the potential to go even further. “We had

Following such success, Flexi-Hex now works with Cornish companies like Tar uins, Tincture and Curio in, not to mention national names like Seedlip, rolsch and Bombay Sapphire Distillery. While bottle protection now makes up for around

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TOP The Flexi-Hex team

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SU STA I N

of their revenue, their original avenue of sur oard packaging still remains – supplying surf shops like Down the Line in Hayle, scape Sur oards in Wadebridge, and pen Surf in St Agnes. With a multitude of possibilities attached to Flexi-Hex, they’ve found themselves supplying companies like Tom Raffield and Studio Haran for some of their more fragile products, and it doesn’t end there, with the team looking into markets like homeware, electronics, cosmetics, art; they are even involved in some projects with the online paint industry. Now selling to countries globally, it’s becoming clear just how effective this product really is, and how easily it’s been able to fill the huge gap in the packaging market.

has on the environment in the Cornish surfing community. Surfers Against Sewage are champions of a huge movement to raise awareness of the effect pollution has on an environment, started by surfers with a passion and a cause. With businesses in cities, you don’t really see where it all ends up. I think in Cornwall, especially with pollution and marine environments, it’s very evident, and that’s just sharpening people’s realisation of the fragility of the world and the importance of being sustainable.

The best part is, every product that finds itself securely wrapped in the Flexi-Hex sleeve comes free of guilt, because while it’s physically protective, it’s just paper “It’s made of the same materials that you would see in a cardboard box, says Sam, “and the paper for the bottle products is made of over recycled content as well. It can just go back into the recycling system and be made into another paper product. From a consumer point of view, it’s very easy to identify as a product and what to do with it, compared to some plastics where it’s difficult to even identify what it is and how to recycle it.

Flexi-Hex’s success rate is truly something to be admired, and the dynamic between Will and Sam in life and business has me curious.

As mirror twins, it just so happens that Sam has more of an aptitude for creativity and design, heading up the product development side of the business, while Will finds home in organisation and process and is more involved in the logistics and operations, a dizzyingly effective combination. “We actually work brilliantly together in business, we know our roles very clearly.

While sustainability is beginning to be held in much higher regard all over the world, I wonder where Sam thinks Cornwall stands amongst it all as the base for him and his brother’s ever-expanding business “There’s much greater awareness of sustainability and the effects that not being sustainable

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arco2.co.uk

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S U S TA I N A B L E A R C H I T EC T U R E SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION

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SU STA I N

It’s always been effortless. If there’s any sort of tension, we can just talk about it uickly and resolve it. And obviously, having been around each other for a lifetime, we know how to manage and handle each other. It’s uite unusual.

Now a -strong team, wellbeing and a work-life balance is certainly something that is fostered in the Flexi-Hex office, with employees encouraged to take surf breaks and make the most of where they are while working towards something special, which Sam kindly elaborates on “ nce you get hooked into Cornwall and what it has to offer, it’s a super exciting county to live in and work in, and I think myself and Will have always been passionate about building a work-life balance, with the ability to work in a business you enjoy and you gain from, but also to live in a space where you can also gain. If you enjoy the outdoors, surfing or the outdoor lifestyle, Cornwall has huge amounts to offer. There are now some really forwardthinking, innovative companies working from Cornwall and making it happen, and it’s so exciting to be a part of that.

With big plans for their product and the impact that Flexi-Hex can make, Head of Marketing Bella Collins lets me in on their shared vision “We, like many, are on a rapid learning curve about what sustainability truly means and how we can strive to push this further and be a regenerative business.

We are by no means perfect, but we will keep solving problems as a collective team. eep innovating to make things easier and caring about the people we work with and the planet we’re living on. So, we ask uestions. How can we be more active as a team in protecting our marine environment How can our product adapt so it helps systems renew themselves more effectively How can we work with and support our supply chain to make it better We don’t have all the answers yet, but we’ll share them when we do With a seemingly never-ending list of possibilities ahead of the team, I’m sure I’m not alone in my curiosity for where Flexi-Hex will go next in their mission to shift the world of packaging for the better. flexi-hex.com

TOP Sam, design development in hand

A B OV E New products and future plans

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Well

turned

OUT 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

Anthony Bryant’s sculptural vessels warm to the heart of hardwood

I

The quality that he adds is form. The traditional bottle and bowl shapes he uses have ancient origins. Organic materials have been crafted by hand into containers for storing and carrying food and liquids since the earliest time. Their makers are still associated with manufacture, producing multiple items from a single prototype that will have a use, often as homeware.

Woodturning is widely connected with carving finials, balusters and handles. Indeed, in western cultures, utility marks the great divide between craftsperson and artist. In the UK, each has a separate funding council to support their initiatives. Although both professions involve the hand, the functionless, one-off work of visual artists invariably attracts a higher value by seeming to belong to the life of the mind. No modern craftsperson has matched the global fame or astronomical prices of Andy Warhol or Damien Hirst.

n the course of his 40-year career, Anthony Bryant has acquired renown among collectors and fellow makers for his vessel-shaped objects of extraordinary beauty. His material is British hardwood which he works while it is still supple with sap. In that way he achieves a breathtakingly thin, almost shell-like surface. No part of the vessel gets much thicker; even the base is thin, giving the entire piece its poise and visual impact.

Bryant applies decades of knowledge to judge how far the wood will allow him to go. He sees his task as literally bringing the character of the wood to the surface.

Practical experience enables him to transform a promising but unwieldy round of felled timber into an artwork. A keen sense of design helps him to release into plain sight natural properties of lustrous colour, delicate pattern and varied, oscillating profile. Bryant’s genius lies in letting the wood be true to itself.

PREVIOUS Ash vessel, 2019, 57cm (high) x 55cm (diameter) Courtesy Anthony Bryant

INSET Anthony Bryant turning Sycamore vessel, 2018

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TOP Anthony Bryant in the workshop, turning a small vessel

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A B OV E View into the workshop near Helston

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C R E AT E

the ray-like grain or figure. Crowning the object is a coarse open rim of beefsteakcoloured, bark-like indentations like the rolling flow of hills in a landscape capped with hedging.

So, describing Anthony Bryant involves contentious territory. A number of titles fit him and his activity simultaneously.

Woodturner and craftsman are two of them, although he has never been part of the craft community. But reflecting the porousness of these labels, the term that best suits this consummate technician is artist. He has adopted the vessel form only as a convention; in fact, he subverts that model by often incorporating holes vacated by knots that perforate the body. These vessels are carriers of effects and possibilities rather than of produce.

These are artful works. They make a smooth transition from workshop to metropolitan art gallery, and from observable effect into visual metaphors that stimulate the imagination. Lifting any vessel overturns the assumption of a wooden form necessarily being heavy. A thin, lightweight structure is the distinct feature of Bryant’s output.

Sycamore turns on his lathe to an edge fine enough for light to penetrate while holly, a pale white wood with virtually no visible grain but liable to whirls of dark-coloured knots, can be milled to a width of one eighth of an inch.

His choices and actions can transform our expectations in other ways. For example, oak is a traditional timber with which everyone is familiar for its strength and solidity. To have a ‘heart of oak’ has entered the language as a guarantee of stability.

However, Bryant has shaped vessels hollowed thin from an oak log until their silhouettes waver sensuously like a gentle curl of soft butter pulled from a slab.

He has known about wood all his life.

Growing up in Ashton in west Cornwall, where his father was in construction, Bryant was introduced to the workshop environment at an early age. Surrounded by tools and the fragrance of timber, he started working it as a teenager for pleasure but had no way of developing skills. “I can’t make a table,” he says, “but the sensual experience of handling wood and knocking in nails runs so deep I have never wanted to work with clay or glass or stone.”

Comparison with fine ceramic comes to mind: wood can be made to resemble malleable clay modelled by hand and pinched into shape. Bryant, however, intervenes only with natural processes, drying slim wafers of oak so they warp into lithe and subtle folds. Polishing then opens up a tiger-brown surface restless with a cascading pattern of

INSET Ash vessel, 2019, 62cm (high) x 52cm (diameter) Courtesy Anthony Bryant

LEFT Wavy Oak vessel, 2020, 50cm (high) x 67cm (diameter) Courtesy Anthony Bryant

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C R E AT E

At school he followed the standard academic curriculum. Music came first in his priorities and when he chose a career, he joined the Midland Bank for a steady job with prospects. Based first in Devon and then Redruth, he applied himself to accountancy and law exams, working his way into management – but growing increasingly miserable. At lunchtime, he would leaf through woodworking magazines at the local newsagent. On one visit he saw an advertisement for a weeklong residential woodworking course. He applied straightaway, which is how he met Mike Law: “He changed my life,” Bryant happily admits.

physical labour has continued. It is integral to the process: “Nothing gives me a bigger thrill,” he told fellow woodturner Andy Coates in a recent interview, “than getting my chainsaws out and cutting up an interesting log even when it’s pouring with rain, I’m covered in mud and the chainsaw refuses to start.” The elegant end-result, however, belies the effort.

An industrial woodturner in north Cornwall, Law had no difficulty passing both his unreserved dedication and dexterity on to his students. Bryant returned twice more, each time building his knowledge and enthusiasm. Realising where his future lay, on 25th September 1982, a date clearly inscribed in his memory, he left the bank and celebrated his ‘independence day’ that night at jazz saxophonist Barbara Thompson’s gig at the Winter Garden in Penzance. Telling Law of his decision, his mentor roared back his reply: “You fool!”.

Bryant attributes his growing confidence in pushing techniques while identifying his particular way forward to good fortune in meeting people. He mentions, among others, Mary ‘Boots’ Redgrave who ran the New Craftsman gallery in St Ives, a hub for contemporary Cornish creativity, and Lady Philippa Powell, the founder of the prestigious Chelsea Crafts Fair. His selection to take part in the 1985 event on the basis of just one slide was a watershed moment. For inspiration, however, he has been more likely to turn to artists and architects, whose outlook on the role of the

Bryant has encountered the hard times that Law foresaw. Years followed when he sought to establish his individual perspective on working with wood. He recalls the perilous existence of spending his savings on materials when sales were still few. While benefits eventually appeared – some of his first patrons were American collectors after he showed in New York – the concentrated

RIGHT Yew vessel, 2021, 37cm (high) x 33cm (diameter) Courtesy Anthony Bryant - 2021

INSET Holly vessel - 22cm (high) x 16cm (diameter) Courtesy Anthony Bryant

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C R E AT E

Merchants reject these trees, viewing the condition as a sign that the wood is weak. To woodworkers, spalting is a gift. Bryant spots the contoured watermark it leaves and traces the dark dotted and lined patterns across the vessel like an intense filigree of ink marks in a pen drawing. In freshly sawn ash, the pinktinged creamy white wood can also contain discoloration. With an experienced eye, Bryant exploits this natural factor to imply the imagery perceived in clouds, such as two faces meeting.

artwork he shares. That affinity has come through in his own paintings, exhibited as a suite of large and texturally dynamic abstract canvases at the enzance xchange gallery in . Moreover, crucial to his own artistic development has been his partner, the figurative painter Nicola Bealing.

Nonetheless, an important figure for Bryant from the world of craft is the apaneseborn British potter Takeshi asuda, now a master porcelain maker in China. They have exhibited together and asuda stresses the eastern cultural attitude that anything made by hand can be totally abstract to begin with. Its meaning emerges from the way that people respond and, should they wish, give the object its use.

So meanings multiply and contradict, and all are e ually valid, an interaction which corresponds with how Bryant’s vessels can be approached.

With yew, although not strictly a hardwood, Bryant uncovers the curly and irregular grain of orange-brown heartwood peppered with knots. Streaks of dark brown veins fold around the spherical surface like ripples reflected in daylight.

The challenge with yew comes from tearing and splitting.

So Bryant works with its brittle character, drawing light inside the hollowed wood that gives its craggy and crusty edge a tantalising ambiguity. The creamy sapwood, coaxed into a narrow seam, appears to fall like meltwater over a rocky ledge. When these thoughts occur to the onlooker, Bryant touches on poetry.

ach piece is latent with narrative. Wood contains startling effects of colour and pattern that derive directly from its history of growth.

In a sense, they record the material’s memory.

Although he has worked in the past with exotic varieties, such as ebony and with Australian woods with characterful knot burrs, Bryant is drawn almost exclusively to native species – ash, beech, sycamore, elm and oak. Beech and ash are commonly prone to staining called spalting it occurs when airborne fungi colonise the wood and extract nutrients.

Anthony Bryant is showing new work this summer at Make Hauser & Wirth, Bruton, Somerset, 25th June to 29th August, and at the Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 1st to 24th September. anthonybryant.co.uk

INSET Large Ash vessel with heartwood ‘face’ colouring cm high x cm diameter Courtesy Anthony Bryant

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C U I SI N E

Taking to the

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Development chef and food photographer, James Strawbridge is working with W Stevenson, whose core flee o e m e h i i o e o i o e o omo e o h e h i e i e i cce i e eci e .

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C U I SI N E

W Stevenson Sardines on Toast SERVES 2 INGREDIENTS: Cornish sardines, butterflied

1 tsp dried oregano

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tbsp chopped parsley

Half a courgette, diced

1tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

Handful of basil leaves

1 tsp capers

Pinch of sea salt

1 tsp smoked paprika

Toasted sourdough to serve

Method In another pan, heat the olive oil and add the sliced tomato, paprika, oregano and courgette.

De-glaze the pan with some balsamic vinegar.

This is a super quick way to cook up some Cornish sardines. Put two frying pans over a heat and in one add your sardines drizzled with a little oil and seasoned with sea salt, parsley and capers. Cook skin side down for 2-3 minutes and then turn over to cook the other side.

Toast some sourdough and place the tomato and courgette on top. Then add the sardines with a few sprigs of basil.

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C U I SI N E

mi

e

e

SERVES 4 INGREDIENTS: fillets of hake, chopped into smaller portions

3-4 tbsp olive oil

12 vine cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp capers

4 cloves of garlic

150ml white wine

1 tin of butter beans, drained

1 tbsp paprika

150g Nocallera del Belice olives

1 tsp sea salt

1 small bunch of fresh oregano

1 tsp cracked black pepper

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp herbes de provence

Method lace your fish on top of the bed of vegetables skin side facing up and drizzle with the remaining oil. Roast for 15-18 mins and serve.

reheat your oven to C. Rub your chopped hake with ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, dried herbs and lemon zest and set to one side.

In a large roasting tray mix your butter beans, olives, tomatoes, garlic and capers. Toss to coat in 2 tbsp of olive oil, white wine, lemon juice, paprika and remaining pinch of salt and pepper.

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C U I SI N E

he e

ce o

c

e

SERVES 4 INGREDIENTS: pollack fillets

1tbsp olive oil

Portion of slaw

2 tbsp Cornish sea salt crystals

Lettuce leaves

1tsp Lemon pepper seasoning

4 slices of tomato

Pickles [optional]

4 ciabatta rolls

Lime to garnish

Method Heat a ridged, cast iron skillet or frying pan and drizzle your fish with olive oil and a pinch of lemon pepper for flavour. Sear on the hot griddle for 3 minutes on each side trying to not move the fish too much. It will be cooked when it starts to flake but is slightly opa ue. Serve in a toasted bun with slaw, salad and pickles.

The lemon pepper works well with pollack and a slice of lime to squeeze on before you serve.

Cure your fish for at least an hour before cooking for best results. To do this, sprinkle your pollack with sea salt crystals and leave in the fridge to cure for 1-2 hours.

Then, prepare your fish by running under cold water to rinse off the salt and pat dry.

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The Somerset Four Poster Bed

Untitled-1 1

23/02/2022 11:42

Made in

MINDFULNESS WORDS BY ROSIE CATTRELL

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SUSTA I N

Inspired by Scandinavia’s design heritage, Cloudberry Living showcases function, form, quality and sustainability in timeless, simplistic designs.

T

impossible to cultivate, Cloudberry Living finds its roots amongst the ambient buzz of independent shops and businesses that populate the cobbled artistic hub of Falmouth’s Old High Street. A glance in through the window reveals glimpses of the clean, simple lines of the Scandi designs that Cloudberry is known for, while the warmly lit space radiates a personal invitation to come in for a closer look.

he shape of the private world in which we surround ourselves houses the potential to bring us joy and tranquillity, if only we possess the imagination and determination to make it that way. The physical realities we construct for ourselves define our own personal realms, and if these spaces reflect us in the very walls, that’s when they start to really feel like home.

However, it can be difficult to envisage our dream interiors when faced with stretches of blank walls and empty rooms, or tired furniture dimly lit by an ill-fitting lampshade that longs for retirement. While high-quality designs that embrace form and function in equal measure are not always easy to come by in the south west, I have come to know of a place where these things can be found in abundance, accompanied by a warm welcome and a profusion of knowledge waiting to be shared.

With a background in homes, interiors and design, Alicia and Steve founded Cloudberry back in 2007 and have since come to reside in Falmouth, bringing with them a unique and wonderfully curated collection of Scandinavian and design brands. From garden furniture and lighting to stylish homewares and lifestyle products, each collection is handpicked by Alicia and Steve, who look for beauty in quality, design and sustainability. “It’s important to us to have products that are really well made, that have a purpose and a story behind them, a reason behind why they were created,” explains Alicia. “It’s easily

Named after a rare and beautifully uni ue fruit that takes root in the bitter chill of the northern hemisphere, especially prevalent in the wilds of Scandinavia and seemingly

PREVIOUS Ferm Living

INSET Alicia and Steve

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TOP Ferm Living

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A B OV E Skagerak

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Photography by Sebastien Erome for Fermob

TOP Skagerak and Graypants

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MIDDLE Fermob Luxembourg

A B OV E Louis Poulsen and Lapuan Kankurit

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SU STA I N

functional ualities, which is how they define sustainability. Made to last, age well and accumulate their own character through age, their sustainable teak and oak chairs and tables are designed with the future in mind, and are certain to be as relevant in 20 years’ time as they are today.

forgotten how important your home is to you.

You’re in it every day and what you surround yourself with affects your mental health and wellbeing. You make memories daily around your dining table over breakfast, dinner or a cup of coffee, or in your garden on a summer’s evening with friends and family. Making your home your sanctuary, a haven, creating your own uni ue style with beautifully crafted pieces that are designed to make everyday life feel a little bit better can have a huge effect on the way you live.”

Another outdoor furniture brand that has proven particularly popular for the salty-aired climate of Cornwall, and relatively new to Cloudberry, is Fermob, a French company who are producing some of the finest modern and contemporary garden furniture on the market today. Renowned for their long life span, there is a real focus on sustainability in the design and production process. Originally designed for the Luxembourg garden in aris by Fr d ric Sofia in 2004, the Luxembourg collection is made up of lightweight, powder coated aluminium, and the choice of 23 colours encourages a unique collection for your outdoor space to make your outdoor evenings and sun-lit mornings especially inviting.

As many of us try to move away from the madefast, buy-cheap, throw-away culture to which modern society has grown so accustomed, Cloudberry is re-introducing us to the idea of investing in thoughtfully made products that have been designed to stand the test of time and retain their functional beauty for years to come, a philosophy that Alicia shares with me: “If you want quality, you want to look after the planet and you want something that’s going to last your lifetime then you’ll need to invest in something really special, but part of the beauty of that is you’ll only have to buy it once. By investing in something that’s not only statically pleasing but also thoughtfully functional, you’re investing in something that’s going to serve you and your family for many years to come. We don’t want to be adding to landfill, we want to be adding to people’s lives.

When it comes to illuminating your interior, atmosphere is everything, and Graypants have cultivated a range of designs that Cloudberry has seen grow in popularity as more people look to bring a little ambience into their homes. Anchored in Seattle and Amsterdam, Graypants’ bold creativity has led to diverse designs in products, architecture and other beautiful objects around the world. Handcrafted from layers of recycled corrugated cardboard, raypants’ flagship Scraplights make for warm, intimate and functional lighting, with each layer precision cut using custom laser and CNC methods that maximise the visual integrity of the material and enhance the warm light projected through the unique shapes. Inspired by wasps and bees, Hive and Nest are some of their more recent designs, offering a calming, natural vibe to any room.

Home to a relaxed curation of carefully considered pieces, Cloudberry houses a fascinating array of top-of-the-range brands, many of which are new to me, and come paired with a history that draws you into the story behind the design. One such company is Skagerak; family owned and run, here is a Danish company with strong and historic Scandinavian homeware and furniture design roots. Boasting a B C R certification, Skagerak’s vision is to create products with a long lifespan by virtue of aesthetic and

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SU STA I N

popular Danish brands in the world today Ferm Living. Based in Copenhagen, and established in

by Trine Andersen, Ferm Living home, garden and lighting mixes soft colours, rich textures and clear functionality, so you can bring into your home exactly what Cloudberry Living wishes for you – a Scandinavian style that isn’t just about the objects inside, but a space that feels comfortable for you through versatility and clean lines. Speaking of comfort, Alicia will happily point you in the direction of lerups for the ultimate in hand-crafted wool slippers. Founded in

by Danish mother Nanny lerup, these beautifully comfortable and practical slippers are each made with care and have gathered a glowing international reputation.

Creating some of the finest and most recognisable lighting designs available today, Louis oulsen pushes the boundaries of not only design, but also what is achievable in the way we use light in our everyday lives. Founded in , Louis oulsen is a Danish lighting manufacturer born out of the Scandinavian design tradition where form follows function, tailored to reflect and support the rhythm of natural light. With an aim to ‘shape light’, every detail in the design has a purpose. very design starts and ends with light.

Photography by Sebastien Erome for Fermob

Alongside iconic names in lighting and furniture design, Cloudberry is also home to brands like Lapuan ankurit, renowned for their effortlessly beautiful soft furnishings, combining over one hundred years of the finest Finish craftsmanship with the latest in luxury style.

Headed up by fourth generation weavers, aana and sko Hjelt, every blanket, towel, cushion and scarf has exceptional design, uality craftsmanship and sustainable aesthetics at its heart.

For your everyday essentials, Iittala has created timeless tableware, glassware and homewares for the past years, working with several generations of leading Nordic designers. Stripped to their bare essentials, Iittala finds a home with Cloudberry, who share their values in buying well and supporting small companies who are invested in uality and sustainability

The beauty of such high- uality, simplistic designs is that they’ll find themselves at home in the most traditional of Cornish cottages or the freshest of modern new-builds, and Cloudberry is right at the forefront of stylish interiors built for the future. So, next time you find yourself wandering the cobbled streets of the historic town of Falmouth, make sure to pay a visit to High Street. Stepping through the doors of Cloudberry Living will draw you into a welcoming world of fresh, conscious interiors and the warmest of receptions from Alicia and Steve, whose love for Scandi style is surpassed only by their passion for sharing their deep-rooted knowledge of this timeless Nordic artistry.

Warmth and a strong feel for a relaxed life is the driving force behind one of the most

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INSET Fermob Luxembourg

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Nestled on the fringes of this remarkable town, above Carbis Bay, na St Ives is a stunning resort that foregrounds wellness and indulgence, sanctuary and community, lifestyle and investment. urchasing a villa at na St Ives means you’ll not only receive a good return on a hassle-free investment – you’ll also enjoy up to six weeks a year in your very own holiday home in this uni ue corner of Britain.

UNA, ST IVES POA NESTSEEKERS 01872 492026

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P RO P E RT Y

COASTAL potential

A spacious home with stunning views near the famed Seven Bays.

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revoyan Barn is a large stone barn conversion, with extensive grounds of circa 2.5 acres in a highly enviable location. It lies just to the south of Padstow, located between two of north Cornwall’s most coveted beaches – Porthcothan Bay and Treyarnon Bay. The views from the garden towards Treyarnon Bay are delightful, and the surrounding countryside adds greatly to its appeal. The barn is partially converted offering potential for further accommodation or development. There is also planning permission for the creation of a separate detached fourbedroom holiday residence.

The first floor hosts a spacious living room, with vaulted ceilings and exposed walls and beams, with French doors leading out onto a roof terrace.

There are two bedrooms and a family bathroom, plus a self-contained apartment on the floor below, alongside a utility and separate family room.

The grounds offer many vantage points from which to enjoy the views. With two beaches just moments away, and Trevose Golf Club at nearby Constantine Bay, plus the convenience of Newquay Airport, Trevoyan Barn is a rare opportunity, one that’s just waiting to be enjoyed.

TREVOYAN BARN Offers over: £1.5M ROHRS & ROWE 01872 306360 info@rohrsandrowe.co.uk

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P RO P E RT Y

ABOVE the riverside An opportunity to purchase a stunning riverside family home that sits in an elevated position above the River Gannel.

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onstructed in 2010 and designed to take full advantage of its natural position within half-an-acre of private grounds, this property revels in its location, boasting uninterrupted views of the sunkissed sandy dunes of Crantock beach and the wildlife on the Gannel Estuary.

Open-plan throughout, the feeling is one of tranquillity borne out of the natural light that floods in through the floor-to-ceiling windows and bi-fold doors. An impressive entrance hall leads into a lounge and dining area, with a Stub log-burning stove and natural stone flooring, and beyond to a first-floor balcony. This area is complemented by a modern high-gloss kitchen with a range of integrated appliances, that incorporates a substantial utility room that has direct access to a double garage.

The whole of the top floor plays host to an impressive principal suite with private balcony, whilst the ground floor has a family or cinema room, three further bedrooms and a plunge pool.

GANNEL VIEW Guide price: : £3.5M DAVID BALL LUXURY COLLECTION 01637 850850 sales@dba.estate

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PASTORAL

elegance

A grade II listed Georgian rectory with walled gardens, in a secluded rural setting with far-reaching views.

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he Old Rectory is believed to have been built around 1836 at the expense of the Duke of Northumberland, to accompany the Church of St Martin which was relocated from the grounds of Werrington Park Manor in around 1742 to its current site.

This majestic Georgian home retains many original features, having been sympathetically restored to its former glory whilst incorporating a touch of contemporary interior flair. Traditional period features include large sash windows, tall ceilings with ornate plaster cornicing, original shutters and an impressive staircase with curved banisters.

The living spaces and bedrooms are light and well-proportioned, and there are wonderful views from every aspect of the property. The accommodation has been tastefully decorated throughout, with stripped wood floors and slate flagstones, and many of the original skirting boards, cornices and window shutters are intact and restored. The dining room faces the front of the house and there is a utility room, boot room and cloakroom completing the ground floor. Two staircases lead to the first floor, which has four bedrooms served by a generous family bathroom, a shower room and a separate WC.

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The four bedrooms on the first floor have beautiful sash windows, wooden flooring and some original fireplaces. There are two further bedrooms on the second floor, both with slate fireplaces and excellent views over countryside with Dartmoor in the distance to the front and the church to the rear. Three loft areas offer plentiful storage, also complemented by a large cellar accessed from the ground floor.

Unusually for a rectory of the period, the property enjoys an extremely peaceful setting, with uninterrupted rural views. The gardens include a magnificently planted walled garden to the south and west of the house and large, partially wooded lawns surrounding the house to the north and east.

There is also a separate, Grade II listed twostorey coach house, which has recently been converted to provide ancillary or holiday let accommodation, including a sitting room, kitchen and an en-suite bedroom.

A sweeping private gravel driveway leads to the front of the house, with a lawn to the north overlooking fields beyond.

The grounds are surrounded by mature trees and in the northern corner there is a useful working area with wood store under a slate roof.

THE OLD RECTORY Guide price: £1.25M SAVILLS CORNWALL 73 Lemon Street, Truro TR1 2PN 01392 455755 cornwall@savills.com

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I N SPI R AT I O N

An exemplary RESIDENCE Trenarren House is a landmark new development of luxurious apartments enjoying sensational south-facing and panoramic sea views.

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ituated along Sea Road in Carlyon Bay, one of Cornwall’s most highly regarded addresses, this new development of six luxury apartments, over three floors, is expected to be completed

by September . With uninterrupted south sea views from ribbin Head around to Black Head, this prestigious and high- uality new development enjoys a location that is hugely convenient for the nearby golf course, Carlyon Bay Hotel, coast path, beach and nearby town of St Austell mainline to London addington .

history, all complemented by an eclectic array of bouti ues and restaurants.

The historic and pictures ue harbourside village of Charlestown a regular location for BBC’s Poldark and scenes for the film The Eagle has Landed), is just over a mile away, and the beaches of Duporth, orthpean and entewan are all within a very short drive. The world-class and award-winning attraction, den roject, is located to the north of St Austell with The Lost ardens of Heligan being found to the west of the town.

With holiday letting, short-term letting and full-time occupancy permitted, plus underfloor heating and a -year building warranty, everything has been thoroughly considered.

Configured on three storeys, with two apartments on each floor, each boasts an openplan living area with a separate utility room and wet room three double bedrooms one ensuite and a kitchen replete with uartz tops and high-end appliances. The whole complex has then been wrapped within landscaped gardens, including a communal sitting out area, pond and lawn.

Although the development won’t be available for habitation until early autumn, the apartments have proved such a pull that every one has been sold in advance, leading to the conclusion that the strength of the coastal Cornish market combined with a legacy design has set a new standard in apartment architectural style.

ust six miles or so along the coast is the beautifully timeless waterside town of Fowey with its wonderful atmosphere, popular sailing and watersports, and a fascinating

shorepartnership.com

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F O C U S

Escapism

in NATURE WO R D S B Y H A N N A H TA P P I N G

Photographer Drew Shearwood unveils the organic beauty of the human body and its movement.

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With a background in professional gymnastics and rugby, Drew has evolved a creative style which homes in on the human form and function, often capturing moving bodies against dramatic landscapes.

Coming from a large family of six siblings, part of his private body of work includes a series of images of his family and brother.

raduating from the University of the Arts London, Drew Shearwood has travelled extensively on wideranging assignments working with teams from diverse gender, cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. He moved to Los Angeles for a time to assist renowned photographer and film director, David Lachapelle with his two-volume publishing project, Good News. During his travels, Drew was also involved with commercial shoots for well-known celebrities in Hawaii and Shanghai.

Drew’s images exude grace and elegance with a poetic thread that runs throughout his work.

Tone and texture are drawn out using a unique marriage of composition and lighting that achieves an almost sculptural aesthetic.

Returning to London, he spent five years in the capital as a fashion photographer, after which time he found himself needing to find some peace and to reset. A move to Cornwall followed, where Drew has found creative freedom and happiness. He now combines shooting for local business and small fashion brands whilst creating his own work for exhibitions.

Working between London and Cornwall, Drew Shearwood holds a three-year representation with the globally prestigious agency Bernstein & Andriulli. drewshearwood.com

LEFT St Ives

INSET Drew Sherwood

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TOP Mary Hyde Park A B OV E Lines

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TOP Eleanor on the rocks A B OV E Ana in Sweden

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A B OV E Out of Office II

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A B OV E Solomon

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W O O D F O R D ARCHITECTURE

INTERIOR DESIGN

Woodford Architecture and Interiors were the winners of the 2020-2021 international property award for the best residential property in the United Kingdom.

From our studios, we work on projects across the South West and the UK, as well as overseas.

15 North Street, Ashburton, Devon, TQ13 7QH Tel: 01364 654888 www.woodfordarchitecture.com

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These wild WALLS

Photography by Alex Brier

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o ce o o e i e e i place in the present day with sustainable farming at its heart.

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The Walled Garden sits at its heart, a one-acre haven guarded by the original brick fortification, softened by plum trees runus domestica trailing the walls that burst into life in the summer months. It has become a restoration project for The New Yard Restaurant, who lease the buildings and garden from the estate.

This is somewhere visitors to Trelowarren can immerse themselves in the sights, sounds, and tastes the garden has to offer.

A year into the project, having started in 2021, the restaurant and garden now work harmoniously to pair plate and plant, foraging produce that inspires their unique and ever-changing supper night menus. Head Gardener Jenny Cucco has been integral from the start, and with such an immeasurable task to undertake, it was, and still is, her devotion for sustainable agriculture that has driven it to where it is today. A fully functioning, regenerative ecosystem that is in harmony with nature.

Photography by Alex Brier

igging into the bygone days of The Trelowarren Estate is no easy feat; with over one thousand acres of land that have been owned by the Vyvyan family for almost 600 years, there is a lot to explore. In the 19th century, Richard Vyvyan, desperate to impress one of Queen Victoria’s nieces, poured his passion into the aesthetic of the grounds, and whilst the buildings of Trelowarren are a sight to behold, it’s the gardens and grounds that hold onto history.

The entrance is effortlessly captivating.

A seemingly endless driveway that has been unchanged for decades, taking you past the wild ponies that graze on the heathland, past the fields of untamed grass that ripples in the wind, finally taking you through the intricate Restoration Gates, delivering you to what feels like the heart of The Trelowarren Estate.

PREVIOUS Re-claiming history

INSET Jenny Cucco

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TOP A wild welcome

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Photography by Alex Brier

I first visited the garden when this project began. Carefully treading through the dishevelled archway and seeing the overgrown jungle before me, I didn’t know where they were going to begin. A greenhouse consumed by thorns, barely a pathway visible to reach it even if you wanted to. An insurmountable to-do list for the number of hands they had available. The wilderness had well and truly taken over – and taken back – the landscape.

Fortunately for the team they had a strong start. Not only was the soil healthy enough to plant in, and the greenhouse useable, the thirteen-foot-high walls protected all this from the elements over the years. They also look like they were built in the not-so-distant past; their shell has held up remarkably well, given the lack of maintenance over the past several decades. “These are the crème de la crème of walled gardens,” says Jenny. “In other gardens, they would uite often, in order to save money and time, do a serpentine construction. The wall would be jagged, like a zig-zag, with the single skin wall handling the elements much better than a straight single skin wall.”

This is not the case at Trelowarren, with the walls over a foot in depth no expense was spared in their construction, protecting the

gardens against the wildest of the Cornish weather. Their grandiosity is clear to see due to the demolition of a section of the south side wall, taken down during the Second World War in order to provide shelter and solace for soldiers, which was then left to be claimed by nature and yet to be rebuilt. All of this just adds to the spirit of The Walled Garden, stories entrenched in the very walls.

Photography by Alex Brier

During the summer months, the flowers were in bloom, colours bursting, wildlife flourishing in the utopia that had been salvaged, life was moving again. They had reclaimed this unloved land and a plan was slowly taking shape with the kitchen already making full use of the produce that was available. In the bitter blue-sky days of February, I went back.

A stark change in temperature from those almost tropical Eden scenes not so long ago, with even more change happening inside those walls. A satisfying crunch underfoot meant that fifty tonnes of gravel had been painstakingly laid for the pathway, in preparation for the eagerly awaited opening day in March. The layout had also changed, as it always will with the regenerative, no-dig system Jenny had put in place.

She explains: “We are trying to include some permaculture principles here. This term was coined by Bill Mollison and David Holgreen back in the ’70s. It’s a lot of indigenous living and going back to our traditional farming roots. Not looking at tilling the soil or planting

A B OV E Laid bare LEFT Farm family

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ETHICA diamonds AWARD-WINNING

KIND

NOT

MINED

JEWELLERY

Jewellery set with lab-grown diamonds or gemstones using renewable energy and Fairtrade Gold.

ethicadiamonds.co.uk

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I N SPI R AT I O N

of charging their way through it and out to the veritable snacks beyond, with myself and Jenny coaxing them back with mountains of food. Safe to say the pen will be tightly shut when the visitors arrive!

Photography by Alex Brier

Contiguous to the pig and chicken pen and the rotating crop bed, they have a polytunnel, a greenhouse, and a composting system. The seventy-foot polytunnel is a new addition to the garden and has been extremely useful over the winter. “We will be able to fit nearly 100 tomato plants in there this year, including heirloom and heritage varieties for the kitchen to use. We are going to mulch the inside of the tunnel with seaweed when we are ready to rotate the crops from winter to spring/ summer. Seaweed gives lots of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus; we forage a small amount each year from our local high waters where it is safe and environmentally sustainable to do so, and what we don’t use for mulch, we use to create our own fertilisers. We let it ferment in its own water, the longer you let it ferment the higher the concentration.

You can use it almost 50:1 when it’s been sitting for a good couple of months.” This is just one example of where the team here really

a bunch of annuals, but looking at permanent sources of food. Lots of fruit trees and bushes, and whilst we haven’t made a start on that yet, we have used many other ideologies.

Intercropping is just one example, where you plant all your crops mixed together. This reduces the chance of specific diseases and it helps with pest control. It’s better to diversify this way, breaking up the soil cycles and increasing the range of pollinators that you attract. The animals play a big part in that also, helping us to fertilise the soil. We have two Kunekune pigs, native from New Zealand, they are very clean animals and help us keep the ground down. They are called Hebe and Basil, and everyone loves them!”

Photography by Alex Brier

They are certainly a lovable addition to the garden, enjoying as much attention and belly rubs as they can garner, even fulfilling the age-old cliché of rolling in the mud to get one.

Their value comes from digging for forgotten or leftover plant roots, which they thoroughly enjoy. They have quite the nose for a delectable treat and do not like anything standing in their way, including the gate to their pen, which I carelessly did not close properly.

Proceed Hebe and Basil making short work

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A B OV E A green future

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the environment, they are also educating children and adults alike through their school trip initiative. Last summer they had their first visit from a local primary school, where they took small groups for a tour of the gardens and gave them the chance to get their hands dirty, try vegetables fresh out of the ground, and of course, say hello to the animals. “We get them to try whatever is growing at that time, and no matter what I offered the kids they all put their hands up! They loved it.”

This is just a testament to how important this conversation is.

Educating children while they are young about the journey that produce goes through before they see it on the shelves, and eventually on their plates, has never been more important.

Climate change linked to agriculture is a topic under much scrutiny at the moment, so it feels like the right time to bring sustainable farming to the forefront of what the next generation should be learning about, and The New Yard Restaurant are doing just that.

Photography by Rebecca Hawkey

does make use of what is naturally available.

She goes on to explain: “We also use nettle feed, as we had a lot in the garden. Even with your most common weeds you can pull them out, immerse them in water, leave them to ferment and you’ve got yourself fertilisers.

What is bad for the garden, can also be really good for the garden if you know how to use it. It’s there for a reason and if you give it back to the soil you end up solving two problems.”

By keeping techniques as natural as possible you are limiting the amount of unnatural, external minerals/byproducts that enter the food chain. If sourcing their own seaweed fertilisers from our very own Cornish beaches wasn’t remarkable enough, Jenny also goes on to explain the plan they have in place to eventually use recycled IBC tanks in order to catch rainfall, of which we have plenty down here in the south west. This will reduce the reliance on their mains water supply and is one hundred percent natural. Whilst this approach will help support the crops on their journey to harvest, it helps to start their life off on the right foot by using peatfree compost; peat is a natural material that forms the foundation for vital habitats around the world, and any product that uses it comes at the cost of damage to those ecosystems. In the realm of horticulture, it is becoming increasingly unpopular, and at The Walled Garden, it isn’t used at all.

Supporting and supplying the restaurant kitchen may be the overall purpose here, but the garden provides the New Yard team, volunteers, and visitors with so much more.

A chance to learn, to experiment, to escape, and explore. In the past year, the garden has been through a radical change from where it started out, and I know I am not the only one who is impatiently awaiting the warmer months, in order to see the garden burst into life once more.

Seeing all these processes come together first-hand is remarkable, inspirational, and informative. Not only are they putting into practice principles that are beneficial to

newyardrestaurant.co.uk

A B OV E Summer bloom

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Every mission starts with you

cornwallairambulancetrust.org/donate

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Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust | Registered Charity 1133295

23/02/2022 11:50

Going with

the GRAIN

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IMAGES BY JOHN HERSEY

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C R E AT E

Handmade outdoor furniture designed to withstand Cornwall’s elemental forces.

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on houses, extensions, new builds and loft conversions, learning essential skills from experienced master craftsmen. While working, Olly slowly started building a workshop of his own, moving more into the joinery side, making bespoke pieces: “The transition was quite gradual because building the workshop was more of a hobby at the time, but it allowed me to take on interesting and more specialised work. As you can imagine, there’s a lot of infrastructure to set up in a joinery workshop, so I didn’t just jump into it overnight. I slowly bought up second-hand machinery and built it up over the years.”

he location of Mena Woodwork’s workshop couldn’t be more apt.

Nestled within the historic country estate of Boconnoc, surrounded by ancient trees and an abundance of wildlife, carpenter Olly Hill takes inspiration from his surroundings and Boconnoc’s shared sense of tradition and values that inform his work. Keeping with tradition is something that has been part of Olly’s journey from the very beginning of his relationship with wood.

“I only ever wanted to work with wood. I was very lucky that I was able to find a traditional apprenticeship and at age 17 was taken on by a carpenter for a threeyear apprenticeship and never looked back,” explains Olly. “I’ve always loved making things, and for me there’s no effort involved, because it’s something I enjoy so much. It’s not like work. It’s a pleasure.”

Olly was unusually young to become a selfemployed joiner, but such was his focus that as soon as he finished his apprenticeship, he started working for himself. “I literally just started off with a van and a few tools and slowly built up my reputation. The furniture came about because I wanted more of a challenge; I needed to be more

Olly’s apprenticeship was very much in traditional domestic carpentry, working

A B OV E Olly Hill

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A B OV E Olly in his Boconnoc workshop

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wind and variations in temperature. This means it has to be strong, robust and durable.

The joinery techniques that I’ve learned over the years lend themselves perfectly to this and have provided me with solutions to many of the problems this throws up.” Olly’s intention was that his furniture should be able to brave all that the Cornish weather could throw at it as well as being able to withstand the test of time. It’s furniture that can be left outside all year round, its patina weathering over time, ageing gracefully and in keeping with its natural surroundings.

creative. “I love woodwork, and all aspects of it, but I really wanted to home in on something that I enjoyed and could really get my teeth into.” Olly chose outdoor furniture as his creative outlet as he felt that it aligned with his preference for traditional techniques, sustainability and love for the outdoor environment.

“I was lucky enough to do some work for the renowned and respected Cornish garden designer, Sam Ovens, on one of his Chelsea Flower Show builds,” says Olly. Using the revered traditional joinery techniques, Olly designed and constructed a ‘shadow gap cabin’ using intricate finger joints from Western red cedar. While working with Sam, lly identified that the modern-yet-natural design and subtle aesthetic of the garden was not really reflected anywhere when it came to sourcing outdoor furniture. Identifying a gap in the market, Olly set about designing and creating the first prototypes for the Mena range. “The very nature of outdoor furniture is that it’s open to the elements. It gets rained on, then the sun dries it; it’s ravaged by the

European kiln-dried oak is Olly’s material of choice for the main body of his furniture due to its consistency of grain, stability and the fact that it is felled using sustainable forestry methods. Mixed with this, Olly adds in windfall Cornish oak for its character, beauty and the fact that it lends itself so well to being steam bent. There is also a circular economy when it comes to sourcing the Cornish oak as it comes from the very woodlands that surround Olly’s workshops. When the wind blows and an oak is felled by the force of nature, Olly is able to purchase the tree from Boconnoc and then mill it in the estate’s own water-powered sawmill – one of the few that remain in the UK. “The mill is just 200 yards from the workshop, and it’s like stepping into a little museum,” says Olly. “The sustainability of the raw oak that we mill there is unique; where else would you be able to saw timber from mighty oaks that have fallen just footsteps from the mill? Boconnoc’s woodsman, Will Geach, is teaching me how to run the mill to ensure that the knowledge is passed down the line.”

The resulting timber is used to create the natural curves of the seat for the Huers Chair.

“As the Boconnoc trees aren’t managed

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as such and grow in a more natural way, they tend to have quite a number of structural imperfections and knots. This means that I can’t use this wood for the structural elements of the chair, but I can for the seat as it’s fully supported by the European oak frame.”

The traditional techniques learned in his apprenticeship taught Olly how best to work with timber that is to be used outdoors and under stress. The naturally non-perishable oak, when combined the techniques Olly employs, allows each piece of Mena furniture to outlast any commercially made alternative.

The chairs, tables and benches are designed to be left untreated, instead taking on the subtle, silver patina of naturally weathered oak. Form and function grow organically from timber and technique; Olly decides on which joints he wants to utilise and the design emerges as a result.

For example, as Olly explains: “The joint I use on the corner of the frame for the table and bench is a bridle joint. The two pieces of wood intersect each other and then they are connected with an oak peg that goes into the joint. I also use a half lap joint, which I fix with traditional stainless steel slotted screws, that remain exposed. I love to look at things where nothing’s hidden; where you can just see straight away what’s going on and how the furniture has been constructed. There are no frivolous design elements, the details come from the construction. So, the bridle joint is used because it’s structurally the best joint in that application. The fact that it looks good and adds a little detail with the intersection of the timbers is secondary. Yes, it adds detail, but it’s not frivolous detail, it’s part of the heart of the piece.”

Olly admits that the journey from concept to finished product is something of an inefficient trial and error process. He explains that with the chair, the basic ergonomics are a given, based on tried-and-tested measurements and angles that have been informing furniture designers for years. “The human body doesn’t change so I was able to use basic design principles for the Huers Chair and then just keep tweaking the angles and proportions until it felt as comfortable as it could be. It’s designed as a conversational chair, one that you can sit more upright in, with a drink in hand.” Cornwall’s climate very much determines the style of the Mena furniture.

The chair is quite squat, wider than it is long and that’s a conscious choice on Olly’s part.

“My furniture is designed so that you can leave it out all winter, even in a gale of wind, and not worry about it. It’s also made that way to take advantage of those sometimesfleeting dry spells and moments of sunshine we get in Cornwall in the shoulder seasons – I wanted there to always be a place to sit in comfort, even if for a few minutes.”

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O RD E R NOW W I T H 1 0 % F O R D R I FT R E A D E R S

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D I SC O U NT

This limited edition book is a celebration of the artists for whom Cornwall provides constant inspiration. Intriguingly current and timelessly readable DRIFT Art Review is at once a valuable tool for collectors, a coveted addition to coffee tables for the year ahead and a collectible for those who value the enduring appeal of the arts.

Visit www.drift-cornwall.co.uk/artreview and quote ‘DRIFTART#19’ o e o o co . . e e . . .

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C R E AT E

Olly’s designs are timeless, their look classic.

Each is made by hand and the range is small but perfectly formed: “I believe that in order to produce furniture to a high standard, you’ve got to reduce down the amount you do, and really focus in on nailing the details on a few smaller pieces. Much of my pieces share the same design DNA, but are just changed and adjusted slightly to keep them interesting and have a personality of their own.”

Both history and science inform the form for Olly: “The Lantic Table has the same legs and connecting braces as the Lantic Bench, just scaled up. The idea for this particular joint came while watching a history documentary on Hampton Court Palace. There was a kitchen table in the background of a shot, that was likely made in the 15th century, and it had the very joint I had been looking for. It was something of a Eureka moment!

Basically, the legs are connected to the top planks with one giant dovetail joint which, as it swells and contracts, allows the planks to slide along as they expand and contract.

However, because they don’t contract and expand evenly, they twist slightly across the grain locking the dovetail tighter. When I put it all together in the workshop, it goes together with zero tolerance, with two

dovetails lubricated with oil in order to slide them together. Then, when they go outside, the magic happens and the joint is tightened by the elements – basically, the worse the treatment the table and benches get from the weather the stronger they become. It’s very labour intensive and by no means cost effective, but I just love doing it.

Olly is a Cornishman through and through and its elements suffuse the furniture “The whole idea behind the collection is that it can be battered, especially by the coast. It can get pretty rough, wild and wet in Cornwall, and Mena furniture is just fine with that. It can just sit there and take it. I wish I could say that I’m inspired by the form of a wave or the shape of the cliffs, but it’s simpler than that.

I’m just a little wood geek!”

Olly’s intention is to take the idea of outdoor furniture one stage further this year, foraying into the world of bespoke outdoor kitchens.

When not whittling away in his workshop Olly spends his time outdoors, dog walking, spear fishing or surfing depending on the weather, and so it seems fitting that his work reflects his love of the natural world and the fact that it’s this environment that challenges and drives his creativity. menawoodwork.co.uk

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C R E AT E

A coastal

NARRATIVE A strong connection with Cornwall’s seaboard towns that epitomise the melding of the natural and man-made landscape.

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orn in Blackpool, Ashley always felt very lucky to have been nurtured by the sound and sight of the sea.

“It is where I feel rooted and free.

Inevitably the harbour towns of Cornwall have been the subject of many of my paintings, with series inspired by Penzance, Fowey, Padstow and especially Porthleven.” It’s no surprise that he moved to Cornwall in 2005 to be closer to the landscape that has inspired his work.

colour, usually covering the canvas with a stain, already thinking ahead about the colour that will go on top. At some point the idea, image, shape is introduced: drawn in paint or carved through the layers. During the process, there is always dramatic editing of scale, colour, and mark, using large brushes and palette knives and by pouring and skimming sheets of liquid across the surface, finding new shapes and compositions within the rectangle.’’

Having studied at Canterbury College of Art (1980-83) where he set out as a photorealist he soon found that his true leaning was toward work inspired by Bonnard and Matisse, which offered freedom of expression through colour.

Awarded a first-class degree in Fine Art he moved to London, where he showed with the London Group and was awarded second Prize in the Hunting Art Prizes. In 1993 he participated in a Triangle Artists Workshop in New York, hosted by Sir Anthony Caro, and in 1997 was the recipient of a Boise Travel Scholarship from the Slade.

He hopes that the viewer will encounter in his work something different and find themselves forced to stop, to feel, to think, to be intrigued, to be willing to give the painting time, to enjoy the colour, the textures and the mysteries of the making.

Ashley explains that his artist’s eye is on constant alert for ideas for painting. The process begins with an exploration in words or rough sketches before the painting starts.

“On the blank canvas I always begin with

“Alongside my painting, I’m immensely proud of the courses we’ve been running in Cornwall for the past 10 years in Porthleven and Port Isaac, all under the banner ‘Freedom in Painting’. As well as supporting my practice, they provide an opportunity to share my philosophy, knowledge, skills, methods, experience of painting to other artists, who come from all over the country.”

Find more on Ashley’s work and courses online.

LEFT Porthleven 53 – Weight of Water

ashleyhanson.co.uk A B OV E Ashley Hanson

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A B OV E Porthleven 52 – The Clock and the Moon

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TOP Beach Huts – Purple and Teal

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A B OV E Beach Huts – Cobalt Blue

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A B OV E Beach Huts – Pink

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TOP Penzance 15

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A B OV E Porthleven 40 (The Possibility of Window)

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A B OV E Porthleven 54 – Orange (detail)

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SUSTA I N

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ounded by owner Elaine and daughter Emily, Ethica Diamonds’ fundamental values lie in hard work, trust and a passion for their craft, creating made-to-order and bespoke pieces of jewellery. More than that though, they hold sustainability and ethics at the core of everything they do, and these are the founding principles behind their use of the Ethica Diamond – an independently graded diamond alternative – as well as their more recently unveiled lab-grown diamonds. rown using hydropower, the latter are the first and only diamonds in the world to be grown using 100% sustainable green energy, thereby accounting for just 0.1% of all diamonds worldwide and making them incredibly precious. The creation process also makes them completely sustainable and certified carbon neutral. Because the manufacturing process replicates the natural diamond growing process, the resulting stones are chemically, physically and optically identical to those grown beneath the Earth’s surface.

On all of this, Elaine explains: “Besides impeccable quality, the most important thing to us is the care and service we provide to our customers. We listen carefully to each customer’s needs and work with them to create a

piece of highly personal jewellery that has been lovingly crafted, whilst being environmentally and socially responsible. With the recent spotlight on the climate crisis, we have noticed a rise in the amount of conscientious customers who feel they want to do good by the planet.

And when it comes to fine jewellery, lab grown diamonds and gems are simply the best choice, for quality and environmental responsibility.”

This last point is key, and former CEO of Tiffany Co, Michael . owalski discusses the treacherous consequences of mining, in an opinion piece in the New York Times, claiming that “few industries in the world have a larger environmental and social footprint than mining . This makes sustainable lab-grown diamonds (of which Ethica Diamonds are the south west’s leading supplier) an attractive alternative to those that are mined, especially given that each lab-grown stone is as uni ue as those found beneath the Earth’s surface. Each diamond forms in its own way, with one-of-akind inclusions and unique growth patterns.

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SU STA I N

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Life’s a

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R E T R E AT

A coastal boutique hotel with a co em o i e o ei he coo factor in spades.

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olzeath Beach House has a history as venerable as its location. The original hotel dates back to 1903, a time when the Victorians made their name as inventors of the Great British seaside holiday. Between the walls of what was originally named The Atlantic Hotel, are many memories of splendid seaside holidays across generations and thanks to its recent, multi-million pound investment and complete rebuild, there will be many more to be made.

Welcoming visitors to north Cornwall for over a century, the proximity of Polzeath Beach House to the golden sands of Polzeath beach is enviable.

The building itself was demolished and rebuilt from the ground up, and what has emerged from the rubble is a truly unique beachfront property. The original 27 bedrooms and shared bathrooms have been transformed into 12 en-suite bedrooms and 9 luxury ocean view apartments. The reimagined layout, interior and finish is clean, fresh, crisp and modern to give an optimal experience to guests that continues to be the focus since the hotel re-opened in July 2020.

Hotels provide an essential service to guests, in that they are a place to sleep, but they also need to tick the boxes when it comes to comfort and convenience as well as being a place to recharge; Polzeath Beach House does this effortlessly.

The f low of the hotel between the reception, rooms and self-catering apartments means that you never feel out on a limb, but always have a private space when needed.

The reception area leads into the main residents’ lounge or on to the Atlantic Bar & Kitchen and subsequently out on to the majestic Terrace, with its ocean view. The Terrace provides an unrivalled al fresco dining experience. Step inside and the restaurant, offering all-day dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner, is a laid-back eatery with a menu designed to complement the Cornish coastline, using locally sourced and freshly caught ingredients from its incredible natural larder. Operated by the Harbour Brewing Co, the owners have ensured that there’s a seamless booking and feedback system in place between the hotel and restaurant to ensure both are on point when it comes to tip-top service. This is something that runs through the building of

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TOP The view from Polzeath Beach House

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A B OV E Atlantic bar and restaurant

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TOP Apartment living on the Atlantic frontier

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A B OV E iew from the cliff

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R E T R E AT

Polzeath Beach House; it is a hotel designed to serve guests who value great service, luxury and hospitality. It offers a level of comfort that stretches beyond the short stay and a standard that combines service and style.

What results is accommodation that exceeds expectation whilst not being so ostentatious that it doesn’t feel welcoming.

Guests of all ages have been enjoying the newly opened hotel and apartments – whether that be couples, families, vacationers or adventurers.

Its broad appeal lies in part to its home-fromhome atmosphere but also in the fact that its location is so close to the sea you can watch the surfers from the comfort of your apartment or the Atlantic Bar & Kitchen. Blurring the line between hotel and home, the hotel bedrooms and self-catering apartments are expertly and very well appointed. Guests can expect bedrooms to have all they need for a perfect stay. While they don’t have ocean views, they are comfortable places to rest and with the ocean on the doorstep this doesn’t detract from their appeal. Beautifully furnished, the apartments do enjoy sea vistas, some from Juliet balconies, others from sky decks – the ultimate viewing platforms for wave watchers and sunset seekers. This is also a place where a working holiday is totally feasible. With superfast broadband and administration services available, working remotely from here would be a breeze. Lunchtime cli op strolls will refresh the mind and the concierge team can organise in room treatments to relax the body – a working holiday here won’t feel like work at all.

The area, known as New Polzeath, is unique in terms of its ‘end of the world’ location.

It’s one road in and one road out and has largely been untouched by the rise in coastal developments elsewhere in the county. The

main street is Atlantic Terrace which faces across the bay and, while an area behind has seen some development, the National Trust owned land to the west and north curtails further development.

If you’ve never visited this part of Cornwall on the north coast’s ‘golden triangle’, Polzeath sits at the zenith while Cornwall’s foodie capital Padstow and the well-heeled coastal resort of Rock form its base. Polzeath beach is a Mecca for surfers and ocean lovers and has some of the best waves in the UK. The South West Coast ath crosses the cliff tops in both directions, heading towards Trebetherick Point and the delights of Daymer Bay to the south, and Pentire Point and The Rumps to the north.

Polzeath Beach House has been purposefully designed as a place for everyone and a holiday retreat for all seasons. It is somewhere to recharge and reconnect. It’s about the balance in life; getting amongst the elements, eating and drinking well, and ultimately enjoying a good time with family and friends.

Not ones to rest on their laurels, the owners know that they need to keep moving forwards, anticipating guests’ needs and requirements in order to push the hospitality boundaries in what, in Cornwall, is a competitive market.

It’s their unshakable belief that there’s always a better way; a better way for guests to book and interact with products and services; a better way for hoteliers and their staff to manage operations a better way to make experiences remarkable for everyone.

We look forward to seeing what this ‘better’ future holds but, for now, Polzeath Beach House is already ahead of the crowd. polzeathbeachhouse.co.uk

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C O M M E N T

Eventide WO R D S B Y M E RC E D E S S M I T H

F

or the first time in so long, I am waking up each morning with a curious feeling in my heart. It is different to the lowlying anxiety of the last two years, and every day I feel it more I think it’s optimism. ne way or another we’ve all taken a battering during the pandemic, through actual loss, fear of loss, or just the nerve-grinding weight of endless uncertainty. But something wonderful has happened as well honestly, I wasn’t sure about the human race before, but now I think we are pretty wonderful. It turns out we are spectacularly resilient and have faced down this pandemic with bravery and an extraordinary degree of care for each other. I hear people say that this new sense of community will fade away, but I don’t agree.

I think we are all irrevocably changed for the better.

When lockdown was first announced my business of championing the arts stopped dead. alleries closed, exhibitions were cancelled, and magazines suspended their print runs or collapsed entirely, leaving me without an income and worse, without any sense of professional identity. I had no idea if my business would ever exist again. Like so many of us, I faced the prospect of starting from scratch, even if we made it through the next few years. But then small but positive things began to happen. A client called me to say that their ill-fated March exhibition had been sold in its entirety, online, to a single collector – unexpected, and great news for the artist. Next, Matthew Burrows launched his brilliant Artist Support ledge, which saw artists commit

per cent of their income to buying each other’s work. And on it went. There was a groundswell of determined resilience within the arts and so, encouraged, I joined in. Despite my vanished income, I bought an mma effryes painting, not because I could afford it at that point, but because it was fabulous, and I wanted it. In that thrilling, financially irresponsible moment I understood what was happening in the arts, and in the world by pursuing our passions undeterred we were sticking two fingers up to Covid. It would not defeat our hope or our identity – not a chance. In the dark winter of Covid the arts blossomed teenage dancers became TikTok celebrities operatic families went viral with front-room performances locked down actors filmed entire T series on their laptops and people who loved art kept buying art.

Now, two years after I thought I’d lost the company I’ve spent a decade building, it is busier than it has ever been before. Who could have predicted that nce again, I am able to put my energies into promoting the brilliance of the fine arts here in the south west, with a renewed understanding of how talented, how brilliant, how strong, committed and kind the people around me are. I see a bright future ahead, and every one of you reading this article can take credit for that.

Mercedes Smith is the Director of Arts PR company, Fine Art Communications and a regular contributor to DRIFT. e

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INSET mma effryes, ‘At The Waters dge’, oil on canvas, purchased with passion in defiance of Covid, April

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