Here is a taster of some of what some businesses in Suffolk are getting up to in 2019.
New local crafts markets
As part of the Saints Business Community Interest Company set up last year to promote St Nicholas and St Peter Street in Ipswich, three new street markets are planned for 2019.
Zoe Woods, who runs Crafty Baba fabric shop on St Peter’s Street, explained: “We ran two successful markets in 2018 especially our Christmas market with more than 6,000 visitors. The traders are all local crafts and business people offering a Great British High Street Experience.”
New Glamping venue
All Manor of Events, an events venue in Henley, just outside Ipswich, will be launching a new ‘glamping’ offering.
Manor Farm Barn in Henley, near Ipswich in Suffolk currently hosts events including civil ceremonies and wedding receptions, school proms, leavers’ balls, and Christmas parties.
Katie Haywood-Farmer from All Manor of Events explained: “We are super excited to be building eight glamping pods to provide accommodation for guests attending events here but also to hopefully bring a little more tourism to our fab county.”
Georgian house refurb
Rosemary Cattee Interior Design, which is based in Woodbridge, is just starting a 12 -15 month project on a Grade II listed Georgian Manor House.
Richard Somerville, partner at Rosemary Cattee, explained that they are working on a complete update and refurbishment of Wilford Lodge in Melton, a period Georgian house and its adjoining barn. “We expect the project to take us through the next 12 -15 months, including building re-modelling, a new pool house and all the interior design elements,” he says. “We are now in our seventh trading year and have established a reputation for taking traditional/historic homes and bringing them up to date, blending the old with the new.
“We have worked on some of Suffolk’s finest ancient houses over the years, including Grade II* Newbourne Hall, once Cardinal Wolsey’s Suffolk country house.”
New charity baby and toddler show
Vicky Andrews, the mum behind the Suffolk branch of The baby Experts, a community of Pregnancy, Birth, Baby and Toddler businesses throughout Suffolk, is holding its first Central Suffolk baby and toddler show, raising money to help support young women in schools who are missing school days due to period poverty.
The show, which will take place in Stowmarket on April 7, will bring together everything ‘pregnancy, birth, baby and toddler parenting’ all under one roof, with 40-plus businesses attending.
“We have also arranged for fully trained professionals to be at the show on the day to check your car seats are installed correctly, as past data shows us that 66% of car seats are installed incorrectly,” explains Ms Andrews.
“We will be using our small entrance fee to raise money towards our chosen cause of the year. This year we are putting red boxes full of sanitary products into secondary schools in Suffolk to help prevent young women missing days of school due to period poverty.”
Rebranding
Your Telemarketing, based in Bury St Edmunds, is planning a rebrand in early 2019 which will see a launch of new services specifically around helping small businesses to integrate their marketing tactics to deliver more new customers. “This in turn will lead to us recruiting another four staff and moving to new larger offices,” explained director Laura Morrison. “We have seen an upturn in interest in our telemarketing solutions since I won the IOD Director of the year award for Innovation this year.
“We haven’t found new premises yet, but we know we will stay in Bury St Edmunds and near public transport to ensure that non-driving staff aren’t compromised.”
New clinic on the cards
Matthew Long of Matthew Long Mind & Body is hoping to expand in 2019 from being a one-man band to opening a clinic with different therapies available.
He says: “I’m helping people cope with severe stress, anxiety and PTSD. These conditions are becoming more and more prevalent in modern society, from children, teenagers to adults and OAP’s. At the moment, I’m still looking for premises in Bury St Edmunds.”
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