Issue 51

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PEOPLE LEX FLEMING PHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEUR’S CHAT EMILY WILSDON How husband and wife team Emily and Harry Wilsdon channelled their love of art and theatre to create experience-centred hospitality
PEOPLE riginally from the States, Emily moved to the UK at 21 where she met her husband Harry. Both studied fine art and took ownership of a derelict farm in 2008. “Harry is from a farming family and we originally bought the site for its land, but there were some agricultural buildings prime for conversion including a 15th century timber barn. Harry is a builder and we had developed a couple of properties so we decided to create some holiday lets. This was the start of Creeksea Place Barns. “Things took off in 2010. I had been teaching at a primary school and was on maternity leave. I remember my son William at a day old and me working on the website. I remember that first call from a potential guest – Harry took it and he was so excited he wrote down the dates they wanted to stay but no other details! That was when we decided I would handle the bookings…” The couple soon had six holiday lets and two hotel style rooms and were busier than ever. Needless to say, Emily didn’t return to teaching. When demand called for it, the couple converted another building into a café, originally intended to serve guests. “The café was meant to be quite low key, serving coffee and cake to guests but the locals love it and it has become a community hub and drives the rest of the business. “When the café opened we ran loads of events to get noticed, including evening pop-up restaurants, dog festivals and themed days. This helped build a local following. We have held our mid-summer festival for about seven years – a two night event featuring local bands, a craft tent, food vendors etc. and attracting about 500 people. I absolutely love doing it!” DIVERSIFICATION Creeksea Place Barns has grown organically, reinvesting at every stage as the business matures. It is still an arable farm run by Harry’s father who has also just installed 30 acres of vines. By 2016, it had an onsite gym and spa and, last year, added a barn venue for weddings and events – the Canary Shed. “We’d had a few couples hire the whole site for accommodation for nearby weddings so we thought why not offer weddings here? We looked around the area and tried to find a point of difference for ourselves. We are right next door to Creeksea Place, a Tudor mansion, which offers a traditional wedding experience but not everyone wants that so we have gone after the ‘alternative’ market. We created a colourful, fun, bright space – a farm feel with a modern, artistic twist. We both love art so have had a lot of fun with original artworks, and eclectic, homely furnishings. “We stayed sympathetic to the original features such as the elm beams in the barn, and even the cool corrugated iron roof on the old industrial building that became the café. In fact we took it off, put up a new, insulated roof then re-erected the original roof inside”. It’s inside the new Canary Shed where Emily and Harry’s creativity was really let loose. “We knew we wanted a chevron wall at one end and approached a local farmer who had a lot of waste potato crates. It was a real lockdown project, breaking up the boxes and cutting the shapes. Harry would be in there every night piecing it together. The offcuts were used on the other walls as randomly as possible to create an intricate puzzle”. STAFF Creeksea now has a team of around 40, a long way from the days when Emily and Harry were managing the site and working in the café. “We had a part time cleaner but we were so busy that when one LEX FLEMING PHOTOGRAPHY “WHEN THE CAFÉ OPENED WE RAN LOADS OF EVENTS TO GET NOTICED, INCLUDING EVENING POP- UP RESTAU- RANTS, DOG FESTIVALS AND THEMED DAYS” LEX FLEMING PHOTOGRAPHY LEX FLEMING PHOTOGRAPHY WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM 11
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Page 5 and 6: Awards for Excellence Secret Meadow
Page 7 and 8: PRODUCT MHM Expands Ultra-silent Ge
Page 9: No matter how busy your day has bee
Page 13 and 14: PEOPLE “The business model works
Page 15 and 16: FUNCTION VENUES NESTA LLOYD WWW.NES
Page 17 and 18: FUNCTION VENUES NESTA LLOYD WWW.NES
Page 19 and 20: FUNCTION VENUES 2 Hashtag this Ther
Page 21 and 22: FUNCTION VENUES Dishwashers are ava
Page 23 and 24: FUNCTION VENUES MEET THE SUPPLIER G
Page 25 and 26: FUNCTION VENUES East Mersea Hall, E
Page 27 and 28: Free next working day delivery* on
Page 29 and 30: GLAMPSITES CASE STUDY Brook Cottage
Page 31 and 32: GLAMPSITES “WE TREAT EACH GUEST A
Page 34 and 35: GLAMPSITES Natural Pools Create the
Page 36 and 37: glamping pods perfect for even the
Page 38 and 39: GLAMPSITES SEBASTIAN COX Sylvascope
Page 40 and 41: 2 - 3 NOV 2022 NEC BIRMINGHAM THE D
Page 42 and 43: GLAMPSITES MEET THE SUPPLIER Get to
Page 44 and 45: 2022 BIGGER THAN EVER Thurs 15 th -
Page 46 and 47: GLAMPSITES Meadow Field Luxury Glam
Page 48 and 49: EVENTS CASE STUDY Irlam Live Bringi
Page 50 and 51: EVENTS headlining the main stage al
Page 52 and 53: EVENTS Green Hydrogen for Events Vi
Page 54 and 55: EVENTS Tent Waste We talk to Dean B
Page 56 and 57: C RE® EVENT-STRUCTURES UNIQUE OUTD
Page 58 and 59: EVENTS PRODUCT IN FOCUS Infrastruct
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EVENTS Drive-through Cinema, Beacon
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Spot light A roundup of products fo
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Classified Directory TIMBER INTENT
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PEOPLE trip. I do this typically on
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Issue 51

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