Don’t want to work on Maggie’s Farm? Visit The Farm in Stratford instead. It’s cool and you’ll have a good time there.
The Farm is a rare place, you’ll wish you’d discovered it sooner. When you do, you’ll want to hang around a while. Set close to the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon, in the heart of the Warwickshire countryside, it’s a totally unique space, put together with hard-work, soul & style – including a cookery school, brilliant cafe & an amazing farm shop promoting wholesome, local, ethical & sustainable food. If only it was close enough for us to go there for lunch every day.
Like ours, The Farm is a family-run business and they are real advocates for responsible closed loop supply. We’ve been proudly supplying The Farm with home essentials in bulk 200L returnables for a few years now and it’s one of our very favourite stores to visit.
The Farm is somewhere we really admire and one that we often recommend to others who are looking for examples of how to do refill well – or just a cool place to visit. We wanted to share more about them here. So, we sent Charlie a few questions and here’s what she said…..
HOW DID YOU WIND UP AT THE FARM (WHAT’S YOUR STORY)
We bought The Farm back in 2017 when it was falling apart and completely derelict. We saw it as a challenge and wanted to build an artisan food hall, farm shop and wellbeing destination that celebrated great, British food.
WHAT MAKES THE FARM A COOL PLACE TO BE
It’s incredibly diverse but also beautifully traditional. We have elements of a classic farm shop but also London-style food halls. We always say, “we’re not your average Farm Shop” because we sell such an array of foods, produce and collaborate with such different, small, independents. That’s what makes us so different.
WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON
A Wellness Space! I’m very lucky that my sister is in the fitness industry so we’re going to work together on expanding well being at The Farm. She already does outdoor yoga and fitness programs with our customers and they love it!
WHAT STARTED YOU OUT IN REFILL/ZERO WASTE/LOW IMPACT LIVING
It’s just the BEST thing! We bought our first refill in 2018, before we even opened The Farm… and ever since then we’ve just kept adding refills. Everyone should be living a zero waste life! It’s not a new trend, my Granny was ‘refilling’ when she was my age (50 years ago)… it’s just gone full circle and it’s amazing to see.
BEST MOMENT
We hosted an Open Farm Sunday event one June at 9000 people turned up! Just 2 months after we opened… it was crazy but amazing!
A VALUABLE LESSON
Trust your gut! As the business grows, more people comment on the running of the business and it can really get to you. Sometimes it’s super helpful and really appreciated, other times you just need to trust your own decisions and roll with it.
WHO IS YOUR ZERO (LOW WASTE) HERO
You guys! & Catherine Conway from Unpackaged… zero waste queen!
WHY
She taught us a lot over the past couple of years and it’s amazing to learn.
AND FINALLY…
THINGS YOU COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT
Peanut Butter, my pig Pamela, family & friends.
WHAT SONG WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD TO THE FILL CLEAN REPEAT PLAYLIST
California – Phantom Planet
You can follow The Farm over on Instagram or find out more here.
