Boho Boxmoor

Boxmoor K9 services for dog owners

Boxmoor K9 Services, run by Sue Monk who is a pet dog trainer and obedience handler, provides a dog walking service in Boxmoor and surrounding areas. 

Sue has experience with many different breeds, sizes and ages of dogs and is a member of the Kennel Club Accredited Instructor scheme working towards accreditation.

Dogs are collected and walked in beautiful local areas and delivered back to your home again.

Meet Tipsy and Boozy, Sue's own dogs (above), who, when are not training love nothing more than running in open fields and having fun.

Please feel free to call Sue Monk anytime on 07879 282 824 or for a full range of K9's services see www.boxmoork9services.com 

TWITTER: A essential beginner's guide

Robyn Heard runs a social media consultancy for businesses in Hertfordshire called Pink Tipi. She's written this handy guide for Twitter newbies, particularly those who want to use it for business networking.

ROBYN writes: Twitter unfortunately is not very intuitive and can sometimes feel like a bit of a minefield. Here are seven essential tips which will have you well on your way:

1. Choose a Twitter name
If you're tweeting for business, this should be your company name (or as close as you can get it). Tell people who you are in the ‘bio’ space – ie “Tweets brought to you by Virgin Media’s Owner, Richard Branson. Virgin Media is a …”. This makes it clear to anyone at a glance what your business does and adds the personal connection by identifying who is actually tweeting.

2. Personalise your account
Add an image - for a business account this should be your company logo. Change the Twitter background to something which reflects your business. Add your location and fill in your website address. Think carefully about this as this information will be the basis of many people’s first impression.

3. Connect with lots of people
Start engaging with your relevant communities: look for people using Twitter who are in the same industry as you, are local to you, or are involved in things you are interested in. Then look at who they are following to find more. The search function in Twitter will help you find accounts to follow. You can always ‘unfollow’ poeple at a later date. It would not be a bad thing if by the end of your first day on Twitter you were following 200+ people.

4. Lists
Make lists and add people to them as you find them. Consider what groups it would be useful for you to keep together, these could be things like location, industry, and expertise. People can be added to more than one list - ie a shoe shop in Hitchin could be put into a ‘Retail’ list as well as a ‘Hertfordshire’ list. You can have a maximum of 20 lists so think about what will be most helpful to your business. By doing this you will be able to just view that list’s tweet stream, this is invaluable when you are following hundreds of people but only want to know what is happening in your industry.

5. Integrate
Make it easy for people to find and follow you. Add links to your Twitter account from your website. Connect your Twitter account to any other social media platforms you are using for your business, for example LinkedIn. If you have a blog on your website, post about getting your new Twitter account so people reading your blog know that they can follow you there too.

6. Tweet no matter how few followers you have
At first tweeting to no-one can seem a little disheartening, but you should act like you are tweeting to your whole potential customer base. This is important because before choosing to follow you people will look at your recent tweets to get a feel for what you tweet about.

7. Engage
No-one joins Twitter to be broadcasted to. Interact with the people you follow and who follow you. Try to answer questions people have posted, or offer your own opinions and recommendations. Tweet about any new blog posts you write. Retweet other people; if someone in your area is looking for a gardener and you have 100 local followers, retweet that person’s request. They will be grateful and anyone able to answer that tweet will be grateful for the business opportunity. By continually being a useful part of your social network your following will continue to grow as will your influence.

I hope this helps... Happy Tweeting - Robyn

You can follow Robyn on Twitter at @PinkTipi. Read all of her 'Getting Started on Twitter' article on her blog. And find out more about Pink Tipi here. 

THE NEXT STEP: Seven Ways to Lose Twitter Followers by Robyn Heard

Foodies' delight: Beechwood Fine Foods in Tring

I found a new favourite place this summer: Beechwood Fine Foods in Frogmore Street in Tring. With seating for 10 (which includes a sofa and armchairs) you can chill out in their bright, modern cafe area, sipping latte or Fairtrade tea and considering which goodies to add to your shopping list.

Their range of upmarket local foods includes handmade choccies by Tring-based Kiwichik, Herts-made specialty breads, homemade cakes, farm vegetables, and meats sourced in Wobourn, Bedfordshire. There are also pure foodie delights, like quince syrup, West Country meringues, gooseberry and elderflower jelly, and an enticing array of vinegars, oils and sauces.

The shop is run by Toby and Sarah Murray, and they are to be congratulated for bringing to the area what's effectively a farm shop, with so much grace and style. Toby had me completely convinced of their commitment to local foods when I dropped by - if they can't find a foodstuff from this region, their second consideration is small British suppliers who are big on taste and quality.

All their cheeses are British, including the delightfully named Wobbly Bottom Farm goat's cheese, produced just outside Hitchin. Their eggs are from Aylesbury. And a big tick for me - they sell Smith's Coffee, which is produced right here in Apsley.

One of their special features is their daily breads, and on weekends this becomes speciality breads - black olive, brie and sun-dried tomato, cheese and mustard. Do stop by if you're in Tring or just in need of a treat. Say you're from Boxmoor... if enough of us do, maybe we'll get out own branch one day?

Beechwood Fine Foods, 42 Frogmore Street, Tring HP23 5AU. Open 7 days a week. Parking is in the pay and display car park further down Frogmore Street. Tel: 01442 828812. Website to come.

Nutrition4Life: Boxmoor's answer to a healthier you

BOHO BOXMOOR JULY SPONSOR Alyson Carter is a nutritional therapist who's treated more than 300 clients, working from her home-based business Nutrition4Life in Boxmoor as well as clinics in Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead.

What's nutritional therapy?
Nutritional therapy is a complementary therapy which utilises foods and vitamins and mineral supplements to encourage the body’s natural healing. The aim is to detoxify the body, correct vitamin and mineral deficiencies, restore healthy digestion and help develop a positive mental attitude.

 

 

The Old Dairy studio: The art of jewellery making

Tracy Furlong and Martin Hopton are two professional jewellery makers committed to transporting their art and skills from London's urban setting to rural Hertfordshire. Last year they took over a barn in Beaumont Hall Farm, between Hemel Hempstead and St Albans, and kitted it out as their ideal studio.

Now, they not only work from the Old Dairy studio (above), they also offer taster classes and short courses to anyone keen to learn the art of jewellery making.

IN PICTURES: THE OLD DAIRY STUDIO AND HOPTON & FURLONG'S WORK

Both Tracy and Martin are graduates of St Martins Art College London who have exhibited nationally. Martin got a first class honors in 1990 and Tracy grauduated with a higher second class honours in 1998. Martin still teaches BA and MA courses at St Martins, as well as spending 10 hours a week at his studio in London's jewellery centre, Hatton Garden.

They are busy professional jewellers, working on individual commissions, their own designs, and model making - producing a single piece to order that will then be used to create a line of jewellery. Their commissions range from engagement rings, wedding rings, dress and occasion rings, watches, pendants and earrings to more unusual items like bespoke champagne flutes.

Martin's style is influenced by Victoriana, and he even specialises in items in vogue during that period - ornate enamelled unbrella handles, for example, or mourning jewellery to commemorate a lost loved one. Tracy's produces timeless, delicate pieces with a focus on texture and colour.

Martin was also trained as a cabinet maker and all the benches at The Old Dairy are of his own creation, made using traditional skills. He supplies bespoke jewellery benches to other studios.

If you'd like to try Martin and Tracy's jewellery-making classes, they offer five-hour one-day courses on the second Sunday of each month, which will cost you £50. There are also classes on Monday afternoons, and a seven-week course starting in the summer, from £225.

Your first project will be to make a simple copper band. Then you'll progress to pendants, stone-set rings, earrings, cufflinks and gift items. They teach every jewellery-making technique other than enamelling.

There's also a reference library at the studio that students can access. Tracy and Martin's goal is to offer everything that students usually travel to London for, right here in Hertfordshire. They also hope to build a network of jewellery makers and artists in the area, with their Old Dairy studio as one of the centres. To find out more, contact Tracy and Martin using the details below.

Hopton & Furlong, The Old Dairy, Beaumont Hall Farm, Beaumont Hall Lane, St Albans, Herts, AL3 6RN. Tel 07821288302 or 07931736959 or 01582 799040. Email hoptondesign AT yahoo.co.uk.

The local brew: Take a tour of Tring Brewery

By ADRIAN GILBERT Walking through the door into Tring Brewery it all came back to me. As a student, many years ago, I’d worked in my local brewery during the holidays, and here in Tring the tangle of pipes, the clatter of the metal kegs being racked and, especially, the assault of beery smells on my nose took me back more years than I care to remember.

Like my old workplace, Tring Brewery specialises in producing traditional cask ales made from malted barley, hops, yeast and water. They reckon the local hard water – suitably ‘Burtonised’ – is a vital ingredient in making the perfect pint. Established in 1992 the brewery is part of the micro-brewery movement that has massively expanded the range of beers available to the drinking public.

At present the brewery is tucked away on Akeman Street (the road leading up the National History Museum) although a move is planned to new premises opposite Tring’s Tesco supermarket, which will allow increased production and a literally more visible profile.

Tring Brewery produces an impresively wide selection of beers – bitters, blonde beers, stouts, strong ales – that should suit all ale-drinking palates. Among the most popular are the Brock and Ridgeway bitters and the award-wining Side Pocket for a Toad. The brewery makes a feature of the idiosyncratic names given to its products, most reflecting local themes or characters. And being a small brewery it has a high level of flexibility, enabling it to produce short-run monthly, seasonal and special-occasion beers as well as the standard ales.

At present some 150 pubs, restaurants and clubs in the surrounding region take the brewery’s output. Local pubs selling their ales include the Rose and Crown in Hemel Old Town, the Boar’s Head in Piccott’s End, the Rising Sun in Berkhamsted, the Valiant Trooper in Aldbury, the Greyhound in Wiggington and The Kings Arms in Tring. You can also buy beer directly from the brewery’s own on-site shop, as well as taking a tour of the brewery (see website for details).

Tring Brewery is taking part in National Cask Ale Week (29 March to 5 April) and as part of the celebrations it is bringing out its own special ale, Salute. This beer is a tribute to Britain’s armed forces, and with every firkin of Salute sold, a £5 donation will be made to the Help for Heroes charity. I’ll drink to that.

Tring Brewery Company Limited, 81-82 Akeman Street, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 6AF. www.tringbrewery.co.uk

FOLLOW TRING BREWERY ON TWITTER

Devoted 2 Vintage 2.0

Boxmoor's retro clothing shop Devoted 2 Vintage has closed its doors on St John's Road to concentrate on its online business.

Hemel Hempstead locals Paul and Bernice Armstrong both gave up other careers to open their vintage clothing store nearly three years ago. Very soon, it became clear that selling online was the profitable arm of their business, accounting for up to 85% of their trade.

Devoted 2 Vintage's website receives 1,500 visits a day and is top ranked in Google for 'vintage clothing' and second ranked for 'vintage clothes'. Meanwhile, the company has been featured in national magazines and receives orders from around the world.

But Paul and Bernice haven't gone far - they've moved the business to Unit 4, No.23 Kingsland Road, Boxmoor HP1 1QD. They will no longer trade as a shop, but they can see customers by appointment and will honour any vouchers. You can contact them via the D2V website or on the number below.

They will continue to sell their clothing at vintage fairs, such as Hertfordshire Vintage Fairs, and are considering taking a regular stall at one of the big London markets.

Wishing Paul and Bernice the best of luck for the future - especially as they have a new model for baby vintage clothes on the way in April!

DEVOTED 2 VINTAGE, Unit 4, No.23 Kingsland Road, Boxmoor HP1 1QD. Tel: 0845 2997633. www.devoted2vintage.co.uk

Smith's Coffee Co. in Hemel Hempstead

I first met Colin Smith, owner of Smith's Coffee Co., on Christmas Eve when I went to pick up a bag of coffee that I'd ordered as a present for my husband. It was 6pm in the evening; women were wrapping presents in one room, Colin was tending the ham in the large kitchen full of other cooking smells, and there was a box of assorted coffees at his feet, awaiting collection.

The picture pretty accurately sums up Colin and his business - one with lots of things going on and built around the family.

Smith's Coffee Co. has been operating in Apsley, Hemel Hempstead since 1997. Before that, this family-run business had been in Mill Hill, north London for 20 years. Colin's connection with the coffee trade extends back to his grandfather, who started a coffee and tea shop in Mill Hill in 1935.

Smith's imports coffees from all around the world - Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Central America, Kenya, Brazil, India and Hawaii, to name just a few places. The beans are roasted on site to varying degrees in one of two huge machines imported from Brazil - the darker the roast, the richer and more bitter the coffee. About 8 to 10 tonnes are roasted each week, and you can sometimes smell it as you walk along the canal in Apsley.

After roasting, the beans are left whole or ground and sometimes blended. They are then packaged up on site for sale either to the trade or for retail. 

Smith's stock in trade is specialty coffee. Names like Blue Mountain Jamaica, Kopi Luak (civet cat coffee), Kona Hawaii and Yemeni Matari are emblazoned on the exotic-looking hessian bags stacked high in the warehouse.

TAKE A TOUR OF SMITH'S COFFEE CO. IN PICTURES - CLICK HERE

They retail their coffee to the public via their website or under the brand name The Natural Coffee Company (this is their fairtrade and organic coffee). They also supply coffee commercially to places like Whittard, Leavesden and Elstree studios, Kew Gardens and farm shops. And they provide coffee for other internet retail companies such as Roast and Post. One thing Smith's don't do is sell their coffee in the supermarkets.

Locally, Smith's supply coffee to Tiki Cafe in the Marlowes, The Greek restaurant in the Old Town, Boxmoor Lodge Hotel, and the Waterside Cafe in Apsley. Customers can even order individual bags of coffee over the phone, prepared to their specifications, and pop in to Smith's to collect them.

Lest I forget, another important part of Smith's business is speciality teas - loose tea, organic fairtrade tea bags, green teas and 'gourmet' herbal teas like lavender camomile and vanilla chai.

Colin himself is a mine of information on coffee and the coffee trade. He regularly takes buying trips to coffee-producing countries around the world, and gives talks to local groups. He also gives tours of his factory during the week - you can organise your own by ringing the company. 

My tour ended with a cappuccino in the staff area before a quick browse in a small museum of coffee artefacts that Colin keeps near the factory floor. "Passionate about coffee!" says Smith's Coffee brochure. Yes, I'd say that's about right.

Smith's Coffee Co., Arabica House, Ebberns road, Aspley, Hemel Hempstead, HP3 9RD. Tel: 01442 234239. Email: sales@naturalcoffee.co.uk. Website: www.smithscoffee.co.uk

Coffee, anyone?

 Good news for everyone in Boxmoor - the Village Coffee Shop is now officially open! With cosy seating for about 20, it's the perfect place to meet your friends for a cappuccino, latte, hot chocolate - not to mention a bite to eat or delicious homemade cakes.

There's a children's menu which includes snacks like beans on toast (£1.50) and light meals like sandwich boxes (£2.50) and jacket potatoes. Adults can choose from sandwiches, paninis, jacket potatoes and 'light bites' like omelette and quiche, all for under a fiver.

Well done to the ladies who opened up the Village Sandwich Shop in the summer - they've now completed their plans of having an adjoining coffee shop. It will no doubt soon become an essential ingredient in Boxmoor life.

The Village Coffee Shop, 33 St John's Road, Boxmoor HP1. Tel: 01442 244253. Opening times: Monday to Saturday, 9am-4pm.

Coming soon: The Village Coffee Shop

Boho Boxmoor's work is done. The neighbourhood just became a whole lot cooler with the news that we are finally going to get our very own coffee bar. Gadebridge mums Claire Harris, Anita Winks and Denise Palmer (pictured) have this week opened The Village Sandwich bar at 33 St John's Road (formerly Annie's sandwich bar).

And in August they plan to follow that up by opening up The Village Coffee Shop next door - oh happy day. There will be seating for 12 and Fairtrade and organic coffees such as expresso, cappuccino and latte. There will also be homemade cakes, pastries, hot chocolates and sandwiches. 

You can get all of these items now from the Village Sandwich bar, as well as salads, paninis and baguettes. Why not pop in now to say hello to the very friendly owners and book your place at one of the seats at the coffee bar.

The Village Sandwich Bar, 33 St John's Road, Boxmoor HP1. Tel: 01442 244253. Opening times: Monday to Friday, 7.30am-4pm; Saturdays 9am-2pm.