Support Tring and Shop Local
Welcome to our new website and my first blog post.
I hope that you are enjoying the new site, this is our soft launch so if there is anything that isn’t working well do let me know so that I can fix it. I decided to use Squarespace so that I could make changes easily myself and I am really happy with it so far.
I wanted to use our first blog post to share the Shop Local message, I really believe that by supporting local businesses we can keep our community thriving and growing. We have an amazing wealth of businesses on our doorstep that work so hard to keep our High Street (& town) thriving so I thought that now is the perfect time to share some of the local businesses that have helped me to survive lockdown.
Tring Together are an amazing local charity who are the go to place to find out what is happening in Tring. During lockdown, along with Tring Parish they organised a wonderful virtual act of remembrance for VE Day which I actually found quite emotional to watch.
The Buzz Hub are shop local champions who have a fantastic directory of local businesses on their website. They created an inspiring #shoplocal video with Luma Visual telling the story of local businesses in lockdown that you can view here. My sister in law actually used this video to choose where to buy my Birthday presents from which I thought was really cool.
Tring Living provide another great resource to find all things local and they have some great articles too.
The following businesses are some that have made a huge difference to our lockdown experience in my home.
Lucky Lobster Art - Jo created the fabulous artwork that is on this blog to support local businesses. Check out her Instagram page to see her work, you can even sign up to her art classes.
Physique Fitness - Steve & Mark at Physique have created loads of brilliant home work out videos on YouTube. My eldest son and I have really enjoyed using them for our daily exercise. Joe Wicks has done some great work and fundraising but nothing compares to “The Guest Boys Workout”!
Tring Bookshop - We have used them a number of times for everything from Dictionaries to Short Stories. Our best buy was The Boy, The Mole, The Fox & The Horse which is now my sons favourite book - I highly recommend it for all ages.
Tring Yoga Studio - Now offering online classes both my eldest son and my husband have loved doing yoga from home.
Jim & Jules Big Adventure - I can’t even put into words how good Jim & Jules selection of Jams & Chutneys are you NEED to try them.
Tot Bop - I discovered Tot Bop through the Tring Together Newsletter and it was a brilliant find. I wanted to find something that I could do with my daughter who is approaching 2 to tire her out and she has really enjoyed this online dance class. My other two, 8 years and 7 months have also been joining too so it’s been fun for all the family.
Fancy That - They cannot be open right now but their wonderful virtual shop allows you to peruse the shelves as if you were there.
Moo Boutique - Dania brightens lockdown with her gorgeous offerings, she shows them off daily on her instagram page including some fabulous offers.
Little Tring Cakes - My Dad & Step Mum ordered me a surprise Vegan Chocolate Cake for my birthday, now I am thinking of an excuse to order another one!
P E Meads & Sons Farm Shop & Puddingstone Distillery - Meads Farm Shop stocks a brilliant range of local produce to tickle your taste buds. All I can say is Puddingstone’s Campfire Gin should really be the official sponsor of my first few weeks in lock-down, before I reigned in the daytime drinking - delicious!!
Suzy Reading - I used to attend Suzy’s lunchtime Yoga classes, (pre my youngest two( and I love her take on self-care and life. Following her on Instagram gives me a daily reminder to keep nourishing my mental health and make time for those moments of soothing self-care.
Beechwood Fine Foods - Sarah & Toby are open and have a wonderful selection of fresh, British produce.
Needlecraft - Needlecraft’s home delivery has meant that I could spend some lock-down hours creating my daughters 2nd Birthday present, a baby carrier for her dolls so she can carry her babies like mummy carries her baby brother.
The Tyre Changers - Jon comes to your house and carries out repairs and replacements.
Tring Winery - Fantastic service from Tring Winery, delivering to your door. I ordered a bottle for Lisa & Amanda on their Birthdays which was thoroughly enjoyed.
Although this is a very long list, I am sure that with my isolation brain I have forgotten many people, who are all just as appreciated. Do check out the Buzz Hub for shop local inspiration.
I know that we live in an exciting time when the internet opens up our world to so many discounts and impulse buys but shopping local makes a difference to all of us in the community and keeps the town’s community spirit alive. As small business owners, we really put everything into running our businesses because we want to share our passion with the local community. Every penny you spend in a small local business makes a real change to our lives, meaning we can keep the community thriving.
It’s true what they say:
“When you buy from a small business, an actual person does a little happy dance”
Just a quick example, we know that you can buy REN from many other places. However by buying it through us we can give you tailored advice to create the best routine for your skin, remember, we only see you for 1 day a month so you need to create the tool kit to keep that great feeling lasting for the next 29 days. We can also share our self-care advice and handy tips. You also gain loyalty stamps for every purchase which add up to a FREE REN Product of your choice. Pus, it means that our business can grow as we can support our team to grow their skills and update our offering of products and treatments to you.