Behind the Scenes

Do what you love, love what you do...... well I certainly do love my little shop in Lavenham. So, I thought I would give you a bit of an insight to behind the scenes, my values and environmental choices so that you can understand the ethos of The Parlour.

Firstly, my ice cream and sorbet ingredients. Whilst the first consideration has to be to buy locally, free range or organic sometimes this is not always possible. My Rhubarb comes from a trusted supplier in Yorkshire, unwaxed lemons from Borough Market and I am delighted to say that my fresh Guernsey milk and cream is supplied from The Estate Dairy whose cows graze on pastures in the West Country.

Seasonal fruit is grown by Jim at Boxted Berries near Colchester and also Piers at High House Fruit Farm on the Suffolk Coast at Orford. Dozens of free range eggs are collected weekly from Mandy at Elmsett Game Farm in Assington - so hopefully you can see that fresh is best!

A word on everyone's lips is the protection of our environment, especially in regards to the use of packaging, I have used Vegware products for over 5 years, being plant based they are made from renewable, lower carbon, recycled or reclaimed materials and can be composted with food waste.

The inks used for printing our lovely 'Gallery' cups are vegetable or water based; the 5 scoop take home tubs are made from Bagasse which is reclaimed sugarcane. Often confused for plastic, the colourful ice cream spoons are made from plant based PLA. Even the clear film bags used for Pantry items are made from Natureflex which is a clear film made from wood pulp.

Pretty things, such as napkins, tissue paper and carrier bags are made using FSC accredited paper - and I hope that you feel when you leave The Parlour with your chosen gift that it 'ready wrapped' and all you need is a card!

I am proud to support the TerraCarta from HRH The Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Initiative.

The Terra Carta provides a roadmap to 2030 for businesses to move towards an ambitious and sustainable future; one that will harness the power of Nature combined with the transformative power, innovation and resources of the private sector.

In my small way, I hope that The Parlour can make a contribution alongside giants such as Waitrose.

I have no experience in gift buying - I buy what I like - but I try very hard behind the scenes to think of colour stories and how things may work together. Always asking questions of suppliers, to check their ethos, their manufacturing processes and importantly the longevity of the items and quality.

Many have set up co-operatives with artisans in other countries to produce hand woven baskets, jute placemats and organic cotton bags ensuring that fair prices are paid alongside good working conditions.