What’s New & Happening in Fulham

What’s New

Gifts Galore

Hemels, a bespoke and luxury gift store situated at 71 Parsons Green Lane, opened it’s doors last month. Owned by long time Parsons Green resident Vladi Ondruskova. Hemels was created after she struggled to find gifting locally and had a desire to make luxury items available to customers in a Fulham location. Vladi told Urban Village LDN “I felt we needed more retail shops within Parsons Green as there are few and even less gift shops at that. Last summer, I went for a short break to Italy where I saw beautiful boutiques and had the idea to start a business showcasing products from small businesses across Europe and beyond by bringing them to our area”.

Despite current challenges Hemels have sourced products from across the globe from popular European stationery brands like Faber-Castell, Clairefontaine and Caran D' Ache, to deluxe Japanese colouring pencils from Tombow, fine glassware from Czech brands like Bohemia and Diamente and candles made in Spain from Ladenac. They are also supporting UK brands including Ettinger and those even closer to home like Ardere candles created by Fuham resident Nicole Windas. The store will also provide monogramming and engraving services across their products and continue to add to their range in 2021 with the addition of leather bags from Florence and more. “The beauty of an independent store is that we can cater to the needs of everyone and are always open to suggestions!”.

Hemels are also passionate about environmentally sustainable brands. Currently they stock Bristol based brand “Vent for Change” who make all their notebooks and stationery from recycled materials such as paper, plastics and leather, a range of beautifully designed wrapping paper created from leftover cotton made in India and candles across all their brands “are made with either soy or vegetable wax for biodegradability and to limit carcinogens - they have a longer burn time so last much longer!”.

Vladi continues “The idea was to travel to make contact with potential suppliers but unfortunately that’s not possible at the moment but it is all planned once we can travel again. Thank you to our customers who came to our shop when we opened and gave us positive feedback.”. We can’t wait for restrictuions in Tier 4 or whatever Tier we’re in next to end so we can see what else is in store when Hemels doors re-open. Until then you can click and collect via the link below or follow them on Instagram @hemels.uk

Artisan Cafe

Naive is the latest addition to Fulham’s amazingly diverse selection of coffee shops. The team behind this independent local artisan café opened their first branch on Parsons Green Lane mid December; additional branches opening soon in Hammersmith and Chelsea. Naive stores provide organic and responsibly sourced coffee, tea and food. Their high quality coffee blends are made from small batches of beans bought at a fair trade price from all over the world through a microlot farming system. For those who don’t know, we didn’t, Microlots are special lots of coffee, selected for their high quality and unique flavour profiles, grown on farms/estates in limited quantities and picked and processed separately. All Naive food is 100% organic and supplied by local farms which grow and offer seasonal fruit, vegetables and more. Their daily fresh menu has gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options, adapts to the time of day and includes “gourmet filled” foccacia breads, pastries and cakes. The Naive “crodough”, a doughnut made from croissant pastry, has proved popular with flavours including Nutella, Salted Caramel and Raspberry. If you’re not a coffee lover we’re told their signature hot chocolate has been going down a storm.

The Naive team told Urban Village LDN “the name Naive was an obvious pick. Like many good things in life, coffee is a rather simple and naive joy; it is a bean, fermented and roasted, ground and filtered, and poured into a cup. Naive is proud of getting coffee right with its high-quality coffee blends. The full potential of coffee, its diverse aromas, its silky smooth texture, and its creamy appearance, is unleashed in London, where the beans are roasted to perfection. Coming in to see us you will be welcomed by the experienced and passionate baristas of the Naive family who are more than happy to tease your taste buds and to go the extra mile with their latte art”.

We love their tag line “work with nature, not against it” and are looking forward post pandemic to savouring a coffee or two in store. In the meantime their doors are open for take away and you can find out more about them by following on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thenaivecompany/ or head to their web site; click the link below.

Need a lift?

LIFT Studios is a new, exclusive, one to one, health fitness and wellness concept with a dedicated team of three trainers and a dietitian, providing Lifestyle, Fitness and Therapy (LI.F.T) services in the heart of SW6. Based at the Matrix Recording Studios on Peterborough Road, a few minutes walk from Parsons Green, the LIFT team told Urban Village LDN that their studio environment will give you “a sense of escapism to focus on training, health and fitness” and that their aim is “to take the guesswork out of finding a well qualified, trustworthy expert in their field”.

“There's a definite local feel within the team and appreciation for the Fulham community”. Luke grew up just over the river in Putney, Alejandra has lived in Putney for almost a decade, Mark is a huge Fulham fan and his Grandad was born and raised on Stevenage Road and Ana has made SW6 her home since moving from Croatia more than 3 years ago. Mark and Ale have known each other for eight years, working together as PT and Dietitian for one of London's top health and wellness companies, and long talked about opening a fully personal and holistic service. “We are excited to have opened our own venture. As a group we have followed each other's journeys for a few years and admired the approaches to training and the standards we all set ourselves. When we sat down to talk about the concept it was easy to see we all had the enthusiasm and ideas to push in the same direction together”.

As a team they have 5 health and exercise research degrees between them and a wealth of experience to help clients change habits and reach their goals; whatever they are. Alejandra is a registered dietitian and lifestyle coach who can help deal with health issues such as IBS and allergies. Ana is an ante and post natal specialist who’s helped over 200 women in London and around the world maintain and regain their fitness and bodies. Mark and Luke are both sports massage therapists as well as highly experienced coaches/personal trainers. As a team they are experienced in helping clients and international athletes with complex health cases, rehabilitation and body transformations.

Take a look at their January challenge which starts on 3 January and includes weekly check-ins, three weekly home workouts, diet and life style tasks with the aim of developing healthy long term habits. For signups and to check out their online platforms hit the link below or find out more by following them on Instagram @lift_fulham https://www.instagram.com/lift_fulham/ or their Facebook Page Lift Studios Ltd https://www.facebook.com/LiftStudiosLtd

Go with the Flow

Last year so many people had to work from home having rarely done so before. At times this was easier said than done especially if you were living in shared accommodation with everyone needing internet access, had connectivity issues prior to the March lockdown, if you were parents trying to juggle remote working whilst looking after children let alone if you were also having to home school; we salute you if you managed to do both. FlowSpace got in touch with Urban Village LDN as they have built a platform that features local, flexible, on demand workspaces near where people live and recently listed locations in the Hammersmith & Fulham borough with more to come.

We spoke to Ieva Dvilinskiene, Co-Founder & CGO, who told us “FlowSpace unlocks a world of inspiring workspaces that ties into the vision for the 15 minute city where residents can truly live locally, with everything they need just a short walk or bike ride away. Fulham with its wonderful local businesses and a lovely community is one of the two neighbourhoods we are focusing on. 2020 has been a year of turmoil but it reminded all of us what the most important things in our lives are. To most of us the year showed how much we all appreciate more flexible working hours, being more in control of our schedule, saving time on less commute, work-life flexibility which means we get more time with our loved ones. However, at the moment there is a lack of local flexible workspaces close to where people actually live and that's where FlowSpace comes in. We'd love to get known by the local community in Fulham and provide locals with the opportunity to change their surroundings when they need it”.

We love the flexibility that FlowSpace offers with short two or four hour bookings, space to get things done, hold meetings or as a regular work refuge. When you sign up there is no further commitment and you can use a different space each time. LoweWorks is their first Fulham space in Peterborourgh Road which can be booked for £10 for four hours or £20 for a whole day. Huddle Hammersmith is located at 3 Shortlands, W6 8DA and costs £8 for two hours or £30 for a whole day. Find out more by heading to their website on the link below or follow them on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/flowspaceuk/

READER OFFER: Use code “double flow” for 50% off

What’s Happening

Local Property Company celebrates 125th anniversary

Marston’s the Fulham property company celebrated it’s 125th anniversary in 2020. To commemorate this special year in the company’s history they are launching a new book entitled “All the More Determined”. W J Marston & Son was founded in 1895 by William James (WJ) Marston who started the company in Hugon Road where Marston Properties is still located today. The company continues to be family owned and is run by WJ’s great-granddaughter Caroline Marston, a 4th generation Marston who lives and works in Fulham; just 3% of family enterprises continue into the fourth generation as Marston’s has done.

The anniversary book describes how the Marston family and their company has survived and developed over the last 125 years. It includes some fascinating insights into Fulham’s history illustrating social changes during this time. A map in the book highlights buildings that Marston’s has built and redeveloped across SW London including extensions to the Natural History Museum and Fulham Town Hall in the 1930s, building the Empire petrol station on the New Kings Road (1938), Bousfield School in Kensington (1954) and the London Oratory in Fulham (1966), air raid shelters and repairing bombed properties during the war. They prioritised helping the council during this time even though it meant losing commercial business.

Roots in the community have been important to them from directly employing 32 people in Fulham frequently multiple members from the same family; ‘Lockdown Selfies’ are included in the book. Marston’s feel strongly that it’s important to be good neighbours and ‘responsible to our community’. Since 2017 it has been the lead sponsor of the Parsons Green Fair which 10,000 people attended in 2019 and it also recently reorganised and rebuilt the playground at the nursery school in Crosland Place, where it is developing rental properties. We didn’t know this but here are approximately 8.5 million trees in London, one for every Londoner and one of Marston’s objectives when it develops a site is to plant more trees than were there before. They are also working with Hammersmith and Fulham Council and Earthwatch to plant a ‘Tiny Forest’ in the borough and recently converted its fleet of company vehicles to run on electricity.

Caroline Marston followed her parents into the hotel division of Marston’s working aged 15 as a chambermaid before joining Martson Properties in 1986. After twenty years as Managing Director she becomes Chairman on 1 January being replaced as Managing Director by John Clarke, a highly experienced property professional and the first non-family Managing Director. Caroline told Urban Village LDN “We hope you enjoy reading this book about our family business and its development which spans three centuries. We are a local, family owned, Fulham property company who has stayed true to our roots and remain in the area where our ancestors founded our company 125 years ago. It is important to us to develop buildings carefully and to preserve their history wherever possible, to play an active role in the community, to look after the environment, our tenants and our employees. We take a long-term view and look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries in the future.”

Happy 125th Anniversary Marston’s and congratulations Caroline on becoming Chairman. “All the More Determined’ 125 years of Marston’s – book out soon! To register your interest get in touch info@marstonproperties.co.uk

New Venue For Hire

New start-up company Inspire Fulham Ltd, conceived during the first lockdown, have been given the task of showcasing the much talked-about permanent site for the Fulham Boys School. They will have the sole remit of letting out this brand new state of the art building situated on the Fulham Road during out-of-school hours.

The founders, Sophia Wade and Juliette Khan are long time Fulham locals, mothers to boys at Fulham Boys School, small business owners and property and marketing experts respectively. Urban Village LDN talked to both Sophia and Juliette in between lockdowns to hear about their ambitions to offer this new venue as a hub for the local and wider community. 

The new venue includes a double aspect hall, a large courtyard, a new gym, drama room, seminar room, dining room and some 20 classrooms.  Inspire Fulham’s objectives are to bring grassroots sports to the fully equipped sports hall, provide spaces for catch-up tutoring, introduce food markets, run shopping fairs, host supper clubs and much more.

Juliette told us 'To be given the opportunity to generate a much needed revenue stream for Fulham Boys School whilst also providing the community with a fantastic new venue and incredible facilities really is the dream. I’m personally passionate about giving small independents and local entrepreneurs a tangible platform where they can reach their consumers without crippling rents and rates, whilst simultaneously giving our community some genuinely exciting and innovative ways of socialising & networking”.

Sophia continues “As one of the ten founders of The Fulham Boys school I am devoted to my Christian faith, sport and business/enterprise. Alongside Juliette, we are committed to delivering opportunities that both mirror and are aligned with the distinct ethos of The Fulham Boys School”.

We look forward to hearing more and when it’s safe to do so taking a look around the new facilities. We’ll keep you posted! In the meantime if you’d like to enquire about venue hire get in touch with Juliette Juliette.khan@inspirefulham.co.uk

Made in Fulham

It never fails to surprise us what a talented bunch you Fulham folks are. Each month Urban Village Ldn introduces you to THe Fulham face behind an idea, product or business and asks them what they love about being a local resident. This month we talk to Lucia Lambert, co-Founder of Baby Bird IVF

How long have you called Fulham home? 7 years. Same address, same apartment.

Tell us a bit about yourself/and your family I am originally from Slovakia but became a British citizen last year as my husband insisted we must wait in the same queue at the passport control. We have a gorgeous two year old girl and a Basset Hound named Fred that is quite the local celebrity.

What’s your favourite local haunt and why?  We try to attend Sunday service at St Eths as often as we can with the wonderful Father Ross. After we always stop in at Drink of Fulham, owned by Zara and Calum. They do a fantastic oat milk cappuccino or something a little stronger if you fancy! My husband loves their extensive options in the world of craft ale!  They both are so knowledgeable with food and drinks and just really friendly and easy going locals. I love the passion they put into everything they do. For a more decadent evening you will find us at Koji, hosted by Rob who now runs the restaurant started by his father many years ago. A true Parsons Green great when you’re looking for a bit more of a glamorous venue. I can dress up, call a nanny for the evening and do a date night with Edward or just catch up with girlfriends over cocktails. The wine list is pretty exciting and the rock n roll shrimp is delicious!

What is your slice of Fulham heaven and why? Heaven is taking Fred, our Basset Hound to Hurlingham Park, having lots of fun then a quick glass of something at the iconic ‘Sloaney’ whilst sitting next to the fire. With nothing to look forward to except more of the same.

What have you missed about Fulham life during lockdowns? I desperately miss Katka coming to Fulham and going for her favourite coffee at Local Hero. She adores Fulham and she can’t wait to be able to visit again. Also I think the sense of community that I missed from chatting to Mums at Maddison Nursery to fellow church goers at St Eths to catching up on all the latest gossip whilst at Aragon House. It was so reassuring hearing everyone out banging their pans etc and giving love to the NHS. It reminded me that we’re all still here together and we will get through it together.

What local shop/service/business has helped make life easier during the pandemic? I started following www.theacway.com. They’re food & lifestyle bloggers who follow an 80% plant based diet and believe in a healthy balanced lifestyle. The blog is a ‘lockdown baby’ and it made me reflect on the way I consume my food. As many others I started to cook more, enjoy not just the food but the process of making it too. It helped me pay more attention to what I put into my body as I became less active in lockdown. The ladies who started the blog are Fulham residents and use local suppliers for their ingredients so it's super easy for me to follow. They are fabulous!

If you could do one thing to improve Fulham what would it be? I would say remove those bollards in Peterborough Road as it gives me heart failure squeezing through everyday. Katka says there's not enough hotels in the Parsons Green area.

Tell us about Baby Bird IVF and how it came to be.  My best friend and I were unfortunately going through Fertility Issues and IVF at the same time. Katka in Prague where she lives and me here in London. We both were under 30, healthy, without any obvious cause for our infertility. 1 in 8 women have fertility issues in their lifetime. We FaceTimed several times a day just to compare where we are with IVF progress and it helped that someone was going through the same issues I was. But there were major differences in our experiences. That’s when I understood that the journey to IVF in the UK is so much more expensive and complicated.  IVF on the NHS was taking forever so we decided to fund it privately. I was quoted over ten thousand pounds easily and Katka barely a couple of thousand. Have you ever felt IVF envy? It’s when you envy an IVF treatment or a standard of care that you yourself are not able to afford. I know it too well now.  We decided to fly to Prague and do our IVF abroad.  We flew to Prague and Katka and I underwent the IVF together at the Prague clinic. It was such a great experience as I had someone there who showed us around and looked after us during our stay. She made it very easy for us and arranged everything. It felt like a mini city break. We have three IVF kids between us now and we set up Baby Bird IVF a friendly FREE support agency for couples wanting to travel to Prague for IVF.

What advice would you give to someone who's thinking about IVF?  There are so many support groups online that are 100% free and anonymous. You are not alone and there are so many women and men who can relate, help advise or just listen.  If you don’t qualify for IVF on the NHS and you can’t afford the IVF prices in a UK private clinic you could research IVF abroad. Better standards, no waiting time and fraction of the cost. Of course COVID makes travelling so challenging and very confusing so find a third party who will be able to help you navigate the constant changes. 

Spotlight 

URBAN VILLAGE LDN SHINES A LIGHT ON A DIFFERENT FULHAM BUSINESS EACH MONTH. IN THIS ISSUE WE TALK TO SOPHIE SEDGWICK-DWANE, FULHAM RESIDENT AND CEO / PACK LEADER OF LUXURY DOG ACCESSORY COMPANY PUGALIER OF LONDON

Pugalier of London, believe that all dogs are treasured members of the family and as such they deserve to be healthy, happy and most importantly indulged in high-quality, well-fitting dog accessories. Sophie has always loved dogs but her Pugalier “Cognac” inspired her to to start the business in autumn last year when she discovered a noticeable gap in the market for a size conscious dog accessory brand. “When I started shopping for the necessary dog accessory products to spoil Cognac, I found I was often disappointed by the sizing, quality and aesthetic nature - I wanted to change that!”.

All Pugalier of London products are made in the UK with the dog in mind and they are so confident about the quality of their products that they come with a lifetime manufacturing warranty. “We have every dog in mind and that’s why we chose to craft our products out of leather. It’s a natural material that softens over time and in the desired places, moulding to your dog giving them the paw-fect fit”. Sophie told Urban Village LDN “We are a true British brand and believe in British craftsmanship, so all our leather and suede products are designed by us and hand crafted in England. We also believe it is important to support and give back to our community and that’s why we donate to Guide Dogs for the Blind. We have been fortunate to be featured in publications such as British Vogue and Tatler. So, whether you live in the city or the country, require a Pooch Pack, a harness or collar, we’re here to help. With our growing range of high quality, timeless designs, your dog can now be treated to the same luxury that you enjoy.  We know your dog deserves the best, so our top priority is creating products that are comfortable but also functional”.

Although Pugalier of London offer a luxurious look they tell us their products are hard wearing and have undergone rigorous testing in gardens, parks and on beaches, they also come with detailed protect and care instructions. We love their smart leather and suede poop bag holders, portable dog water bottle holders and their rolled leather slip leads look fantastic!

Sophie told us about her first few months in business “There were many challenges at Pugalier of London but we have seen more and more people buying pets in 2020. With everyone spending more time at home they have now gone and bought a furry friend which is great as they always need accessories. Being a smaller company and an online company it was probably easier for us to adapt as we didn’t have a retail shop to worry about. We do however work with retailers and they were hit very hard so we tried to give as much support as we could to them. We are really excited for what 2021 has to bring and have learnt a lot from 2020 that we will take forward into 2021”.

”My 2 year old labrador looks gorgeous in his green collar and matching lead. LOVE the protector spray makes the products so easy to wipe down after a muddy winter walk. An excellent product, with the highest quality that I would recommend to any dog owner, big or small! - Harriette J 

READER OFFER: USE FULHAM10 for 10% off (expries 28 Feb 2021), Follow them on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pugalieroflondon/