Looking back over 2014 and forward to 2015

It's the start of a brand new year and I hope it brings you all health, happiness and prosperity.

As I'm sure you know, January is allegedly named after the Roman god, Janus, who looked back to the past and forward to the future in his role as god of beginnings and transitions......... and so here are my musings as we move from one year to the next.

Looking back on 2014 we were, as ever, delighted to welcome new stockists to the growing list, whilst we also bade a sad farewell to others.  The retail trade is under siege at present, and it behoves us all to support the independent retailers who afford us choice, service and product knowledge in contrast to the faceless corporations swallowing up the "retail parks".  Head into any of our stockists and you will get a warm welcome from people with a genuine love of what they are doing and knowledge of what they are selling. They will guide and advise you to make sure that what you leave with is something that you will use and possibly even treasure.

And of course, its' not just the cook shops to whom we are indebted - our eclectic list of independent retailers includes pubs, gifts shops, museum shops, farm shops, delicatessens, restaurants, service stations and even a couple of book shops.  Hurrah for initiative, imagination and collaboration.

I would urge you all to support your local shops - they are often cheaper than you imagine them to be and you know the adage - use it or lose it - once they are gone, it is hard to get them back.

We are also very excited to add a very special name to the stockist list - that of Flesichwolf und Lotte - a fabulous cook shop in Berlin - the campaign to spread the word about Shropshire cookware globally is picking up pace.  We hope to be able to bring you more news about export sales during 2015. Update: this lovely Berlin store has now closed, but Netherton cookware is available across Germany in the Manufactum stores

Right from the start, we have had some amazing backing from some great chefs, including Will Holland, Stevie Parle, Marcus Bean and Phil Leverington and this has continued throughout 2014.

Our woks are now in use at the simply stunning MomoNoKi restaurant in Shrewsbury, home to the supremely talented Chris Burt. Update: Chris is now at the Mytton and Mermaid

Adam Gray, of the Michelin starred Skylon restaurant, used our pans for his demonstration at Taste of London Update: Adam is now at the Devonshire Club in London

Food writer Diana Henry described our range as her "find of the year", with the warning of "Look out" aimed at the giant that is le Creuset.

And to top it all off - what about Nigella Lawson owning one of our slow cookers and describing it as "a thing of beauty" - we can't wait to hear what she is going to cook in it.
Here it is in her kitchen.......

Food festivals
2014 saw us return for the second Shrewsbury Food Festival - and what a success story that is - all credit to the organisers for creating a "must go" event right from the off.   Record attendances, great demonstrations from everyone on the Wenlock Spring stage - using Netherton Foundry pans of course - a mouth watering selection of food and drink suppliers, first class entertainment and the opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new ones. Where else will you meet a town crier who is over 7' tall.......

It was our first year at Ludlow Food Festival, which was phenomenally hard work and tremendous fun, we were invited to the Lichfield Food festival by our friends at the Kitchen Shop, where our Lichfield Oink went down a storm.

 and a first all round for the Severn Valley railway - a brilliant combination of steam trains, food and drink.


Looking forward to 2015 - there is lots of exciting news in the pipeline, but we are sworn to secrecy, so you will have to be patient.

What I can tell you  is that we are already working on new additions to the range (check out the recent Facebook postings), are in negotiations for some major export opportunities, will be back at Shrewsbury and Ludlow Food Festivals, are always on the lookout for new stockists..............and look forward to talking to as many of you as we can either through the power of social media, on the phone or even in person.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

An eclectic mix and an openminded approach

Looking back 18 months to when we first started the Netherton Foundry adventure, I wonder if we were entirely sane?

There were so many good reasons for doing what we embarked on, provenance, sustainability, eco awareness  - of which more later, but with the High St in the doldrums and the economic outlook gloomy to say the least, WHAT WERE WE THINKING?

We even decided to supply only to independent outlets and not approach the multiple retailers, but one of the reasons for that is that we are fond of our High Streets and we don’t want them to lose their individuality and originality.

And now in 2013,  we face more economic hardship, and we have seen the disappearance of some major retail names, but our determination to succeed and bring quality, value and British made products to High Street is as strong as ever.

Naturally, when we set out we assumed that the obvious place to sell our first item, the cast iron slow cooker, would be in traditional cook shops………

So, being perverse, I went to a local ironmonger/hardware store run by the 4^th generation of the same family and a local delicatessen!

Sadly the ironmonger has decided to retire and generation 5 was disinclined to carry on the business. However, such was the appeal of the products that all was not lost as the gift shop next door simply took over and now Editions on the main street in Bewdley sells the slow cooker, a range of clocks and our lovely new cookery book stand



Of course, there are now lots of cook shops – but still not enough – selling the Netherton Foundry range, but the range of outlets serves to highlight how imaginative and adventurous independent retailers can be.

Not only can you buy Netherton Foundry products in cook shops – a full list is on our website, but you can also find them in museums, farm shops, delicatessens, interiors shops, gift shops, hardware stores, pubs and service stations on the M6 and now the M5 (admittedly these are  the wonderful Tebay and Gloucester Farm Shops, but they are still technically  service stations!).

We are now regularly featuring these stockists on the home page of our website , so have a look and see who you recognise.



We started with a strong sense of what we wanted to achieve, supported by all those feel good words that are so often bandied about – ethics, sustainability, quality, principles, mutuality.

We have learned from our local history here in the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, matched traditional crafts to modern technology, sourced natural and local, wherever possible, materials and set up trading terms to support and sustain independent and local businesses.  We do not demand huge minimum order quantities, we listen to our stockists, and we talk and listen to our customers. And we are constantly looking at ways in which we can do better.

We are small and friendly – we want to grow, we do not want to lose our identity or our connections with our customers.

So please help us and support your local shops.  If you know of anyone who would be interested in becoming a stockist, ask them to get in touch.
I will be doing a special blog shortly, all about the fabulous independent shops in Bewdley, so keep a look out and if you want us to tell people about your local shops, we'd be happy to support them.