The Countrywoman’s Guide to Work, Life & You…

There’s a lot more to Champan than just making very good bags, as we discovered when we first met Cedric at Badminton Horse Trials in the early May of this year.
What began as simply admiring the quality and craftsmanship of the products on their stand, grew into an inspiring conversation around building a business that cares deeply about their values, materials, quality and customer experience. Not only was it a new brand that we wanted to introduce to our Countrywoman’s Guide community, but also a story we had knew we wanted to explore further and share with you.
So join us on today’s podcast as we talk to Cedric Stonex, owner of Chapman Bags.
Chapman began in 1984, and Cedric has worked his way through almost every part of the business before becoming its owner in 2019. Today, the business continues to grow, but the principles behind it remain firmly in place.
Cedric takes us through his journey in the business, the uncertainties he’s faced along the way, and shares why and how Chapman’s strong brand values inform each business decision he makes.
We also talk about the less visible but equally crucial sides of running a business, from the responsibility that comes with employing people, to having the patience to build something with true longevity and the making of decisions when the safer option isn’t necessarily the right one. It’s a listen that we know will resonate with so many of you, and offer you reassurance as you navigate your own business’s.
You can listen to the full conversation now, wherever you get your podcasts.
If would like to keep with Chapman, you can find their website here, and their Instagram here.

Photography Credits: Team Chapman & Barney Curran

Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business.



Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

So today it feels appropriate that I write you a letter, from my kitchen table to yours…
If I had your addresses, I would have written you an ‘in-real-life’ letter that would have plopped onto your doormat and delighted you as you flipped through your post and realised it wasn’t a bill and that someone had taken the time to write your name and address by hand.
Because that’s what Countrywoman’s Guide feels like to me - a reminder that considered moments are important and need to be honoured.
So, my dear reader, let’s begin…
I know that to honour the rites of “launching” a membership, we should have been jumping up and down in your inbox and reminding you constantly that it’s happening - and I do truly believe that there is a time and place for that for the right reason.
But I also believe that there’s room for us all to do things in the way that suits us, and CWG is a slow burn project. We’re very happy to start and let people see what’s happening and for people to make their way into the paid community when they’re ready. We will put some emails together explaining more of the detail, but if you have any questions before that, please do just message us and ask - please don’t be nervous to do so.
Firstly, let me start off by saying that what we are currently doing (our podcast interviews and posts) will remain free. We started CWG because we believe passionately that hearing other people’s stories is one of the best learning tools and confidence builders there is, and many people have fed back to us that a guest has inspired them to do something.
We also know that we have listeners who don’t run a business, but do enjoy hearing the founder stories from the brands they love, in fact some of our non-business readers have pledged a monthly subscription to help us continue sharing stories - which we are very grateful for.
Secondly, let’s explain why that paid community is aimed at people who are running businesses.
I (Emma) am absolutely passionate about being an entrepreneur, and over the past few years I have helped many people with advice about their business. I’m lucky enough that Rachel Collins and Charlotte Hurst who are also part of CWG are just as passionate about creating something that helps people move their business forward.
The three of us are also great believers in work/life integration - I say integration because hand on heart, none of us can say that we don’t have days when work is all-encompassing and there’s not much room for anything else.
I just mean that we don’t look at work as being something that happens in isolation - it’s part of our lives, but we make a conscious effort to ensure that it doesn’t come at the cost of our families or ourselves.
That’s why our content pillars cover Work, Life and You - because you are the one that often gets overlooked, that never has a moment - and that needs to change. You are the foundation and without you being strong, everything else feels really hard.
So within the Community we’ll be running monthly sessions which cover our three content pillars - sharing with you about how to do business better and live life well.
We’ll be showing you: how to ensure that you harvest the profits from the ideas that you have, practical sessions on legals, understanding your figures and trademarks, better ways to manage all the things you do, as well as guest speakers and time for you to spend working on, rather than in, your business. You’ll also get first access to our CWG lunches and events, because in our humble opinion getting together around a table is a great way to build a community.
But most importantly, slowly and surely you’ll get to know each other and in time you will have built a support network of your own that you can reach out to. How lovely would that be?
Thirdly, I know that some of you may not know who we are outside of CWG, so it’s probably a good idea to give you a little run through.
Rachel is a brand photographer, who loves to capture brand stories and the little details that make them special. She photographs for me for CWG, Hiho, Dimpsey, Beetham Farm and Blackdown Shepherd Huts. Her gentle and calm advice always puts her clients at ease - she is especially talented at putting people who don’t particularly like having their photo taken at ease - I speak from experience here ;-)
Charlotte graduated last year and has a huge appetite for learning, she has taken on the Marketing Manager role for Hiho, Dimpsey and CWG and loves to come up with innovative campaigns and ways of celebrating the businesses we work with. You’ll see her posts and graphics across many of the accounts, weaving words and images that capture the brands perfectly.
And me? Well, I’m 40 years into my business career and still learning. I call myself a Boundary Scout because I love to help people create paths to the future they want, and underpin that with good solid business guidance about how they can do that. I run the businesses mentioned in Charlotte and Rachel’s paragraphs above (apart from Blackdown - I’ve mentored them since they started in 2011 and now do their business development and marketing) and I’m just in the middle of helping my son launch his beef box business.
All three of us love spending time outdoors and will drop everything at the sniff of a good picnic - so baskets are most definitely our accessory of choice!
Finally, let’s cover why I titled this piece ‘Enough’…
Way back in 2018, I set up Hiho & Co and brought together a bunch of amazing ladies to help me create a day that involved getting lots of people into an inspiring space and then sharing style tips and skills like how to do flat lay photography, amongst other things.

We ran a few events before lockdown and I know that people made connections on the days that went on to build into firm friendships that still remain today.
I also know that getting together with other people helped people feel less lonely and more confident about what they were doing - we helped them to see that they are enough.
For our last event before lockdown, I put a saying onto the back of a postcard that went into everyone’s Goody Bags…
It was,
'All you need to do, is be all you can be, for you and no-one else.
Run your own race.
Then, you are enough’
If you buy a piece of Hiho jewellery, you will see that inside every box lid, there is the phrase - Be all you can be - it’s a gentle reminder to inspire you to reach for the things you want to do.
This saying has underpinned everything that I’ve been thinking about for the CWG Membership. Sometimes we are so hard on ourselves and expect that we should be as good as - insert the current person you are obsessing about - who you feel is acing everything, when you’re - insert the current downer phrase that you use about yourself.
When in reality, you don’t need to be so hard on yourself, you really are enough. You juggle many things, sometimes too many, so actually you are already more than enough. The only bar you need to measure yourself by are the standards that you set for yourself - and remember that doesn’t mean you always have to be perfect.
Sometimes moving forward is more about what you choose not to do, rather than what you choose to do.
So if you’re feeling like you’re ready to make some changes that will help you run your business better and give you time to gain some of your life back - you may well be in exactly the right place, right now…
So I’d like to personally invite you to join us in the Membership and find out more about the ways you can start harnessing your potential, believing in yourself and moving yourself towards being all you can be.
We’re based on Substack and that allows us to create a paid tier, which means that we can send newsletters that only our paid memberships receives. All you need to do is to sign up to our Substack using the button below and choose the membership tier that suits you. We’re starting off at £15 per month for the first 50 subscribers, which gets you into our monthly zoom development circle, early release access for our events and subscriber discounts from our partner brands.
Our first session will be on Monday the 17th of August, 1:30pm. This will be an introductory chat on zoom and we’ll take you through the details of what we’ll be doing together as well as finding out from you what you would find really helpful to cover. We’ll also lay out the timetable for the next 3 sessions - which will be recorded so we can share them with you.
I’ve run product and online businesses, bought them and sold them, and I will be bringing those experiences into the room with you where you will of course, be very welcome to ask questions and share your experiences too.
You see, that’s the power of community, you will have people to turn to and together we will talk and solve the issues that are vexing you. Talking things through to solution is the way generations of people have solved things around their kitchen tables or when sitting by the fire, and it’s one we’re keen to carry forward.
You might be asking yourself what you need to bring to the table - and my answer would be curiosity and the willingness to look at changing what you’re doing - because the plain fact is that if you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’re going to get what you’ve always got…nothing changes.
We’re great believers that sharing and supporting each other moves you and your business forward - and that’s why we’re creating this new membership.
We’d love to see you there…

Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business.



Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

There are some podcast conversations that leave you thinking long after you’ve finished recording, and today’s brilliant episode with Megan Haigh is certainly one of them.
Megan describes herself as a fledgling business owner. After being made redundant during covid, she found herself starting again, and discovering a love for a new hobby that gradually evolved into the business we see before us today. A business inspired by the English garden and the countryside she calls home.
But what struck us wasn’t simply her creativity, it was the honesty with which she spoke about building something before all the answers existed.
Like so many entrepreneurs we know, Megan has more ideas than hours in the day. Licensing her artwork, creating her own products, the prospect of a snail mail club, designing dresses - they’re all exciting possibilities! But, the toughest part isn’t the creativity, it’s deciding which path deserves your energy first, and which to put aside for a little while.
Throughout the conversation, Emma shares some gentle but practical business advice, exploring why so many business owners become trapped in what she calls the ‘entrepreneurial loop’. A loop that may feel familiar to many of you, a loop in which you’re constantly creating ideas, but never quite giving yourself the space or time to grow the ones already in front of you.
It’s a conversation about focus as much as it is creativity, learning that progress doesn’t always happen quickly, and how finding the patience to trust that building something meaningful can take longer than we’d like.
Whether you’re right at the beginning of your business journey, finding yourself at another crossroads, or simply on the look out for some beautiful new homeware, we think you’ll find plenty to resonate with in Megan’s story.
We’d love to know what resonated with you the most after listening…
Today’s episode of the Countrywoman’s Guide Podcast is available now to listen to, wherever you get your podcasts.
If you would like to keep up with Megan, her journey, and her beautiful designs you can find her website here, and her Instagram here.
You can listen to our conversation with Kate Cullen, of Fablefaine, here!

Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business.

Photography credits: Kate Cullen


Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

This week I’m joined by Somerset farmer, ruminant nutritionist and newly crowned Dalemain World Marmalade Champion, David Hinkins.
After his wife spotted the competition in Country Life magazine and entering it for eleven years, David finally achieved what many would have given up on long ago, winning the World Marmalade Championships with his Seville Orange and Passion Fruit Marmalade. Not only did he win gold, he became the overall champion, earning a place on the shelves of Fortnum & Mason and helping raise money for charity through every jar sold.
But this conversation isn’t really about marmalade.
It’s about persistence.
It’s about being prepared to learn, adapt and keep going when success doesn’t arrive quickly.
Along the way we talk about:
* The eleven-year journey from bronze medal to world champion
* Why great marmalade takes 24 hours to make, not 15 minutes
* Learning from criticism rather than fearing it
* The hidden role of nutritionists as advisers and listeners within farming communities
* Mental health and isolation in the countryside
* Why farmers often struggle to embrace change
* The importance of holidays, perspective and stepping back
* The value of community and volunteering
* What keeps people going when the odds are stacked against them
One of the things I loved most about this conversation was discovering how many parallels there are between making award-winning marmalade and building a successful life. Both require patience, curiosity, resilience and a willingness to keep refining what you’re doing.
David’s advice is simple:
Never give up. Be prepared to change.
You can find David on Instagram here.
You can buy David’s award winning marmalade in Fortnum & Mason stores and online here. I can vouch for the fact that it’s absolutely delicious and money from every jar goes to Hospice UK and David’s nominated charities.
Photo credit : Hermione Mccosh
Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business.



Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

50 episodes, countless stories and one incredible community - that sounds like something to celebrate doesn't it!
As Emma admits in this week’s podcast, she didn’t even know if Countrywoman’s Guide would make it this far, just like any new venture you always doubt at the beginning whether it will work out, how well it will be received, will people actually like it? But here we are 50 episodes later, and more importantly 50 conversations later, with people who have generously shared their stories, their lessons and the realities of building a life and a business in the countryside.
So, to mark this milestone, today’s episode of The Countrywoman’s Guide Podcast is a little different. Instead of welcoming a guest, Emma sits down with Charlotte Hurst and Photographer Rachel Collins (the other two faces behind CWG) to reflect on the stories that have stayed with them, the community that has grown from the podcast, and where Countrywoman’s Guide is heading next.
As always, the conversation meanders as it should…
Looking back on 50 Conversations
Emma, Rachel and Charlotte discuss the themes that have emerged across all 50 episodes of the podcast, and reflect on some of the stories that really stuck with them.
They revisit our conversations with Lara Protheroe of Coombe Head House, Lucy Scudamore of the Defender Deli, Jacob Lockwood of Lockwood Smocks, Sophie Gregory organic dairy farmer, Gemma Standeven of Gattertop Drinks, Maddie Beaumont from The Cotley Inn & Candlelight Inn, Tess Annan of Welligogs, and Eva Humphries the Wholefood Warrior. Each one offering a different perspective on business, countryside life and following your own path.
What we’ve learnt
From trusting your instincts and embracing the messy middle, to finding community instead of competition, the team reflects on the lessons that have emerged naturally through 50 honest conversations.
Why community matters
The discussion turns to the heart of Countrywoman’s Guide: creating a space where women can share experiences, support one another and realise they’re not navigating business or countryside life alone.
Looking ahead
Emma and Charlotte share what’s coming next, including more Countrywoman’s Guide lunches, opportunities to meet the community in person, and plans for a new Substack membership offering practical business support alongside the free podcast and articles.
Thank you
Whether you’ve listened to one episode or all 50, thank you for being part of the Countrywoman’s Guide community. We hope you’ll join us as we look ahead to the next chapter…

Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business.



Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe