Vicki Harris founded planet-conscious, plastic-free gift box business From Suffolk With Love between the lockdowns of 2020, and has championed some of the best small producers in the county ever since. Here, Vicki explains what she’s learnt along the way – and her new direction
As we get into the swing of the new year, I am making some changes at From Suffolk With Love. I have decided to continue my journey focusing on my love of Suffolk, including sea swims, beach combing, discovering, and supporting local businesses and planet conscious info and probably a blog or two! However, I will no longer be offering my plastic-free gift boxes. This does mean that a clearance sale is now in full swing. So, head over to fromsuffolkwithlove.co.uk if you want to grab yourself a bargain!
My FSWL journey has been fantastic so far, albeit with a bit of a stress trying to fit it all in. I am currently studying towards an environmental science degree, I do some conservation volunteering and run FSWL all around my two little ones. The main thing I have learnt, especially in this last year that I have started studying, is that I can’t do it all.
I have also learnt so much through the community of small businesses on Instagram. There has been an amazing amount of support from a brilliant group of people and it’s fantastic to discover new small businesses through them, or tips on how to run my small biz, or even just life hacks in general. Many accounts I follow also offer up a deeper insight into environmental issues so, even though I thought I was quite clued up on these issues, there is still so much to learn.
Another thing that FSWL has helped to bring me is a love of cold-water swimming. Something that I may not have continued without my swim buddy Steph (@creatingcaringconnectionscic) and some lovely ladies in my local Bluetits group. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone but make sure you read up on safety first. The official Bluetits website has lots of advice for new starters. You just can’t beat a sunrise swim on a clear day looking out to sea – even if the alarm goes off at 4am over the summer. Expect plenty of sunrise spam on my Instagram this year as I hope to crack 100 swims by the end of it.
I hope you’ll stay with me for the next chapter of From Suffolk With Love and I massively appreciate all of your support so far. Let’s see where the journey takes us next!
Follow @from.suffolkwithlove on Instagram and @fromsuffolkwithloveco on Facebook.
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