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Photo by Alex Leith MY LEWES: CHLOE EDWARDS, SEVEN SISTERS' SPICES Are you local? I’m London born and bred. My partner Charlie and I are life-long renters and our rent in Hackney increased from £60 a week in 1996 to £1,600 a month in 2010; we were priced out and were delighted to find <strong>Lewes</strong> as an affordable alternative. So, quite a difference… At first we lived in Paddock Road, and it was a revelation. The kids were just five and seven, but we could let them roam, as long as they kept to the Paddock. I had time to myself! Did you change jobs? I used to work in deaf adult language support, and at first I commuted. Then my daughter Agi fell ill – she’s fine now – so I had to find something local to do. I taught myself to cook with spices, and set up Seven Sisters’ Spices, partially so I could feed the family healthy food. I was turned down by both markets, so I decided to peddle my wares from a Silver Cross pram, on a Friday. Now I also do workshops, and have developed a product range that I sell on the internet. And in <strong>March</strong> 2017 I was given the green light for a stall at the Farmers’ Market. Is <strong>Lewes</strong> a good place to run an independent business? According to government statistics, <strong>Lewes</strong> District has the second most microbusinesses per capita in the country. So there’s a culture of supporting local business here: perhaps because we all support each other! And in that spirit you set up <strong>Lewes</strong> Women in Business… I’d met a number of women in the town doing their own thing, but they didn’t necessarily know one another, and I realised they really should. With the great support of colleagues – particularly Marisa Guthrie and Sophie Isachsen – we’ve now become a 70-plus-member, not-forprofit CIC. It’s about networking, but also about learning new skills from other members: from SEO, to making a business plan, to voice therapy, to Alexandra Technique. What’s your favourite pub/restaurant? The Swan, I’m so glad they’re doing so well there. Mine’s a glass of dry white wine! We don’t often eat out, but on special occasions, the food at the Limetree Kitchen is excellent. Where do you shop for food? Pestle and Mortar are great for spices and other Asian food; the boys selling veg in Cliffe are great value; I alternate between May’s and Peter Richards for meat. Bickerstaffs in the Riverside have a wide range of fish. What do you do for exercise? We walk the dog in the wetlands behind the Stanley Turner. Working on the allotment in Hope in the Valley is a good work-out. And I do Zumba on a Monday at the All Saints. What a way to start the week, and what a laugh we have, bumping around: it really lifts the soul! Where would you live if not in <strong>Lewes</strong>? On a homestead on a Greek island, with livestock and land to grow vegetables. Interview by Alex Leith sevensistersspices.com / leweswomeninbusiness.co.uk 11