Viva Lewes Issue #138 March 2018

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 Lewes 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 March 2017 I was given the green
light for a stall at the Farmers’ Market.
Is Lewes a good place to run an independent
business? According to government statistics,
Lewes 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 Lewes 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 Lewes? On a
homestead on a Greek island, with livestock and
land to grow vegetables. Interview by Alex Leith
sevensistersspices.com / leweswomeninbusiness.co.uk
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