grumpyf1

On Monday evening, I had the pleasure of listening to the fascinating story of a uniquely Cumbrian business, as told by one of it’s founders. Way back in time (2007, in fact), I was working at Touchstone Interiors, in Skelwith Bridge. Interesting new products were selected regularly, and one day I noticed a particularly striking style take up residence on a shelf in the store. There were only two items on display; a keyfob and a mug, in a selection of bright colours, all with a very simple, but striking, graphic-designed Herdwick sheep’s face on them. I thought they were great, and my niece got one for Christmas. I was unaware at the time, but Herdy, the company behind the unique design, had just started up. During the course of an enjoyable 90 minutes at Kendal College, Spencer Hannah explained how he and wife Diane have developed their company from a potentially disastrous start at the Westmorland County Show (where the Foot and Mouth Crisis left them attempting to launch t...