Put Your Wellies On with… Hopeful London | Show notes

Welcome back to the Put Your Wellies On podcast show notes. If you haven’t already, be sure to give our latest release a listen, and come take a walk with us and our fabulous guests by checking out the rest of our episodes!

In this week’s episode of Put Your Wellies On we chat to Dominique, co-founder of Hopeful London, about her inspirational journey building this incredible business and overcoming immense personal challenges. Hear about how she coped with the unimaginable and created a successful business that let her manage life as a single working mother of 3, with the support of her co-founder Liz. She also tells us more about the importance of support from your business partners and team when running your own business.

Hopeful London ‘s vision is to create beautiful accessories that are durable and functional for life as a working mother. The company maintains a wonderful ethos of supporting British craftsmanship and sourcing sustainably here in the UK. We as consumers are becoming more ethical in our purchases, and Hopeful London truly lives and breathes these principles. Dominique gives us a great insight into why these values are so important to her, as well as the origin of the name ‘Hopeful’. Her positivity is infectious throughout our chat, even finding the bright side in the national lockdown. We hope she brightens your day like she did ours!


The Walk – Ardingly Reservoir

This weeks walk took place in Ardingly, a historic village in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are lots of gorgeous wooded areas as well as a large reservoir. Unfortunately, there isn’t a loop walk around the reservoir, so we walked through some of the surrounding coutryside to create one.

We started at the Ardingly Activity Centre next to the reservoir. The activity center is a fantastic place to begin an adventurous walk, as they provide lots of water sports activities you can get involved with. There is also pike fishing at the reservoir, although you must be an experienced fisher or join on one of the courses. We then followed the edge of the reservoir before joining footpaths through the area to make our way back to our start point. For similar walk routes and ideas check out these Ardingly walks.

Wakehurst Place is also in walkable distance from the reservoir if you fancy incorporating it into your route. The lovely country house has wonderful botanic gardens, and the property is now managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. It is well worth a visit, and the grounds are a lovely destination for a walk all by themself.

Two children looking out over the beach.
Dominique’s favourite photo of her children enjoying the beach in Barbados.

QUICK FIRE QUESTION ROUND

Music or birdsong?

  • Dominique: Birdsong

Multi-coloured or monochrome?

  • Dominique: Monochrome with a pop of colour

Big night out or quiet night in?

  • Dominique: Big night out!

Beach or mountains?

  • Dominique: Mountains

Walk or run?

  • Dominique: Run

Holiday at home or abroad?

  • Dominique: Stay at home

Don’t take your wellies off just yet…

…We have plenty more walking and talking with a stellar line up of guests. Join us next week to hear more about the overnight sensation Meet You At The Barre. You can find all our podcasts here to take us with you, whether you’re on your daily commute or walking the dogs through the great British countryside!

If you want more things welly, then you can also find Nessie’s iconic welly boot illustrations by checking out our website for hand-illustrated personalised gifts. Our original welly boot prints are the perfect way to bring the family walks into your home!