Blog — Poppy Treffry blog

We are so excited that Stage 1 of the Tour of Britain 2021 is starting in Penzance on Sunday 5^th September!

The route takes the competitors past the end of the studio’s road then on through St Ives where our shop is before zooming up to Bodmin.

Penzance prom is looking tip top as it has been refreshed with a surface just calling out to be roller-skated on and set with a number of artworks.

There will be plenty of places to catch the action and a helpful map with suggested timings can be found here.

We know we will be on the route waving our bikes tea towel and wearing our bicycle badge to support the riders (especially Cornwall’s pro cycling team Saint Piran)!

We have teamed up with some of our favourite Cornish businesses for National Friendship Day 2021 and an Instagram giveaway.

Our Poppy Treffry addition to the giveaway is a pair of our mini dry mats so that our winning friends can sit outside no matter how damp the seating is and enjoy their Cornish treats…

There’s only so much we can say in an Instagram caption, so here’s a bit more about why we love them so.

St Eval

Beginning as a family business St Eval’s gorgeous candles and complimentary products are still made on their working farm.

Inspired by nature, traditional methods and staying local, St Eval continue to ‘strive to improve, innovate and nurture’.

At Poppy Treffry Towers we love their evocative scents, stylish packaging and integrity.

Penzance Gin

The amber colouring and smooth, earthy taste is created by the length of time the botanicals are steeped in Penzance Gin.

Their ethos includes ‘much laughter’ and being made so close to our studio, their iconic image of the Jubilee Pool and our love of gin we really are big fans!

Tugboat Coffee

At Poppy Treffry Towers we are big coffee fans, indeed some may say that our mornings are powered by it, and of course so many of our products are ‘stitched by the sea with a nice cup of tea’.

When we found Tugboat in Truro we knew we were onto a winner! Jess and Mike love tea and coffee as much as we do – just they know so much more about it – and the ability to get it posted to the studio before supplies run low means minimum effort for maximum deliciousness.

Cornish Blooms

Beth and Simon at Cornish Blooms take family knowledge and use it to grow English flowers following the seasons.

Beautiful blooms are grown on their farm then picked and sent direct from them resulting in ‘sensible prices’ and the freshest flowers delivered with love.

As our Poppy Treffry studio is nestled amongst the woods we feel particularly aware of the seasons passing and love our floral gifts to fit the Cornish flow of nature - regardless of where we are sending them to in the UK…

Toasted, open or Scooby-Doo style, there are endless ways to enjoy sandwiches and as 16^th-22^nd May is Sandwich Week there really is no excuse not to make your favourite! 

Here are some thoughts about the nation’s classic packed lunch for you to consider whilst you eat yours…

• Sausage sandwich – brown or red sauce?
• Is an open sandwich just a topping on raw toast?
• White or brown bread?
• Do you butter?
• Should tomato ever be allowed in a sandwich?
• Bap/roll/breadcake/other?
• Can you ever eat a toasted sandwich and not burn your mouth?

And of course the most important one of all:

• Why do triangle sandwiches always taste better?!

So far we've introduced you to various members of the team here at Treffry towers but we thought as it's our birthday celebrations at the moment that we should introduce you to the main man, the organ grinder, the boss lady; or Poppy as we also call her!! So we put a few questions together, made her a cup of coffee (she always works better with a coffee inside her, but just one mind!), and sat her down to answer them! What's the most memorable moment of the last 10 years running PT?

Tell us a fact about yourself that we may not know.

I broke my back when I was 17 in a car accident and missed all my A level exams (I did them later in my spare time whilst doing my Art Foundation!)

What do you get up to on a typical Sunday afternoon?

If it's a good sunday then having friends round for roast dinner.....and Justin (my partner) cooks! A not so good sunday - friends round for roast and I cook!

Apart from sewing and designing, what are you favourite past times?

I love knitting and go to a knitting group every week. I always have a book on the go and have just finished Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel which I loved and am now reading Bel Canto by Ann Patchett which is all set during a hostage situation in an unnamed South American country. I'm also mad for a bit of camping (in my van) and listening to the Archers and talking about the Archers and wondering what the Archers characters are up to...

What part of the world would you like to visit and why?

I love traveling and did a lot of travelling in my 20s, including living in Guatemala for 3 years. I'd love to take Justin and our daughter Biba back there for a big trip. I'd also love to go to Panama for their reverse applique textiles, mexico for all their quirky 'Day of the Dead' crafts and Peru for the knitwear.

Travelling with Biba around her first birthday, Vietnam and Australia!

You're shipwrecked on a deserted island - what was the one possession you rescued before the boat sank?

This is a tricky one (don't want to say smart phone - although it would be very sensible as I could call for rescue!) but I would try and save my sketch books

Camping or Glamping (no van allowed!

Love them both (not that I've glamped much!) but I think old fashioned camping would have the edge. Preferably on Troytown campsite on the Isle of Scilly, preferably with close friends and family, a glass of wine and a sunset over the sea...

Favourite book?

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck  - because it is epic!

First ever 'proper' job?

Working as an Art Technician at the Winchester College in Hampshire  - the oldest school in England and posher than Eton - Prince William used to come and play water polo there!

Name the top two things on your bucket list.

Living in New York (though Justin did not rate my idea of a family sabbatical there!)

Going travelling with Biba....I have a hunch she'll enjoy a chicken bus.....

Poppy in her St Ives shop

So.. Thanks Poppy for answering our questions! If you've got questions you'd like to put to Poppy Treffry then keep them in mind and keep an eye on our facebook page as we plan to host a live Q and A session with Poppy soon, details to follow. And join us in a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday to us'!! (check out the picture below for a special birthday treat!)