Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2008 | Page 111

LOCAL BUSINESS

life

Sue Edwards

There’ll be a welcome
by the fireside
You’ve been slogging away at
the office in the city until your
nerves are taut as wire. You
can’t wait to leave your city
home and get back to your
home on the Island. But when
you get here, there are the beds
to be made up, food to buy ….
Not so if you are a client
of Mrs Brown’s. The
heating will be on, the Aga
lit, food in the fridge, beds
aired: whatever you need to
prepare your Island home
for you will be done.
Having “an old fashioned
housekeeper” to look after
your house in your absence
is the brainchild of Nicola
Williams. “Mrs Brown’s is
a one-stop shop for second
home owners,” she explains.
“It means they can come over
and do what they want.”
Nicola will stock the fridge
with any requested food,
Island produce being a
particular passion of hers.
She will tidy up the garden,
even do a bit of painting if
required, and unload the
dishwasher after a client’s visit.
“They can have a meal, shut
the door and leave, and I
will pick up after them. It’s

often a question of thinking
ahead for them,” she says.
Nicola is very particular
about cleanliness. Bathrooms
are left gleaming and kitchens
are spotless. “These are
expensive houses, which
deserve to be looked after,”
she says. She points out that
Mrs Brown’s is not a cleaning
agency. “Housekeeping is far,
far more than that,” she says.

For information, visit
www.mrs-browns.com.
Email info@mrs-browns.
com. Or phone 812036.

Island Life - www.isleofwight.net

Branching
out at Doris
Pinks
Doris Pinks has turned a
whiter shade of pale. The
vibrant florist in Newport’s
High Street has a fresh
new look for 2008, which
complements the simplicity
of the up-to-the-minute
arrangements for which
this business is known.
“Customers can now see us
preparing their arrangements,”
says Sue Edwards, florist
proprietor. “The comfy seating
area for consultation has
been retained, but now it’s by
the exciting new wall of silk
flowers in the body of the
shop. But what’s really great
is that we’re just putting the
finishing touches to our bridal
consulting suite upstairs.”
Sue likes to start with any
ideas which are the bride’s
own, and give advice from
there. “If her theme is
countrified or
minimalist,
we can offer
flowers which
complement.
And we
tailor-make
to the client’s
budget.
“I love going

into the bare marquee,” she
adds, “knowing what I create
will bring the event alive.”
For corporate events she
weaves appropriate themes
into her table decorations.
In fact her contract work,
where floral arrangements
are refreshed on a weekly
or fortnightly basis for
businesses Island-wide, is
ready to expand. She is
offering personnel contracts,
to make it simple for firms to
send floral tributes to staff
who are poorly, or pregnant.
Special deals on bouquets for
employees, and a loyalty card
scheme, are in the offing.
On Valentine’s Day, Doris
Pinks’ drivers will deliver
to the restaurant where the
couple are dining. Mothering
Sunday too is destined to be
busy. Look out for her fusion
of trendy and traditional,
the planted arrangements
in coloured sand.
Doris Pinks, 135 High
Street, Newport. Tel 526826

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