03/04/2026
16 years ago, in 2010, I came to The Courtyard Centre.
Back then, I started a little crystal shop and healing therapies in the main area of the centre, in a converted portacabin between the barn and the pottery. That portacabin is long gone now, but that is where it all began for me. The studios were only half finished then. Studio 5 and Studio 6 were still being built, and I remember looking over at them, wishing that somehow one day I might get to work from one of those lovely little spaces.
At the time there was a photography chap there and another man making hand moulds. It all felt very different then. Full of change, uncertainty and possibility.
Then in 2011, my life changed completely.
I went through a horrific breakup with who I believed was my true soul mate. Sadly, things became very dark and I had to get out for the sake of my sanity and ultimately my life. I decided to shut my shop, not knowing what on earth I was going to do next.
I still remember sitting in the then landlord Jim’s Land Rover, absolutely bawling my eyes out, trying to explain how my life had gone from the happiest I had ever been to losing everything. He did not want me to leave. He told me that the florist was moving out of Studio 5.
I wanted that studio so badly.
The problem was, I could not afford it.
So I made him an offer. I asked if I could take on all the social media for The Courtyard Centre, the website, Facebook, Trip Advisor, Instagram, Google, the lot, in return for slightly reduced rent. (I finally managed to relinquish that commitment last year).
And somehow, my dream happened.
I moved into Studio 5 over Christmas 2011, and I was really happy there for many years. Then later, after a new male client situation got out of hand, things never quite felt right in there again.
By then Studio 6 had been built. Because it was a longer unit, of course it cost more, so naturally that became my next focus. I want Studio 6. Oh, the fun and games that came with that dream. But in 2019, I got there in the end and that is where I have been ever since.
I do not know what the future holds for me at The Courtyard, but I am sure time will tell. What I do know is that I have not done this alone.
Thank you to the old Landlord, Jim, somewhere in Dorset, who truly believed in me and took chances on my ideas when I needed someone to.
And thank you with all my heart to my amazing man Chris, who has stood by me through thick and thin. He has supported my hare brained ideas, even when they did not work out, and still encouraged me to spread my wings and fly. I would like to think I could have done it alone, but the truth is he was, and still is, my rock. He helped me study for all my Level 3s and advanced courses and exams, and he has been a gift from the Universe that I will never take for granted.
I do not get on with many people. I am a little bit odd, I say the wrong thing, I am too truthful for my own good, and I cannot sit still for more than five minutes. Late diagnosed ADHD at its finest. But I am proud of what I have achieved, and I feel so blessed for the handful of people, past and present, who have been there for me and given me that leg up to the next step when I just could not quite reach it.
And last but not least, all my amazing clients and friends who I have made along the way, and who really are the best of the best. Love you all.
Thank you all, with all my heart.