New Charity Jute Shoppers – Behind The Scenes of The Launch!

Our 2015 Charity Jute Bag campaign was a sell-out success raising over £6,000 for Fishermen’s Mission! This year we’d like to raise even more, so with the help of some of our well-known friends, each with their own connection to the sea, we have even more EXCLUSIVE bags for you to choose from.

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Drum roll please… this year’s bags have been exclusively designed by:

Eleanor Tomlinson – After filming celebrated BBC drama, Poldark, here in Cornwall, Eleanor feels a strong connection with the area. Her bag design features her character, Demelza, wildly riding across the Cornish clifftops on the back of Captain Ross Poldark’s horse.

Eleanor

Barbara Hulanicki – Founder of the iconic 1960s label, Biba, Barbara shares our love and passion for beautiful, unique prints. In her own distinctive style, Barbara’s bag depicts a mythical creature with waves crashing all around her.

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Caroline Quentin – Caroline loves Cornwall. For her, life here is all about the beauty of the landscape and particularly the coastline. Caroline feels that the people who live and work in and on the water are the beating heart of this beautiful county, which is why she was so keen to support the Fishermen’s Mission.

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Julia Bradbury – Often found exploring Cornwall’s dramatic coastline for The Outdoor Guide, Julia has a great fondness for outdoor adventures in the county. Her bag was inspired by the landscape that surrounds the region’s coastal paths.

JB and Seasalt Bag

Fern Britton – Fern has long-held links and affection for Cornwall, it’s the inspiration and setting for many of her novels. The people she has met over the years in the county play their part in her writing, including local fishermen, which is why she felt supporting the Fishermen’s Mission was so important. Her bag shows the beautiful fishing port of Padstow, one of her favourite places in Cornwall.

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50p from each of the Jute Shoppers will be donated straight to Fishermen’s Mission, a charity that we’ve been working with for the last few years now.

The bags will be on sale from the beginning of March, but we wanted to give the press a sneak peek of the unique designs before they go on sale.

The launch was held at The Wright Brothers Soho, with a menu inspired by the great history of Cornish fishing. There’s no escaping the sea when you’re in Cornwall – happily it’s almost around every corner! And at the heart of Cornwall’s culture and traditional industry are our fishing communities. Cornwall and its seas are beautiful and calm for lots of the year; but come the bad weather, they can be perilous. In fact, fishing is known as the most dangerous livelihood in the UK.

The 6-course seafood sensation really helped us to showcase some of our favourite Cornish delicacies, from Duchy Oysters (three ways!) to Miso Soup with Cornish Crab Dumplings and even Cornish Hake with St Austell Mussel Curry. Each course was also wonderfully paired with wine from our local vineyard, Polgoon.

The evening was a taste sensation and it really helped to bring home the importance of supporting the UK’s wonderful fishing community.

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Let us know which is your favoirite design over on FacebookGoogle+ and Twitter.