In the words of Abraham Lincoln…
…and this is just what we have been trying to do. If you’ve been on our Didsbury Life or WestFest mailing list, you’ll have received an email, explaining that we are deleting these lists. A part of this decision was made because of the GDPR legislation, but part was made because we/our lives/our business have taken a bit of a different direction and we’re going to seize the exciting opportunities that might lie ahead. So, if you’re not aware of what’s happening, here’s a round up.
Didsbury Life
We’ve had Didsbury Life for over fifteen years, and have made some fab friends and acquaintances through it. We’ve seen independent businesses come & go, we’ve had our ups and our downs, we’ve seen Didsbury & West Didsbury change almost beyond recognition and we’ve seen lots of similar businesses set up, some in aggressive competition, some rubbing alongside us. Our actual lives have taken a bit of a turn recently – we no longer live in West Didsbury. An amazing opportunity presented itself and we had to take it and we now live in Istria, near to the Italian border. We still have our very close ties with Didsbury – in our main business, We Are Life Design, we still work with many of our long-standing clients, so Didsbury Life, as a concept is going no-where. This will come as a surprise to some people, who will feel that we are disingenuous in promoting an area in which we no longer live. But, quite frankly, they can sod off. We still call West Didsbury home – we lived there for over twenty years and whatever anyone may say, we know that we did contribute, in a small way, to the development of the area. So, no, we’re not going anywhere – we’re just going to be changing the focus of what we do.
We Are Life Design
Our design business, which we did worry about when we moved (will clients stay with us, will we attract new clients, will we still have local credibility etc?), has amazingly gone from strength to strength and we have taken on a number new clients from Didsbury and Manchester since we’ve been away, as well as retaining the majority of existing clients. We’re not looking to expand the business – in fact, we have stripped it back a little, as we would like to enjoy a slower pace of life, and enjoy quality time with visiting family and friends. So, no, we’re not going anywhere here either – we’re just going to be changing the focus of what we do.
WestFest
This is the one area of what we have done, that we are changing. With Justin, from Folk, way, way back in 2007, we had a little dream to put something on which showcased the very best of West Didsbury and which would hopefully open up to the area to a new audience, who would engage with the independent businesses and hopefully help to grow the area and the local economy. It kind of worked for a few years, but it became increasingly more difficult to drum up the real enthusiasm of the early days. Criticisms were levelled against us that it was “all about the bars”. And, yes, it did become like that, simply, I think, because licensed premises had more to lure people in with. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for some of our small, independent retailers, trying to be enthusiastic and putting on a show, only to see their premises largely empty but bars and restaurants fit to bursting. It also took a lot of organising, and last year, I made the decision that we just couldn’t do this from abroad. And, we won’t be doing it again. I don’t know what will happen in the future, but it was good while it was good. I hope!
So, where now?
A new website is being planned, which will now pull together the different strands we are focusing on. We’ll still have We Are Life Design and Didsbury Life will operate in some kind of form. but we’ll also be incorporating a couple of new ventures. Istria Life – a bit like Didsbury Life, this will be an opportunity for us to let people know about the beautiful area that we now live in. We Are Life Styles – this is already a blog and documents our travels, recommendations etc as well as being a bit of a diary (We Are Life Escape) of the renovation of our new/very old house.
The new website will be much more lifestyle driven and informative and will hopefully give people ideas for travel, accommodation etc, whilst also still showcasing what’s going on in and around Didsbury. And for those who think, this will never last, as the ties will fade – you’re wrong. We’ve spent the best part of the last 15 years building up strong and solid relationships with people, and this will continue. We are loyal and we have a real connection to the area and many of the businesses, and that won’t be changing.
So, we’d love you to follow us on any/all of the above Twitter accounts and stay connected. You never know what you might discover or where you might up end up going for your next holidays!