Welcome to the first edition of the Molesey Business Blog, this week we were lucky enough to speak to Matt and Tammy at Belle Epoque. Here's what they told us about their wonderful shop and how it came to be.
Belle Epoque opened in Walton Road in 2005 as an antique and vintage furniture shop, but over the past 10 years we have diversified to include our hugely popular antique chandeliers which have been shipped across the world, alongside other ranges which are focussed at the local community such as our selection of toys, books, home fragrance and jewellery.
We opened in Molesey as it was where Tammy had grown up and her step-father had run a very successful antiques business in Bridge Road for a number of years. We believed in the benefits of being part of a community and now are very pleased to offer products from a number of local highly talented creatives. Matt also plays an important role in the Molesey Business Association.
We source antique and vintage furniture and decorative items and restore them in house, which allows us to offer our customers a very bespoke service. This is one of the key features that sets us apart from other vintage traders.
Over the past 8 years Matt has been very much at the front of the business, however with the children now at school Matt is going to retire into his workshop and let Tammy take over the running of the shop.
We still love being part of the Molesey community alongside our fellow retailers and our lovely customers. It is important to support local businesses but on the same hand if they aren’t offering what you’re looking for, tell them! Every shop owner needs feedback and the smart ones act on it quickly. Some of our best decisions have been as a direct result of customers requests and we take on board everything we hear.
– Matt & Tammy Court –
020 8941 9269 | enquiries@belleepoque.me.uk
twitter – @BelleEpoqueShop
Want to feature your business in Molesey? Contact us or call 0208 396 6717.
After we spotted these photos on the East and West Molesey Group on Facebook, we couldn't help but ask West Molesey resident Craig Allnutt if we could post a blog about them and how he was able to capture these spectacular images.
"I live in Hight Street, West Molesey and moved to Molesey from Addleston around 5 years ago when I married my partner."
"With a celestron telescope and dedicated astro camera. Each picture can take anywhere from 3-15 hours of total exposure time."
"I first got into astronomy when my Dad showed me Haley's Comet outside our house back in the 80's. I started just by imaging the moon and planets and then about two years ago, I decided to take the plunge in to deep sace photography"
"I would have to say the people, it seems like a close community and there is always something to do such as taking a stroll by The River Thames or visiting Hampton Court Palace and the surrounding gardens."
Below are the images Craig posted on line, we hope you find them as interesting as we did!
Located some 2400 light years away (1 light year is around 5.88 trillion miles) in the constellation Cepheus.
Located 5,000 light years from Earth this nebula has an approximate diameter of 50 light years.
One of the brightest nebulae in The Milky Way, this nebula is 24 light years wide and can be seen with the naked eye from Earth.
At 7500 light years away, the Heart Nebula is located in the constellation Cassiopeia. The intense red output is generated by radiation eminated from a small group of stars near its centre