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Towards the end of last year I was approached by a PR offering me an exclusive invite to visit British luxury leather brand Osprey London’s lifestyle store in the Hertfordshire to meet designer Graeme Ellisdon. At the time I had a very busy schedule which proved to be problematic as I could not pick a date which was suitable for me and Graeme. November and December are both extremely busy months for me due to the Christmas season so it was put on hold for a few weeks. Osprey London’s PR girl didn’t give up and was very eager for me to visit and right after new year we managed to arrange a date for my visit.
I met her at a London railway station on a very cold day and off we went to the countryside of Hertfordshire in St Albans, where a taxi waited to take us to the store. The entire city was covered in a thick blanket of snow and as we drove, all I could see was vast open spaces and lots of trees. It was a sight of beauty and I was spending all of the time looking out of the window, with feelings of fascination. When we reached our destination, it looked like a farm from a distance. With good reason too – the building used to be a barn. Brand Communicator Axia Gaitskell-Kendrick and Graeme Ellisdon both gave me a very warm welcome and then briefly told me about the history of the brand. They then took me on a tour of the beautiful contemporary lifestyle store which contains bespoke rugs and furniture made from salvaged fishing boats. I took a shine to the Saddlery Café as it looked and felt very cosy inside – much like being inside an old wooden house log cabin, and the food is locally sourced.
The sheer range of products on sale is most impressive – with everything from leather goods, jewellery, clothes, fragrances to many very unique looking homeware accessories. I loved my time there and there too many things I wanted to buy!
