I thought that i should write a post to welcome everyone to Le Roche Sauvage and explain a bit about us and how we came to be.
Its hard to know where to begin with these things, what came first, what inspired me?
The house? maybe.
My husband? highly likely.
or does it all go back further than that? Probably.
When i really think about it i was born with the outdoors in my veins. A farmers daughter from the middle of the UK, i had grown up outside, cattle, occasional errant sheep, chickens and that pony... The pony that made me love the freedom of being outside, enjoying every part of nature from the singing birds as we wandered along country lanes, to the rush of the ground coming up to meet me as i hit the deck and he disappeared over the horizon. My pony Ted was the worlds most cantankerous, stubborn, hairy Welsh pony that god created and i adored him.
When i grew up and married the first time, the first thing we got was a dog, a beautiful black and white spaniel. I used to walk him to the farm everyday when i went to see my horses, we walked for miles all over the country. When we moved to France the dog and horses came too and i carried on being outside, loving the beautiful Auvergne and its amazing countryside.
Fast forward several years and we were now in Normandy, France. The horses and husband were gone. Long story, i wont bore you with that one, but i still had my dogs and the love of the outdoors and now 2 children to teach about the wonders of nature. I had a job on a farm and to be perfectly honest, being outside kept me sane.
Then i met an amazing man and we found an amazing forgotten house and together we poured our hearts and souls into a huge renovation project (check out @Manoirdelaroche). We realised our shared love of the outdoors, the countryside, animals and nature was something we could improve on. I got my horses back, my dogs, we walk, we ride, we shoot, we fish, we cycle, we metal detect and dig up all sorts of treasures (@metal.detecting.normandy). we are surrounded by woodland, fields and lanes and we feel so free.
Happiness is what you make it.
Then one day, spending all this time outdoors and also working outside gave us a little germ of an idea. We love Country style clothing, the old fashioned hardwearing, Barbour, Dubarry sort of thing, we love the natural rustic rough and toughness of Waxed cotton and wool and leather. We love the bushcraft ideas and the useful utility styles. Things with more than one use, more than one purpose. Simple, hardwearing and practical.
Le Roche Sauvage was born from a love of the outdoors, but its much more than that, its an idea that being outside is not just good for your health physically, but mentally. It doesn't matter what you do, gardening, horseriding, hunting, being outside and enjoying nature is something everyone can do. Getting outside with cool, practical, stylish and funtional kit makes every adventure that bit better. Knowing that your kit is made by hand, individually by me, in my workroom, that every piece is unique and created with all these things in mind, makes it even more fun.
I know that, as a country girl, a product that does the job day after day without wearing out or falling apart is invaluble. Especially if that product is simple to clean, look after and doesn't matter if it gets wet or dirty. So with that in mind, every product is tested for the uses its made for and more. Every product is created with care.
On this blog I intend to keep you updated with new products, new ideas, but also tales of our life in the French countryside, our animals and house. I want to inspire people to get outside and enjoy what is on their doorstep, whatever your sport, age or ability.