Pitch & Canvas
An interview with Suzanne Miller, from Cheshire Glamping business – Pitch & Canvas.
Suzanne attended business and marketing masterclasses run by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funded SME Business Growth Programme.
Introduce yourself and your business…
My name is Suzanne Miller, and together with my husband Drew, we run Pitch & Canvas – a glamping getaway in the heart of the Cheshire countryside. As a family, we run Broad Oak Farm, a dairy farm not too far from Tattenhall, but as many people know, farming is quite a challenging industry to be involved in at the moment. So last year we looked at what we could do to diversify. I had always been interested in camping and had a passion for the outdoors but it had been on the backburner – but then in the summer of 2016 we started to look at installing some glamping pods. The business just grew and grew and in August, 2017, we officially launched Pitch & Canvas.
What does Pitch & Canvas do?
We want to take people back to basics – give them a countryside experience. So guests stay in pods, classic bell tents or they can pitch their own tents. We have no Wi-Fi or TV because we want everyone who comes here to reconnect with nature. It’s a unique location and a very unique experience.
We also give our guests the chance to see the cows being milked on the farm and if they’re lucky enough they might even see a calf being born.
What help and support have you received from Reaseheath College?
The support I have had from the team at Reaseheath has been fantastic. They were very supportive of my idea and initial plan, offering advice and support on aspects of marketing, trademarking, and company structure. It was vital to be able to chat through our initial ideas with professionals who not only are experts in business development, but understand the pressures currently facing the farming industry.
I attended some of the business and marketing masterclasses run by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funded SME Business Growth Programme and without them, I would have had no idea how to turn what was little more than an idea into a proper business.
What are your future business objectives?
We want to continue to grow! We’re already looking at how we can offer experiences for schools and we’ve agreed a partnership with outdoor education company ‘Get Outside the Classroom’ to provide accommodation to schools and colleges for things like Duke of Edinburgh Awards and residential courses.
We’re also seeing strong interest come through, for events at Bolesworth like Car Fest, Classic Ibiza, and The Great British Proms. Hopefully, it will prove to be a successful first summer in business for us.
We have also now opened our lovely new toilet and shower block as well as washing up area, which will bring a bit of civilization to the Pitch & Canvas experience!
For more information about Pitch & Canvas, call 01829 770325 or email info@pitchandcanvas.co.uk.