What’s New & Happening in Fulham

What’s New

WagWorks

We wanted to bring you the scoop on the official launch of WagWorks, a holistic canine care space that opened on 86-92 Fulham High Street in mid-May but had to wait as there was a national press exclusive in the mix; Sunday Times Style - fair enough! Having said that the lovely team behind this “happy place for city dogs” couldn’t have been nicer and more up for a chat with Urban Village LDN. We were invited in for a tour and got to hear the WagWorks story from the germ of an idea through to it’s launch from founders Jamie Netherthorpe and Rhi Hudd.

When we asked why Fulham for the first WagWorks location, Jamie told us “Fulham was an obvious choice, there’s a lot of dogs in the area and surrounding postcodes, the available space was located near a tube, we have Bishops Park behind us, all plus factors as the WagWorks concept is designed to be local, convenient and flexible. The flat level 6,000 sq ft space was a shell which gave us the ability to design what we wanted, working with Fulham interiors / architects Simpson Studio. After consulting with Winkie Spears a dog behaviourist we could bring much more to our original concept and make it a stimulating dog centric space”.

There is a Scent Den which evolves and changes to ensure noses keep sniffing and tails keep wagging, the Park (the largest free space in the building) for playtime with stables for snoozing or time out’s, K9 grass is used for pit stops and there is a wellness assessment room where resident vet Erin is based. With expertise on site small health issues such as ear infections, small wounds can be treated, preventive medicine explored and treatments (physiotherapy, red laser) undertaken including recovery from injuries. The Forest Walk is an area which nicely showcases the attention to detail that has been considered in every aspect of the space’s design. Rhi told Urban Village LDN “rather than a straight corridor the curvature means that dogs don’t have to meet head on and the use of wood slats means that dogs aren’t able to see out onto the street but daylight isn’t restricted”.

WagWorks is a members club where “the dog’s the customer” and Rhi told us how it works “we launched applications for memberships in October last year so we’ve opened with our founding members and we’re slowly integrating dogs into the space. Every dog has an assessment which includes a health check by Erin and a suitability check to ensure they will enjoy the environment, this includes looking at levels of confidence and curiosity. We don’t accept aggressive dogs but we’re happy to help complex dogs that need a little more care and attention adjusting to our space. Our membership is £45 which includes a full and regular monthly health check as well as all your dog’s monthly parasite treatments. A full day at daycare is £48 (7am-7:30pm) and half a day is £35 (7am-1pm / 1:30pm-7:30pm)”.

Future plans at WagWorks include overnight care, a countryside holiday spot, developing the site next door to house grooming, adding to their training programme and introducing ways to support the local community. Check out their website on the link below or give them a follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/wagworkslondon

Mother's Bakehouse

Local resident Kate Modeland recently opened Mother’s Bakehouse with the simple aim of offering fresh, home-baked sourdough and delivering it locally; sometimes still warm from just being out of the oven. Kate told Urban Village LDN that although the business is in it’s early days everyone who tries her bread “loves it” and since opening a couple of months ago her Fulham customer base is growing. Kate makes her sourdough bread at home which comes in different loaves from farmhouse white to a fruit loaf and she has just started baking baguettes which went down well at a recent event at Marie D’ Orliac with one purchaser saying “how can you not be French?”, you can’t get a better critique on a French baguette than that!

Mother’s Bakehouse sourdough bread can be ordered as a one off or a weekly order which automatically renews. Orders have to be placed 24 hours in advance and once out of the oven Kate hops on her bicycle to make morning deliveries Tuesday through Saturday. We had a chat with Kate who decided to leave a career in advertising after a few brutal years of 14 hr days spent on Zoom calls. “I didn’t intend to start this business. I’d always loved cooking and wanted to own my own cafe producing simple dishes such as eggs on toast served with good coffee. After trying my sourdough people kept asking me to make them bread so I did, then started trialling making it for other people and it went from there with the recent purchase of a bread oven. It’s a very different world to advertising!”.

There are no nasties in Mother’s Bakehouse products simply flour, water and salt and we love the story behind how her sourdough starter began. “I found sourdough on my own personal quest to reduce my family’s reliance on supermarkets (for the good of the planet and our bodies, not to mention our food bill with three extremely hungry boys at home). I decided to shop locally and make as much of our food as possible from scratch. I mixed water and flour together and watched it slowly start to bubble with life. I still marvel at its natural magic. It’s a remarkable little jar, creating an intoxicating natural flavour and a soft, sticky texture. It also continually reminds me of the beauty of real home food. My starter is now 5 years old, has travelled to a few places in my suitcase (I’m terrified of leaving it home alone) and it's still the same starter that breathes life into every loaf in Mother’s Bakehouse”.

Mother’s Bakehouse currently offers free local delivery in Fulham and their Farmhouse, Really Chunky Wholemeal and Rye loaves are all £5, £5.90 for fruit and olive loaves and baguettes are £2.50 each. Hit the link to Mother’s Bakehouse to place an order or get in touch kate@mothersbakehouse.com in the meantime we love hearing how Kate’s sourdough has travelled with her - where’s the jar heading next this summer?

Studio Kkot

At the inaugural Spring Fayre on Wandsworth Bridge Road we kept seeing gorgeous artistically, natural hand tied bouquets winding their way through the crowds. Of course we had to find out where they were coming from. Behind the stand a shop was being used as their HQ and it wasn’t long before we spotted the “coming soon” signs at number 192 Wandsworth Bridge Road. We got in touch with Studio Kkot and heard back from Ally Han the local resident behind the business.

Originally from South Korea Ally told Urban Village LDN that she fell in love with London and then after leaving the fashion industry she feel in love with flowers and realised she could turn a hobby she loved into a job. “Floristry changed my life, flowers helped me overcome depression and after going to college before the pandemic I set up Studio Kkot working on weddings, events, in store displays. Moving from Shoreditch to Fulham I noticed that there were mainly traditional florists in the area and that locals loved flowers even the displays at Waitrose sold out. So I thought when this site came up that I’d grab it and go for it. We’re not a traditional studio or flower shop more a space from which we’re going to be selling not only fresh flowers but lots of dried flowers, lifestyle products including candles and pottery. I want to share things I love with people from UK designers, brands and also Korean brands because I don’t want to loose my roots, my heritage and originality”.

Studio Kkot opens on Saturday 2 July after hard work creating the interior space herself, painting, decorating, putting her art major to use and no doubt roping in her husband who is the General Manager at Fenn next door. Ally told us she’d love to meet more Fulhamites so do pop in say hello, find out more about her floral artistry and plans for the studio . Ally told us that Kkot means flower in Korean so 192 Wandsworth bridge Road is literally studio flower. Head to Instagram to get a real flavour of Ally’s incredible work https://www.instagram.com/studiokkot_london or head to the website on the link below. We always get complimented on our website’s photography but this time our pic really doesn’t do justice to Ally’s work.

The People On Platform 5

Fulham resident, author and blogger Clare Pooley’s second novel The People On Platform 5 is out now just in time for you to pop into Nomad and pick up a signed copy for some summer / holiday reading. Clare told Urban Village LDN “the story revolves around a group of commuters who all take the Hampton Court to Waterloo line into work every day (back when we did that kind of thing). They know their fellow travellers well by sight, give each other nicknames and make heinous assumptions about one another, but they never, ever speak. Because the first rule of London commuting is that you never talk to strangers on the train. All this changes, however, when one of the group chokes on a grape and nearly dies. His life is saved by a fellow commuter doing the Heimlich manoeuvre, and from that moment on extraordinary things start to happen”.

Sounds like a great read! Find out more about Clare Pooley when we featured her on our “Made in Fulham” page https://www.urbanvillageldn.com/made-in-fulham-june and check out her debut novel “The Authenticity Project” which features some local / SW6 spots that you might be familiar with https://www.urbanvillageldn.com/whats-new-february

What’s Happening

Parsons Green Fair: Saturday 2 July

After being cancelled in 2020 and 2021 the Parsons Green Fair returns on Saturday 2 July. It will be great to see this family event back in the heart of our community with lots of fun for all the family from stalls to fairground rides. Organised by Fulham Good Neighbours the last Fair held in 2019 was attended by 9,000 people and raised vital funds for the incredible charitable work that FGN do within our neighbourhood.

The Fair will take place from 11.30am - 5.30pm celebrating the local Fulham community and is a wonderful opportunity to meet neighbours, local businesses / brands, enjoy performances, attractions and great food. In addition there are over 100 stalls showcasing everything from monogrammed wash bags to Indian kaftans, organic dog food and antiques. There will be a main stage, children’s stage, a magician, ventriloquist, Punch & Judy show, petting zoo and donkey rides.

Chickens coming to Fulham Palace

We love a feel good story and it’s great to hear that thanks to their supporters and volunteers chickens are coming to Fulham Palace. Donations to their fundraising campaign surpassed their £1,500 target in just one month.

Fulham Palace will adopt hens from the British Hen Welfare Trust, a UK charity committed to changing the lives of commercial laying hens, giving them a new found lease of life. Not only will the chickens provide organic eggs but their droppings will be used as a natural fertiliser for the palace’s garden. The chickens will be living in the walled garden and we’re sure we’re not the only ones who can’t wait to see them in their new palatial home.

School’s Out for Summer

August is back to being typically quiet in our urban village so we won’t be producing an issue next month. We’ll be back in September to bring you more news on what’s new and happening in Fulham. In the meantime we’ll be using this month to replenish our photography files, add to our “Discover Local” Directory and snuffle out some new content. We hope you have a wonderful summer, creating memories, enjoying some quality down time and we look forward to picking up where we left off in the autumn. See you then!

Made in Fulham

It never fails to surprise us what a talented bunch you Fulham folks are. Each month Urban Village Ldn introduces you to THe Fulham face behind an idea, product or business and asks them what they love about being a local resident. This month we talk to Nesse Cannon, Founder of Barrefly LDN

How long have you called Fulham home? I landed in Fulham eleven years ago and have never looked back.

Tell us a bit about yourself / your family Originally from Miami, I came to the UK in my mid-20s to study and see the world. And I knew... just FOUR DAYS later... that I’d never be going home again. That was nearly 20 years ago, and I am now a British citizen and very much content with my adopted home country (and city). I have been many things in my life - professional salsa dancer, Chief Marketing Officer, consultant, cancer-survivor, activist, and fur-mummy - and now I run my own little corner of fitness, feminism, and fun in Parson’s Green. I’m also still a fur mummy (and a few other of those things) and can be regularly spotted with my old rescue boy, Stanley, lounging in the grass of one Fulham park or another.

What’s your favourite local haunt and why? OMG… how can one possibly choose?! I am a bit of a foodie, and I LOVE my local faves. Koji, Hally’s, Manuka Kitchen, Naive (coffee shop), and The Atlas pub immediately spring to mind, but we are truly spoilt for choice in this area, so I’m sure I’m forgetting LOADS of great spots. I just love the community spirit of these places. They are run by people who truly care about their business and their clients. They have a unique ‘flavour’, and always remember their regulars. Also the lemongrass and chili martini at Koji?? Forget it. I DIE for them.

What's your perfect Fulham day? Oh that’s easy. Kick off with a coffee from Naive, then head for a barre class (*cough*) at my studio. Take Stanley for a little frolic on Parson’s Green; maybe meet a girlfriend for brunch at Hally’s. A spot of shopping at Katie and Jo (another favourite spot), maybe a mani/pedi at Apple Nails (they are so sweet in there). I generally need to stock up on some vegan supplies, so I’ll nip into GreenBay if I’m able. Then maybe catch an early dinner at Manuka Kitchen, The Atlas, or The Harwood Arms (*drool*)… right after my blow out from Blush and Blow of course. I'd finish the evening with a few drinks at Koji (and hopefully a chat with Pat - Koji’s owner and an absolute LEGEND of a woman). Then home and in bed early, as I am generally back in my studio by 6.30/7am (and I am old).

Which local shop/service/business do you rely on? I mostly rely on the ones I’ve already mentioned for my sanity. Largely because my fellow small business owners have all been so lovely to me since the moment I startd my studio. I was honestly blown away by the kindness and generosity of most of the owners I came across. As in most times of our life (but particularly when we are starting out in a small business) personal relationships are what keep us sane.

What's the best meal you've had in Fulham? Nope! Impossible to answer. There are sooooo many lovely restaurants in Fulham. I also love Gola for good Italian. Tiki’s Brasserie is another great brunch spot. Honestly, there are SO many wonderful places to discover...

If you could do one thing to improve Fulham what would it be? More art. More independent theatre. More… ‘edge’ isn’t the right word. But I would love to see some of the amazing creativity and diversity that is famous in so much of London be a little more visible in Fulham.

Tell us about Barrefly LDN and how it came to be Ahh BarreFly… the best decision I’ve ever made. Honestly, BarreFly was born out of the pandemic when another local business (which will ALWAYS have a piece of my heart) - Slice Urban Fitness - closed down in pretty terrible circumstances. I had been an instructor there, alongside my day job, for many years and it was always my little happy place. As it was for so many others. When they closed, not only was I heartbroken; I was also homeless (as far as my teaching went). I decided to take my classes and my nutrition coaching online and, to my astonishment, loads of my regular clients came online with me. So, when I decided to open a live space (out of necessity as much as anything else), I decided that I was going to create exactly the kind of place I would want to go… Barre studios have a reputation (not unfairly, I’m sorry to say) for being a bit... pretentious. A little… stuffy. Not very… welcoming or relaxed. I wanted to create a space where women of all kinds could come and be… whoever they felt like being that day. Whether that’s you in a matching gym set with a full face of makeup on, feeling your supermodel fantasy, or you just rolled out of bed, left the kids with your partner, through your hair in a messy bun and haven't fully caffeinated yet. We are unashamedly feminist and supportive of all of the women in our space - from mums to students to professionals to retirees. We play filthy hip-hop music (mostly for the comedic value of it, but also for the beat) and laugh openly in class at stupid jokes and, crucially, at ourselves. BarreFly is at once SUPER serious about exercise and nutrition, but also super determined not to take life (or ourselves) that seriously. My goal with this space was, is, and will always be to try to make every single person who walks through our doors feel better when they walk out of them. I am so incredibly proud of what my team and I have built, and absolutely IN LOVE with my clients. Clients that range in age from 22 to 70, from all walks of life, and literally make my day every. single. time I walk in the door. So much so that I have recently left the day job (the aforementioned CMO gig) to focus on BarreFly full time. It was a scary decision, but so SO exciting.

What advice would you give people thinking about starting a new business? I suppose the first thing I would say is to just do it. Don't spend years planning every last detail out perfectly in your mind, because all of those beautiful plans will, almost inevitably, go straight to shit once you open your doors. Which isn’t to say don’t do your research and be properly prepared… I have just found that so many people become paralysed by the fear of what they don’t know that they lose sight of everything that they do know. And that can sometimes mean the difference between getting started and not. And I cannot recommend getting started enough. The next thing I would say is to absolutely reach out to other small business owners in your area. You will be AMAZED by the wisdom, kindness, and support that they will offer you. Not to mention the sense of community which is so, SO valuable on the days when you wake up and wonder why you did this to yourself in the first place.

What are you working on currently? Loads! BarreFly’s group sessions are begining to fill up which is terrific! We are nearly at the point where we will have to start wait listing our unlimited memberships (which I NEVER dreamed would happen in my first year), so I am working on building some partnerships with other local businesses to collaborate and hold classes elsewhere. I am also working on a ‘road to wellness’ product for those folks who are still (despite my best efforts) unsure or intimidated by the idea of attending live classes. This is an online product which will help them get ‘from sofa to sexy’ (working title) from the comfort of their own homes. And, of course, it’s coming up to wedding season, so we’ll be booking our Barre and Bubbles events for hen parties this summer, which I LOVE doing; they’re such fun. I am also incredibly excited to be working on a partnership with a local women’s refuge, which will allow me to scratch that old activism itch in a real way. I can’t discuss in detail right now, but I’ll let you know as soon as I’m able!