Apothecary Fox is back!!

I am really not sure how to start off this post..you see things have taken a major turn for me and my life and this little blog has born the brunt of it. If you follow Apothecary Fox you will know that I left the UK about 18 months ago in search of a different life. One less driven by the day to day burdens and stresses of a very fast paced and pretty stressful life in the hospitality industry, and more focused on exploring my love of the handmade life.
Wellllllll.....I made a U-turn. It wasn't that I didn't love my new found life of handmade loveliness or that of the peaceful Vermont life. It was more that I realised I wasn't ready to let go of my career in restaurants and that an opportunity to take on an exciting project came my way. I literally couldn't resist, but it did take about 6 months of back and forth chat with my old bosses to convince me that I was making the right decision. So, I am back in the UK (Glasgow to be precise) and have spent the past 3 months opening a monster of a restaurant. Here is the story in pictures...

I have always been up for a challenge and this one was too good to resist. The biggest opening my company has done in over a decade, and a new and exciting city to explore! What is not to love about all of that? Browns Glasgow has made quite a splash and we have been open less than two months. Read some of the amazing reviews to get a sense of what we have all achieved with a whole heap of hard work! The Daily Record, The Herald, The Glasgow Evening Times, Bite Magazine, Dram Magazine and more to come I hope!

Anyway, I am sure you can appreciate the time and effort it has taken to make this transition but I pledge to you all that normal service will resume shortly. I realised that I just could not shake my love of this crazy world of restaurants and bars and wasn't ready to slow down. My heart belongs to Browns. I might well have known that all along. But....I am passionate about all the gorgeous design-led beauties I see around me everyday so that will always be high on my list of extra curricular activities. This blog will just have to be the way I indulge my love of the handmade for a few more years to come.

I can't express my gratitude to you all enough, for sticking with me through the months of silence, for your encouragement and design tips, and for your like-minded  interests that keep stearing me to new discoveries. Stick with me, and we will continue this beautiful adventure!

Fox  xx

The Doctor

The apothecary idea comes from the old style apothecary, general store, country store, pharmacy....that used to sell everything, not just the necessary medicines, but the tinctures and remedies (often herbal) that served to better the lives of the community that they served. Growing up in Vermont, we were surrounded by stores like these that served as the heart of the community (a place for folks to gather and swap stories, connect and re-connect with their neighbours). For me, I can connect with this concept as the center of the community, people converging to look for remedies to many things, often to gain social interaction that can ease their burden and lighten their day. For the Fox Family the J.J. Hapgood Store was one such place. Hanging out by the pickle barrel, warming our hands by the stove, stepping over the town's dog Blueberry to get to the candy counter.

Image courtesy of redjar.org

On a more serious note, these institutions would be dying off but for the efforts of those involved in organisations such as the Vermont Alliance of Independent Country Stores.
When I was a child we used to go to the Mother of all country stores, still a vibrant and booming business for the Orton Family, The Vermont Country Store, stuffed full of hard to find products for the home, kitchen, beautification and clothing (flannel of course). My father, the country Doctor, was even quoted in the little hand written tags that were used to describe products, as recommending the goat's milk soap for anyone with sensitive skin. "Dr. Fox highly recommends...". Used to give us kids a kick..!
My brother was recently asked to write about my Dad (Pops) for another blogger at AllPlaidOut
on the subject of fathers for Father's Day. The archetypal Country Doctor, you will get every sense of the man if you read this article.

The Doctor Fox