Tower and Town, February 2024 (view the full edition)The Editor Visits FermoieIt is perhaps fair to say that not many people in Marlborough had heard of Fermoie until September 2023, when the company appeared on all the publicity for the Marlborough Literature Festival as the lead sponsor. Knowing little about the company except that they produce top quality furnishing fabrics, and not sure how to pronounce their name, I went along to their premises in Hertford Court off the Salisbury Road to meet their Managing Director, Jamie Shawcross. I found a smart, intelligently run business, with everything on one site, from design to manufacturing, from office to showroom, and a friendly and purposeful working atmosphere among the calm but busy staff. I was especially interested to know why Fermoie, not a firm with a presence on the High Street, had been interested in sponsoring the LitFest. Jamie told me that he felt that Fermoie "should be part of the community" and that people "should feel welcome" there. Clearly, he would like people in Marlborough to be as aware of them here as any prospective customer at their shop in London. Indeed, they take pupils from St John's on work experience, they have local callers as well as visitors from further afield such as Cornwall and Wales, and online. The emphasis is on service and small orders are received as enthusiastically as large ones.  I was impressed at Jamie's insistence that their supplies and their manufacturing process are managed with a constant eye on sustainability. He writes: "Linen, the least impactful fabric in our range, is the most popular, cotton proves more challenging from the sustainability side, but Fermoie are using regenerated yarn where possible, and working on a move to organic in 2024." Jamie showed me the wide range of fabrics, outstanding in design and colour, as you may judge from the image that Fermoie have supplied. He also showed me fabrics being printed - a traditional method but carried out on their hyper-accurate and efficient modern machinery. Fermoie, he hopes, are "seen as an employer that people want to work for" and Marlborough, he adds, felt "like a good place to be." So visit the gorgeous showroom. And don't worry about the pronunciation. John Osborne |