FINCA EL MONTE, A WHOLE WORLD OF HANDCRAFTED

from May / June 2022 Community Contact Magazine

BUCKINGHAM LITERACY FESTIVAL IS BACK!

FINCA EL MONTE

A WHOLE WORLD OF HANDCRAFTED COLOUR

Hi, my name is Mary, and I am the current owner of Finca El Monte, a little gift and homewares shop, in Well Street Buckingham. After many years travelling, living, and working around the world I came back ‘home’ to the UK and settled in Buckingham, not too far from where I grew up! One of the best aspects of my previous life was the opportunity to meet and get to know people from different countries and cultures, and to experience their way of life, scenery, and the wildlife, not to mention the food – you have to try it don’t you!

Despite being the least sporty person I know, (unless it is watching from a sitting position, often with drink in hand), I did manage a few adventures – for example trekking the Inca trail and delving deep into a silver mine in South America; bungee jumping, white water rafting and wild-camping in Southern Africa; diving in Australia; more trekking (yes I can’t believe I did it either) in the rainforests of China and South East Asia and even getting pooed upon by penguins in Antarctica!

With all that you might think that I’d find the small Market Town of Buckingham a little boring but that is not the case. Fate played its part when, due to the owner’s house move, Finca El Monte was for sale. I bought it and the rest, as they say, is history! I still travel although mostly through the products I sell – they nearly all have an interesting back story with some great personalities creating each beautiful item.

Our Ethos – Fairtrade, Sustainable, Eco-friendly

An ethical sourcing policy had been established . This chimed well as one thing my travels had instilled in me was an interest and concern for our global environment and the people who live in it, wherever they may be. Sustainability, eco-friendly, circular economy, reduce, reuse, recycle, plastic free, climate change and care for the planet are all buzz words popular today but really do apply to what we are all about. We are not perfect by any means but try our best to avoid waste and practice the 3Rs, (reduce, reuse, recycle), in everything we do and sell. Some say I’m a hoarder, but you’d be surprised how many times one cardboard box can be used, ‘in-around-out’ of the shop!

Products – travel the world without leaving home

We are incredibly careful in choosing which suppliers to work with. Many are accredited Fairtrade businesses who pay fair wages and provide safe conditions for workers, whilst others are small family businesses, keeping age-old traditional crafts alive.

Along with our signature brightly coloured, handmade, Spanish ceramics, we are pleased to have a multitude of other products for you to buy. One of our most popular ranges is our glassware. From Mexico, Spain, and Swaziland all glass is recycled, Fairtrade and a little different – that isn’t a crooked selfie the glass is really ‘wonky’!

Spring IS on its way, honestly, and we have a garden range to help you decorate your outside space. This includes a range of seedballs and bee bombs to help the pollinators by creating beautiful swathes of native wildflowers, for all garden aspects or even window boxes and pots. Talking of pots we have some new styles, to add to the range, arriving soon, not to mention the recycled metal wall art and indoor/outdoor rugs and throws to add that finishing touch.

Searching for something really different? Why not take a look at our unique range from Japan. We have hand-picked some delightful pieces – tableware to textiles, chopsticks to lucky cats and much more!

Where to find us: The number of assorted products we have are too many to mention here so why not stop by and check us out. The shop on Well Street will be 9 years old in June but there are still plenty of you who haven’t found us yet! Head on down as if you are going to the chip shop or the Woolpack pub and you will find us at number 7a, just opposite the old school! We have two floors to browse so I’m sure you can find something special! Did I mention a birthday? Good excuse for a party! We are planning a joint celebration together with the Malawian charities that we support (Ripple Africa and the Tongole Foundation) This will hopefully be on or about Malawi’s Independence Day 6th July. More to follow.

Finally, to say thank you for reading to the end we have a special offer of an additional 15% off any purchase – even our sale products! Just quote CC2022 and tell us you saw this article, when in the shop, or phone/ message the same for online orders and we will refund the discount.

You will always get a cheery, bright welcome at Finca El Monte in Buckingham’s Hidden Quarter so come along and say hello!