THE
Enchanting HOSTS
Meet Martha and Reuben Fosberry, the owners of The Moon & I near Hereford. Steph CurtisRaleigh went to visit them and find out more about how they started with little more than passion and flair and have built a thriving business, allowing them a dream life/work balance for their young family. Reuben and Martha used to be keen bikers – before they had children, ‘back when I could fit in the leathers,’ as Martha says ruefully. It was one of Reuben’s trips in France that inspired their business. He was hosted by a husband and wife team who welcomed him warmly, while their children played happily in the sunshine. Later, with Reuben tiring of the music business and Martha having left her teaching job to have their first daughter Seren, the memory of that idyllic life returned and the pair looked for the perfect setting for their home and business. They found it on the English/Welsh border, near Hereford. “A truly magical place, steeped in folklore and history with its patchwork quilt of black and white villages weaving in and around the mighty River Wye,” as Martha says poetically. With Martha’s background at Art College and work spent in theatre and Reuben’s practical building skills – they had the perfect
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ingredients to create magic in their beautiful backdrop. “We started our business on a shoe-string because we sunk all of our money into buying the property itself,” says Martha. “So to begin with we had the spare room in our house on AirBnB and a bell tent in the garden. If you start with humble spaces, they can be amazingly charming if you put your mind to it but all of those unique touches have to sing out all the more.” “We knew those spaces would be temporary, but often, it’s really important to have the courage to deploy your “means to an end” plan and know that you can make a space completely magical without clinging on to the perfectionist ideas you might have in your mind about how your business might look in ten years’ time,” she adds. Now, The Moon & I comprises of Prothero – a stunning shepherds hut with outdoor shower loo and wood-fired hot tub and Hiraeth – a barn conversion full of upcycled
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whimsy and wit with its own indoor/outdoor hot tub. The stargazing bell tent will soon be replaced by a new all-season accommodation created from an old fairground stall (which we will follow the progress of in future issues). The Moon & I is represented by Canopy & Stars. By letting their business evolve organically Martha and Reuben have learned invaluable lessons and given themselves time to evaluate what works for them. However, their main priority has always remained constant. “Host and Enchant; that was our aim with those first spaces, it’s our aim with where we are now and it’ll be the same in looking forward to the future, whatever shape the spaces themselves take,” says Martha. As for lessons learned – these are manifold. It’s no easy task launching a business with young children in tow. “The best advice we could give is to pace
