Penzance Chamber of Commerce

Cornish Stitch Shop's designs on Penwith

Thelma Murrish had been trading in Hampshire for the last 12 years as Bluebells Stitch shop. After meeting her husband John, who has many relatives in the Penwith area, and father comes from St Ives, they decided to move to Cornwall. They opened the Cornish Stitch Shop at 47 Market Jew Street, Penzance at the end of last summer.

"With the disappearance of the old-fashioned small shops, many of the old values are being lost forever," says Thelma. "We have always tried to keep that friendly, relaxed atmosphere and service, and we are aware that without you, the cus-tomer, there is no shop." Thelma feels it is very important to listen to what customers need, and wherever possible, to try to stock it. "Mostly the shop sells cross-stitch, tapestry, long stitch and embroidery kits, as well as a large range of DMC, Anchor and Appleton’s threads and wool." Thelma has always tried to keep the traditional craft items in stock, such as antimacassar embroidery kits, table runners and duchess dressing table sets.

John and Thelma also design cross--stitch and long stitch kits under the label "Penzance Stitch Designs." The kits are designed and man-ufactured in their own workshop. The latest design is the Cornish Tartan Sampler. Their research uncovered the fact that Ernest Morton Nance, who also designed the tartan, wrote the verse, which was featured in the sampler. John and Thelma have many more in the pipeline, mostly featuring locally based design ideas.

New arrival helps fight crime

The Penwith Neighbourhood Watch and Crime Prevention Unit launched their mobile caravan on February 1st at Penwith Council. The caravan is run by Penzance Neighbourhood Watch Trust, chaired by Jan Garrison, who also produce a quarterly magazine. The magazine produces 6,000 copies per quarter, and supplies a copy to every house in the Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

The caravan can be booked free for events, and contains lots of useful information on crime prevention, and there will also be a police officer there to give advice to the general public on crime prevention. The caravan was bought for the community with money from their sponsors, Wharfside Development and Economy Hire, Penzance Heliport Garage.

You can book the caravan for your events, fetes, and community events by contacting Police Station where a diary is kept. Come and discuss policing issues and any areas of concern at a Devon and Cornwall Police liaison meeting at St Peter's Church Hall Newlyn on Wednesday March 3rd at 7.30pm.

Cast your net wide

Visits to the Chamber of Commerce web site are rising dramatically. For the month of January, the site had 40 per cent more visits than any previous month. Richard Hilder, who runs the site for the Chamber, said: "There have been a lot of positive comments from visitors to the website about the town, and many good responses in the site Guestbook."

Richard will be conducting a review over the next two or three weeks of all the businesses on the site. Any changes to information, such as the nature of the business, telephone numbers and any changes from previous inclusions need to be reported to him if the website is to be kept up to date. Changes can be notified 'online' using the 'Update Listings' page.

Further expansion for Stuarts Hair and Beauty

February marks further expansion for Penzance business Stuarts Hair & Beauty. It's hard to believe it's almost three years since their move to luxury new in Market Jew Street opposite the Wharfside entrance. At the end of this month, renovation work will be complete and they will be ready to open the doors of the new beauty and complementary therapy salon - just next door! "We joked right at the beginning that we would probably end up opening next door too!" Gary and Tracy Stuart told the local press this week.

The new facilities will enable Beauty Therapist Sheelagh Harvey to offer exciting new body treatments. Also included will be the very latest high speed tanning unit - voted the best in '99. They have also been researching the latest fashion sweeping the country - nailbars! The concept of a quick nail repair/manicure/polish has proved hugely popular in the cities, as is nail "art" and "jewellery".

They have great plans to look after every aspect of their clients' well-being, so as well as offering top quality hair and beauty services there will be a superb range of complementary therapies available. Therapeutic healing techniques such as "Bowen" by Jacqui Sear - a series of gentle moves on the muscle and connective tissue along the whole body, treating many diverse and varied conditions; "Relki" by Marilyn Kirby - described as an energy transfer through hands and leaves you with a feeling of inner calm; "Reflexology" by Karen Clements is a therapy treating many conditions, using pressure points on the feet which equate to a 'map' of the body; "Shiatsu Massage' by Charlie Schwab - developed in Japan, the whole body is treated, fully clothed, and as relaxation is achieved circulation and flexibility is improved - it is considered to be an effective preventative treatment; also "Indian head massage" and "Sports and Aromatherapy massage" by Rita Cripps, wonderfully relaxing - massage helps us meet today's stresses feeling calm and strong.

On the medical side they are delighted to welcome Iris Thomas - State Registered Chiropodist, offering all aspects of footcare. Iris trained at Plymouth University gaining a degree in Podiatry and for the past three and a half years has worked within the NHS.

It would be a shame with professional hair stylists and beauty therapists to hand not to record yourself looking great with a photograph! Professional photographer Mike Fiori (previously featured in Vogue magazine) will be arranging special packages for "makeover" sessions. "We have offered this type of service before, it was incredibly popular," said Gary. With so many treatments to choose from the saying "spend the day at Stuarts" may be a little optimistic, they think you'll need at least two!

For more information on any of the new services, please call in or telephone them on 01736-360622. There will be an open day on Tuesday, February 29th. All will be welcome.

Lighting Group

The Brighter Christmas Volunteers held a meeting on January 27th to discuss the future of the organisation of the next Christmas lights. There was a good turn out, with 25 people attending the meeting. A Townlighting Group was formed and Chamber of Commerce member Paul Murphy was made chairman. They decided that new ideas and energy needed to be put into the organisation of this year's Christmas lights and more young people need to get involved with helping.

Brighter Christmas Volunteers' Hazel Trembath thanked all those who helped last Christmas, and said that she would still be involved with helping with the lights, but she would be taking more of a back seat in the organisation of the lights. Hazel deserves thanks for all her very hard work, for organising and encouraging everyone to get involved.

Get that job

If you are looking for a job, or a change of career, come along to Job Scene. The exhibition is being held on March 3rd and 4th at Plymouth Pavilions. There is an ideal opportunity to learn more about the wide range of jobs on offer in the area, and to talk to potential employers.

If you are interested in a career in the media, the local representatives of the national voluntary organisation, CSV Media South West will be there talking about the range of media training they provide. Go and visit their stand to find out more about them and the jobs they have to offer.

Daffodil Day

Marie Curie Cancer Research is looking desperately for volunteers to help collect on Daffodil Day. They need willing volunteers who can spare a couple of hours or possibly more, to collect for the charity on their national day, coming up on Saturday, March 18th. Anyone who can spare a few hours to help should phone 01726-71200 or 0850-880808 as soon as possible.

March Meeting

The next Chamber Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 7th at the Queens Hotel, The Promenade, Penzance at 7.30pm.

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