Do The Soul Work - Fjona Hill

Fjona Hill is the Creative Director of Hampton Manor who is not only building her own legacy but is stewardess of the legacy being built by Hampton Manor. She is one half of the husband and wife duo who run the historical estate. Her story is not one you’d possibly expect, given that she trained as a doctor. KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST Hampton Manor is a boutique hotel and Michelin star restaurant set on a historical estate.  Remarkably, Hampton Manor was able to pivot quickly during Covid19 and within weeks of the lockdown were able to launch Peel on wheels, and make their first delivery.  Peels on wheels is fine dining delivered to your door.  Fjona shares that people have a need to celebrate and the delivery of the meals offers an ‘invite to the table’ that creates a different feeling to the one we’re used to every day. Fjona started her training as a doctor but had a creative calling and when the opportunity came to take a gap year, she spent it working as a wedding photographer.  Going back to her training, the call was still there so she took another gap year and never went back.  She did a Masters in photojournalism and simultaneously her husband James had just started with the family business of Hampton Manor and she was invited to do the interior design of the manor. She then went into photojournalism and had to travel a lot for work, often to dangerous locations, so when she got pregnant she decided to make a change.  During that time she got approached to work with an interior design studio which she did for a year before returning to Hampton Manor as Creative Director. Having a country estate is a legacy.  In days gone by most people's lives and livelihoods were attached to the main house, so there is a sense of responsibility not to keep it to yourself but rather how to use it to impart it to the community.  They are stewards of the estate.  Legacy for the family is a place, and their job is to sow it with depth.  Legacy can be hard to describe or pin but when you have a physical place, you can see the full expression. This is a family with an appreciation of stories and legacy, the gold band of Fjona’s engagement ring was second hand and her husband had it reworked to add stones and she loves that it had a strand of history and that they’ve woven their own strand in. Her parting advice on creating a meaningful life is not to forget to do the soul work.  Sometimes it takes some digging beneath the immediate needs to discover what the soul needs. LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE Hampton Manor  Roseanna Croft Jewellery Website  Find Roseanna Croft Jewellery on Instagram Find Me on Instagram