Kate Churchwell explains why she left the city’s hamster wheel to pursue her passion for plants and art
About 28 years ago, I was running my own business when my memory suddenly started to fail.
I went to the doctor, but it took several months before I received the correct diagnosis: hydrocephalus. In 1997, I underwent life-saving surgery and was fit enough to return to work.
When I heard that a former boss of what was then Midland Bank was hiring, I applied and got a job as his personal assistant. Over time, I climbed the career ladder, took financial exams and eventually started working in financial services and portfolio management. Although I was successful, I was not fulfilled in my role.
My husband Chris, 59, is a carpenter and enjoyed renovating properties. In 1999, after we had completed our current house, we were looking for something new. Disillusioned with the UK property market, we attended the Earls Court property fair and decided to find a property in France.
Renovation project
We spent the summer of 2000 running around French estate agents looking at properties – nothing seemed right. Then, on the last day of our holiday, we found what we were looking for – a stone house in Upper Brittany that was ripe for renovation but not dilapidated or dilapidated.
It was originally planned as a project for Chris and as a holiday home for us and our family. But the more time we spent in France, the more we realised that there was life outside the rat race.
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By this time we already had two children, Finn (one year old) and Rupert (two years old), and knew this would be a great place to raise them. We finally moved permanently in 2006.
Chris had originally wanted to open a carpentry business in France, but we realised it would make more sense and be more profitable for him to commute to the UK, two weeks on, two weeks off. He could work on projects as part of a team rather than as a sole trader, and that suited him better.
In 2014 we also invested in the property opposite our house. We originally wanted to use it as a holiday home, but as my mother was getting older and needed care, we decided to ask her to move in with us so we could spend time together and keep an eye on her.
Enjoying the outdoors
It was a busy time and I focused on looking after my mum and raising my boys – but I always kept up the gardening. I love spending time outdoors – it gives me so much joy. I also made art, experimented with different techniques and eventually developed my own style.
Over the years I have created artwork to give to my friends – always with a botanical theme. Instead of painting floral scenes, I use pressed or dried flowers. As the boys grew up and needed me less, I decided to move up the ante and become a professional botanical artist.
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In 2019, I approached my local botanical garden and asked if they would be interested in incorporating some of my work into a sale-or-return business. I signed up through the micro-entrepreneurship program and have never looked back. I joined an online network on Facebook with other female entrepreneurs and through this network I made contact with the Château de la Ruche in Teillé and was able to feature in their online shop. I have since also opened my own shop on Etsy.
In 2021, my local castle, Château du Rocher Portail in Brittany, decided to create a Harry Potter theme for their guests and they contacted me to create all the banquet food for the exhibition out of plaster. In 2021, the Shangri-La hotel in Hong Kong commissioned me to create 16 plaques for them and recently I received a major commission for the Pulitzer hotel in Amsterdam to create 105 large plaques. And I recently learned that my work will soon be appearing in British Vogue.
Develop skills
Chris continues to work as a carpenter and commutes between the UK and the boys. With the boys now at university, I have time to experiment and develop my craft further.
When I worked in banking, life was hectic and stressful – I would get out of bed to sit in traffic for an hour, work on my lunch break, and sometimes go to dinners with clients before falling back into bed and repeating it all the next day.
Now I almost always spend the morning looking at plants, what I could pick, what I could water, what plants I could press. That’s where I’m really in my element. In the afternoons I create artwork or sometimes give classes. It’s a world away from my life in the city, but so much more fulfilling.
